35. Macro essay
Portfolio Task Macro
Choose ONE of the following titles and write an essay of.
You will be expected to undertake reading from a range of articles as well as from textbooks.
1. Explain and discuss the effects of the 2015-2017 financial crises on the Eurozone economies, drawing on your knowledge of the relations among stock markets and macroeconomic variables. Illustrate your analysis using relevant data sources and referring to the related academic literature.
2. In 1936 the English economist John Maynard Keynes published a book, ‘The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money’. Keynes identified four categories of aggregate expenditure. Economists usually explain changes in GDP in terms of changes in these four categories of spending. As a World Bank macro economist specialized in Asian economies, you are supposed to 1) find data and produce a report explaining the trend of those categories of spending for at least two of the largest Asian economies in the last ten years; 2) advise the World Bank’s Chief Economist about the effect of the recent financial crisis on the economies mentioned in the previous point.
3. Discuss what the European Union should do in order to increase its economic growth in the long term. It is imperative you use one of the economic growth theories in order to support your essay from a theoretical point of view.
Marking criteria:
Focus:
Does the essay stay within the topic parameters? 20%
Synthesis:
Does the essay bring together the literature in a significant manner that addresses the essay question? 30%
Soundness:
Does the essay indicate a comprehensive understanding of the topic area and literature discussed? 30%
Clarity of structure:
Is the essay well organised and logically constructed to achieve synthesis while being mindful of the needs of the reader? 10%
Mechanical Soundness:
Is the essay clearly written, spell checked and grammatically sound and referenced appropriately? 10%