Descriiption and Objective:
Based on the topic below, you should develop an essay by relating economic concepts you have learned in
this course to examples and discussions that you may find from the internet or any other source. The
essay should be an analytical discussion.
General Instructions:
• Word count: between 500 – 750 words.
• Submission mechanism: only assignments submitted via Léa-Assignments will be accepted.
• File formats: only PDF documents will be accepted.
• Grade: the assessment will be graded on 110 marks, and worth 10% of the final grade.
• References: If you are referencing material, you must properly reference that work (if not, this is
plagiarism). There are many examples of how to properly reference material at the Writing Centre’s
website, under the section of Referencing & Citing your resources
(https://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/learning- commons/plagiarism-citing-sources/).
• You should cite your sources (in-text). All the referenced sources in the text must be compiled at the
end of the essay under a section “References”, indicating the author/s, the title, year of publication,
where it was published, and link in case it is an online resource. This section will not count for the limit
of 500 – 750 words.
• Plagiarism will be highly penalized, as established by the College policy.
• Writing and Presentation: The essay should be typed and double-spaced.
• Try to be clear and avoid grammar mistakes. You are strongly encouraged to make use of Vanier
College’s Writing Centre for help with how to write a good research paper
(www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/learning- commons/writing-centre/).
• A proper title should be included describing the content of the essay.
• Make use of the concepts you may have learnt during the course and link them with the topic. Use
economic vocabulary this will be rewarded.
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Preliminary Questions (10 marks):
Please provide the responses to the following questions on a single sheet of paper. This should be the FIRST
page of your essay.
1. Identify your chosen country.
2. How is this country classified based on the World Bank Income Criteria?
https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-andlending-groups
3. Identify the main tools of monetary policy used by your chosen country. Provide a link to the country’s
central bank website. (NOTE: When I click on the link it should take me directly to the section on the
monetary policy tools)
4. Identify any two fiscal policies that were implemented by your chosen country in the last 2 to 5 years.
Be Specific.
5. Provide information on the country’s Economic Growth Rate, Inflation Rate and Unemployment Rate
for 2021 and 2022. (Put this information in a table)
Year Inflation Rate Unemployment Rate Economic Growth Rate
2021
2022
Essay Topic (100 marks):
Write an essay of between 500 – 750 words based on the following scenario:
The Government and Central Bank for your chosen country are faced with the decision of setting targets for
inflation, unemployment and economic growth for the next fiscal year (short run). Write a report explaining
which ONE of the three macroeconomic variables should be targeted, identify some mixture of monetary and
fiscal policy that could be utilized and carefully explain how each chosen policy can be used to achieve the
target.
Additional Instructions:
Ensure that (i) you provide a justification for your choice of the macroeconomic variable to target; (ii) the
monetary policy chosen should be based on policies laid out in your chosen country’s central bank/ monetary
authority and (iii) you use real-world examples from your chosen country to support your explanations.
Your submission should include TWO diagrams using the AD-AS framework to show: (i) The impact of the
monetary policy and (ii) The impact of the fiscal policy. Be sure to clearly explain what is happening in your
diagram in the essay.
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EVALUATION SCHEME: Grading criteria will focus on the following key aspects (on 100 marks).
• Analysis (50 points): The analysis should be made from a macroeconomics point of view; you should
properly explain your ideas and support your arguments.
• Application (20 points): The use of real-world examples to support your discussion. Examples are linked
to the essay question as well as the economic data collected for your chosen country.
• Graphs (10 points): The graphs accurately reflect the discussion in the essay. Graphs are fully and
correctly labelled.
• Structure and reasoning (10 points): Essay structure and logical reasoning: introduction, essay
development, and conclusion.
• Writing and presentation (10 points): Overall organization, writing, and presentation.
PENALTY POINTS:
• Did not provide references and citation (-5 marks for each missing reference and/or citation).
• Graphs not included or graphs included but not explained in the essay: -15 marks.
• Late submission: -20 marks per day late; after 2 days: zero.