Macroeconomics

Q1. (a) Using the data provided for the US and France, describe and compare the patterns of economic growth and development for the two countries over the period 1970 to 2013.

Q1. (b) What are the limitations of the provided data for answering the question in part (a)? What additional data could be useful for answering this question and why?

Q2. In the context of the Solow model of economic growth, define the concept of convergence and explain why the model predicts this outcome. Do economic data support the hypothesis of convergence in reality?
Compare and contrast the changes in the monetary policy of the Bank of England in the UK and the Federal Reserve in the USA since the outbreak of the crisis. How the two central banks have reacted to the crisis? Have they been successful?
Refer to official data in your answer: these are accessible from both the Bank of England (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/index.htm) and the Federal Reserve (http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/default.htm) websites, and relate your answer to theories studied during the module.
Real GDP per Capita 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

United States National currency | Units   1970-2011 20756.49 21182.75 22096.96 23151.08 22803.21 22502.25 23525.5 24369.83 25466.46 25987.84 25630.11 26018.56 25270.23 26172.96 27809.24 28703.67 29429.41 30101.04 31054.73 31862.61 32102.01 31604.51 32245.96 32736.08 33658.55 34099.07 34964.86 36089.18 37224.34 38577.44 39732.86 39750.5 40077.56 40712.31 41743.02 42628.55 43349.54 43743.75 43193.79 41327.95 42255.8 42683.93 43201.95(f) 43808.29(f) 44658.25(f) 45703.34(f) 46858.72(f) 47963.13(f)

France National currency | Units   1970-2011 14718.02 15274.5 15806.11 16527.56 16909.66 16773.04 17419.19 17904.81 18416.93 18939.45 19191.74 19216.63 19568.53 19709.66 19922.46 20186.18 20569.03 20980.95 21803.03 22624.49 23106.13 23230.35 23397.65 23114.69 23537.74 23989.77 24168.38 24616.13 25371.87 26053.28 26885.59 27176.16 27241.55 27296.96 27739.17 28050.72 28601.73 29067.17 28852.11 27944.08 28256.8 28610.29 28615.55(f) 28772.26(f) 29172.04(f) 29589.56(f) 30028.20(f) 30492.03(f)

Real GDP

United States National currency | Billions   1970-2011 4259.24 4401.64 4640.58 4908.48 4879.46 4862.08 5132.63 5370.74 5666.93 5847.34 5833.98 5982.08 5865.93 6130.93 6571.53 6843.4 7080.5 7307.05 7607.4 7879.18 8027.03 8008.33 8280.03 8516.18 8863.13 9085.98 9425.85 9845.93 10274.75 10770.63 11216.42 11337.47 11543.1 11836.42 12246.92 12622.95 12958.47 13206.38 13161.92 12703.13 13087.97 13315.08 13595.77(f) 13918.22(f) 14323.74(f) 14798.90(f) 15317.90(f) 15828.63(f)

France National currency | Billions   1970-2011 743.68 779.25 813.79 858.04 884.73 882.26 919.7 949.3 981.1 1012.9 1031.2 1041.19 1066.34 1079.55 1096.26 1115.98 1142.54 1171.24 1223.54 1276.55 1310.32 1323.56 1339.28 1328.33 1357.16 1387.67 1402.39 1432.84 1481.66 1528.74 1587.93 1616.34 1631.6 1646.11 1684.72 1716.19 1761.8 1801.15 1797.61 1750.32 1774.5 1804.93 1813.52(f) 1831.80(f) 1865.75(f) 1901.12(f) 1938.13(f) 1977.08(f)

Write a 5 pages researched report (double space, 12 pts) with a 100+ words critical-thinking conclusion. Explain what national/international variables affect our economy and what would you do if you were the CEO of a (or your) company in order to increase efficiency, productivity, and maintain your company’s competitiveness globally.