Assignment Title:

A comparison of the most recent macroeconomic performance of the Irish economy compared to your home economy (or another economy of your choice), a comparison of the thrust of macroeconomic policy and an analysis of the progress made towards achieving a specific macroeconomic objective in the two countries.

Background to Assignment:

All businesses operate within the wider economy, both domestic and international, and are affected by movements, both in the macro-economy and in various sectors of the economy.  Business professionals must therefore understand the operation of the overall economy and the interactions which take place between different economic variables and stimuli.

The assignment is designed to allow students to acquire an understanding of the key developments in the wider economy, including its international dimension, and to understand the link between macroeconomic policy and performance and the business sector.

An aim of the module is to train students to think analytically and critically about the impact of Government policy on the macroeconomic environment and on the business sector.  This will:

• familiarise students with sources, both data and written, for different aspects of the economy;
• train students to understand the impact that economic variables can have on the business sector;
• train students to ‘read’ the trends in the economy through the analysis of economic data.

Emphasis is placed on economic analysis rather than description.

Learning Outcomes Addressed

• Identify and discuss the main macroeconomic indicators and how these impact on economies
• Through consideration of how the key macroeconomic variables may/will be impacted by the policies implemented Produce and interpret economic tools of analysis, such as graphs and apply these to real-world economic issues
• Through the application of analytical tools learned in the lecture programme to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the nature and extend of the policies implemented.

Task Statement:

Part a (60 marks)

A comparison of the most recent performance of the Irish economy compared to your home economy (or another economy of your choice) using the key indicators used to measure progress towards the achievement of macroeconomic objectives and a number of other indicators; and

Part b (40 marks)

A comparison of the nature and success of macroeconomic policy and the progress made in achieving a specific macroeconomic objective in the two countries. The ‘specific objective’ may be the same in the two economies but not necessarily so.

Coverage and Content

Part a (60 marks)

Your assignment should:

1. Identifyand justify (provide an economic rationale for their inclusion) five key macroeconomic (or four macroeconomic and one non-economic) variables which will be used for the comparison of the two economies.  The indicators MUST include those normally used to track performance against the key macroeconomic objectives.  Note this section should not contain any data, it is focused on providing a rationale for the inclusion of the key variables.
2. Present the data for the five variables for both economies for the past five years.  All data referred to should be fully sourced and referenced. This should be presented in an attractive, user-friendly manner.
3. Discuss the comparative performance of the two economies using the five chosen variables.

Part b (40 marks)

Your assignment should:

1. Describe the key macroeconomic policies that have been pursued by the governments of both countries indicating what macroeconomic (or other) objectives the government was trying to achieve in each country through the implementation of each policy.
2. Select one specific economic objectivepursued by the Government of both countries.  (This may be the same or a different objective across the two countries.  It may also be social or economic). Discuss in detail the nature of the objective (e.g. finding a solution to a challenging problem) and evaluate the progress that has been made in achieving this objective.
3. Recommend any realisticchanges that you think could be made to the policies in b.1 (and possibly b.2) above that might make them more successful