Copy and ECON7021 - The Macroeconomy - Semester 1 2020 Research Assignment Submission Date 3 p.m. Wednesday, 20 May 2020 Aim The objective of this research essay is to have students to undertake a small research project and write it up in a formal, academic way. Students should draw on the relevant theories and contextualise them with respect to the question. Also, they are required to cite additional empirical evidence to support conclusions (reference the evidence appropriately using in-text citations). Provide diagrams to explain the theory where appropriate. Diagrams must be clearly and correctly labelled, and you should actually refer to them in your explanation. Descriptive statistics, graphs and tables, will be sufficient for data analysis. Econometric analysis is not required. Weight 30% of overall assessment Task Description Students are required to write a concise essay on the question given below. The essay length should be 1,500 words 10%. This question requires you to draw from materials covered in topics 5 and 6. You DO NOT have to include discussions from topics 8 (Aggregate demand – Aggregate Supply and/or topics 9 and 10 (IS – LM model). Essay question Analyse the effectiveness of monetary policy in achieving the central bank’s objectives in one of the following countries. The United States Australia China Note: You have to consider ONLY ONE country. Guidelines to complete the question 2 1. Provide a brief overview of monetary policy in chosen country. This should include: MP Objectives. Objectives are usually quite broad, e.g. price stability, full employment, etc. MP Targets. Since the MP objectives are broad, narrower targets are specified, e.g. a particular level of inflation, a monetary aggregate (M2 or M3) or an exchange rate. MP Instruments that your chosen country uses to implement MP. 2. Provide a brief assessment of how well the central bank/monetary authority has done in achieving its objectives. Collect relevant data for the last 5-6 years. Have the MP targets been achieved i.e. compare MP targets with actual outcomes? Look at most recent two Monetary Policy Statements that the selected country’s central bank issued (For example, in Australia RBA is made available monetary policy statement in their web site). Briefly discuss any changes in Monetary Policy Statements made in response to the current and expected economic circumstances. How does the implementation of monetary policy in this country compare to monetary policy in economic theory? What problems, if any, do policy makers face in implementing monetary policy? 3. Use data, graphs and/or tables to support your analysis as necessary, but limited to a maximum of 2 to 3 tables and 2 to 3 charts. 4. Use information and data from reputable sources only. 5. Descriptive statistics, graphs and tables, will be sufficient. You are not required to do econometric analysis. Marking Criteria Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria: Clarity of objective and focus of work Use of appropriate macroeconomic theory Use of literature/evidence of research Analysis of relevant data and monetary policy statements as outlined in guideline 2 Structure and clarity of expression (including accuracy, spelling, punctuation, grammar) Referencing Referencing The essay must be appropriately referenced using the Harvard style. 3 You should use authoritative sources. Unreliable sources, such as Wikipedia, should not be used (anyone can edit an entry in Wikipedia). Try to use some formal journal articles. The list of references should include only sources that you have actually used in writing the essay. It is not a bibliography. Suggested Format Your essay should contain a very brief introduction, a main section (the main section can be broken into subsections such as Overview of Monetary Policy, Assessment of Monetary Policy etc), a conclusion and references. Do not include an abstract. Do not include appendices. Markers will not read or appendices and give marks. Use 1.5 or double spacing. Do not use single spacing. Some additional advice is given in a note called “How to write”. Submission The essay must be submitted in electronically via Turnitin by the required deadline using the link available on ECON7021 Blackboard under assessment folder. More details will be provided closer to the submission date. The late submission penalty will be 3 marks per day. Plagiarism See Section 6.1 of the Course Profile for the University’s policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and can lead to severe penalties. Use the plagiarism detection software Turnitin to check the originality of your essay. Your Assignment Here