Assignment Steps
Resources: CIA World Fact Book, World Bank data, World Trade Organization (WTO) Annual Report, the Federal Reserve Bank, the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund.
Develop a minimum 1,400-word analysis of the international economy for the two countries assigned to your team. Each pair of countries has one very successful country and one not so successful country.
- Team A: USA vs Brazil (Two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere)
- Team B: China vs India (Two most populous countries in the world)
- Team C: South Korea vs North Korea (Two polar opposites, one people)
- Team D: Japan vs Saudi Arabia (Resource poor vs resource rich)
- Team E: Nigeria vs Democratic Republic of the Congo (Civility vs Chaos) (Note - the Republic of the Congo is not the same country as the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Research each country. Compare similarities and differences between your assigned countries and how their economic, political, and cultural development since 1945 has influenced their economic growth and trade competitiveness:
Use tables and/or graphs to compare the following economic statistics/indicators of your two assigned countries for the most recent year available since 2009 (the trough of the last economic cycle):
- Country GDP per Capita growth over time
- Country Inflation rate over time
- Country Unemployment Rate over time
- Country Trade Openness ( exports + imports divided by GDP)
- Country Exports as a % of GDP over time
Discuss reasons why the economic growth of the two countries varied.
Discuss how international trade influenced the strength of the economy of each country
Discuss the following for each country:
- At least two products that have provided each country an absolute advantage in trade over the other
- At least two products that have provided each country an comparative advantage in trade over the other
Cite a minimum of three academically credible sources.
Format the assignment consistent with APA guidelines.
