Macro Economics

Scenario

You have just completed your seven-year term as the chief economic policy advisor responsible for managing the economy of the nation of Econland. You are expected to create a report for the incoming administration. In this outgoing report, you will summarize your macroeconomic policy decisions and the economic outcomes for Econland. The purpose of this report is to share the lessons you’ve learned over your term and promote sound macroeconomic decision making moving forward.

Directions

First, assemble the materials that you will need to complete this assignment:

  • Access the Macroeconomics Simulation: Econland from Harvard Business Review and select either the Rollercoaster or Stagnation scenarios. Once you have completed your final year of your seven-year term, you can access the final reports under the Dashboard and Reports tabs at the top of the webpage. You will use these charts, graphs, and other visualizations to illustrate your report in the indicated areas of the template (for example, Table 1.1). Reach out to your instructor if you have any questions about accessing these resources.
  • Review and use the Project Template located in the What to Submit section.
    • The cover page, Table of Contents, and Introduction sections of your report are provided and should remain standard in all submissions except where indicated in the template. You should read the brief Introduction section, as it provides insight into the purpose and structure of the deliverable, and add the high-level descriptions where prompted.
    • There are placeholders in the template for your data visualizations (e.g., charts, graphs, tables, etc.). These placeholders are meant to give you a rough approximation of the placement of the visualizations that are required. You should replace the placeholders with the appropriate, indicated images in each case. To create an isolated image from the simulation data, it is recommended that you use a snipping tool or other image-editing software to copy and paste your data visualizations into the template. See the relevant tutorials in the Supporting Materials section for more information.
    • You are expected to reference any source material used in your report with appropriate citations. To support you, a References page has been added to the project template with the citation for the course’s reading already provided. Any other references you add should be cited according to APA format.

Once you have assembled the required materials listed above, you can now begin drafting your economic summary report by completing the following steps:

  • The first section of your report is the Introduction, in which you will personalize the provided content with the particular information related to your term (i.e., your simulation results) as the chief economic policy advisor for the nation of Econland. Follow the instructions in the template for contextualizing this section, including adding Table 3 from your simulation report to the indicated area of the template (i.e., Table 1.1). Then, add a two- to three-sentence summary specifying which underlying scenario you chose and your overall performance and approval rating.
  • Taxation Policies: In the Fiscal Policies: Taxation section of your report, discuss the taxation policies of Econland for the public and your successor. Within this section, you should add an image of Table 1 from your simulation results to the indicated area of the template (i.e., Table 2.1). Then, answer the following questions in the paragraphs below the table:
  • Government Spending: In the Fiscal Policies: Government Expenditure section of your report, discuss government spending policies of Econland for the public and your successor. Within this section, you should add an image of the “Real GDP Growth” and “Unemployment Rate” graphs from your simulation results and use an aggregate demand and aggregate supply (AD/AS) model to the indicated area of the template (i.e., Figures 3.1 and 3.2). Images of the AD/AS model can be found in the course reading or any reputable online source. Then, answer the following questions in the paragraphs below the figures:
  • Monetary Policies: In the Monetary Policies section of your report, discuss the monetary policies of Econland for the public and your successor. Within this section, you should add an image of the “Inflation Rate” graph from your simulation results to the indicated area of the template (i.e., Figure 4.1). Then, answer the following questions in the paragraphs below the figure:
  • Global Context: In the Global Context section of your report, you will expand your discussion from the particular case of Econland to consider the wider global context. Analyze the impacts of openness to trade in general. Why and how are the impacts of monetary and fiscal policies different in a closed economy versus an open economy? Support your claims with specific details from the course reading.
  • Conclusions: In the Conclusions section of your report, draw your overall conclusions about the relevance and significance of macroeconomics for the public and your successor.
  • Finally, ensure that all of your sources are properly cited using in-line citations and references according to APA format.