ECO2013 Week 2

VPN is needed to access exams such as the midterm.

The following assignments are what is due for week 2.

WEEK 2 DISCUSSION

This week’s discussion topic is about Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Per Capita GDP and Quality of Life. GDP is the market value of all final goods and services produced in an economy in a year. Per Capita GDP is GDP/Population and shows how much of total GDP is theoretically available to each individual in the society. Per Capita GDP is the normal measure of Standard of Living when comparing nations.

Quality of Life has no standard definition. It is broader concept that attempts to embrace the multitude of variables that make people happy. There are many measures of it, but all include GDP and/or Per Capita GDP.

The ultimate question for this week is: “Is GDP a good measure of national economic well being?”

Part of answering that question is a consideration of whether economic well being for the nation is the same as quality of life for the individual? If not, how would you measure quality of life for the individual?

Assignment Summary:

1. Review the concept and details of computing GDP ( GDP.pptx GDP.pptx – Alternative Formats )
2. Read the section in Chapter 23 in your textbook: “Is GDP a Good Measure of Economic Well-Being?” and the section “International Differences in GDP and Quality of Life” (pages 480-482).
3. Read the Quality of Life Index Article ( Quality of Life.pdf Quality of Life.pdf – Alternative Formats )
4. Watch the videos above and under the Week 2 videos: watch videos 1 and 2 for a better understanding of GDP and video 5 for a discussion of how to measure well being (it is a live recording of a discussion group and, unfortunately, the audio is not always the best). For a detailed discussion of consumer spending, consumer savings and the CPI both current (December 27, 2013) and historic changes, watch the video from C-SPAN: Consumer Spending Habits.
5. You may want do an internet search for other well being measures such as the “happiness index” or the “economic freedom” index. These indexes will deepen your understanding of this week’s topic.
6. Post your views to the discussion board and refer to at least two different concepts from this week’s Chapters. Your illustration of concepts MUST include an explanation why you think they are relevant to the week’s topic using specific information from the articles, videos and other research that you have done

MAKE SURE THAT YOU ADD SOMETHING NEW to the discussion.

1. Post on three different days for a minimum of three posts. Failure to meet these minimum posting requirements results in point loss

• • Include a word count on each post. All of your posts should sum to a minimum of 500 words.
  • Each post submitted should be between 150 and 250 words. Keep them short, specific, and clear.
  • Use paragraphs as appropriate.
  • Very lengthy posts do not provide an incentive to be read.
  • Remember to document all use of sources by using citations and references. These should be in APA format.
  • Please review Plagiarism Powerpoints ( PLAGIARISM.ppt PLAGIARISM.ppt – Alternative Formats ) and be sure to provide references ( APA.ppt APA.ppt – Alternative Formats ) Click for more options , including URLs where appropriate, to all works that you cite.

Now click on the “Week 2 DISCUSSION” title above to go to the discussion forum. You can start a new thread by clicking on the Create Thread button at the top. You can also respond to an existing post by clicking the Respond button at the bottom of the post.

WEEK 2 RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

This week should be a continuation of week 1. Now that you have selected a country and know basic socio-demographic and socio-economic information about it, during week 2, you need to relate it to this week’s material. In particular, we will use the United States – the world’s largest economy – as the comparative. You compare your country to the United States on each of the economic variables listed below.

1. GDP and GDP Per Capita: compare these values for your country with those for the United States, keep the year used as close as possible (the same year is preferred, if available), be specific about the currency in which the numbers are expressed – you should be able to obtain all values in US Dollars. If the values are in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), do note that – most likely they will be in PPP.
2. Using the data you collected for question 1, compare the standard of living of your country to that of the United States (remember that by definition, GDP Per Capita is the universal measure of standard of living, but you may also include other variables if you wish).
3. What is the most recent inflation rate and does it compare to the inflation rate for the same year in the United States?
4. What is the most recent rate of growth of the country and how does it compare to the economic growth rate for the same year in the United States?
5. What explains the recent economic growth, or lack of growth in your country?

Each week your submission must be in a Word document in report format, not in a Q&A format. So remember to use paragraphs and a report structure to your assignment.

Expectations for the research assignments:

1) Respond to all week’s topics and sub-topics;

2) Cite (APA style) all the information presented, not just direct quotes;

3) Reference (APA) style) the sources at the end;

4) Use proper paragraphing; and,

5) Present the information in a clear and professional fashion.

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1. Your research paper this week should be between 250 and 350 words. Shorter submissions will be penalized. Longer assignments are acceptable only if the extra words add substance to your report. At the bottom of your assignment, you should include a word count (how many words are in your post).
2. Structure your paper as a report in a Word document. Do use multiple paragraphs.
3. You must cite all the information used in your report and include the sources in your reference listing. Use APA format for citations and references – see the APA Powerpoint linked below.
4. Remember: you should not “copy and paste” information. Plagiarism PLAGIARISM.ppt – Alternative Formats is penalized with a zero in the assignment the first time, and a zero in the course the second time. Use your own words and quote only facts or numbers)
5. Remember to include citations to your sources in the body of your post and to provide the references at the end of your post. Where possible, please make the links to any web information clickable links. Remember the references and links must be to the article you used, not just to the web site. Be sure to include the full URL, otherwise your link will not be clickable.

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In addition to the links below, do use the web for additional useful information. Remember that each country will have multiple web sites that provide country specific information.

• Wikipedia
• CIA World Factbook
• World Bank

If you have any questions or concerns, email me.
Your submission this week must be at least 250 words long, in order to receive full credit.

The detailed instructions are posted above. Remember you can not change countries once you have selected one. Citations and references are required and they must be in APA style ( Apa.pptx APA.ppt – Alternative Formats – Click for more options).

Please post your work as a Word document attachment.

Now click on the “Week 2 Research Assignment” title at the top of the page.

WEEK 2 QUIZ

The Weekly quiz is composed of 10 multiple choice questions. Please take it at least once this week. You can retake the quiz as many times as you wish until the end of the course. Only the grade on the last take is recorded, so that is the one that will count towards your course grade.

This is not timed, and you can reenter and retake the quiz as often as you like. The answers will be available at the end of the course.

WEEK 2 MID-TERM EXAM

Mid-Term Exam consists of 20 multiple questions. The Mid-Term is due by Sunday of this week and it can not be taken late. Also the Mid-Term can only be taken ONCE. When you enter the Mid-Term that counts as your one attempt.

You have 2 hours to complete the Mid-Term.

The Mid-Term will automatically be submitted when the time expires.

You may wish to review the Mid Term Study Guide: