ECO 530 Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide Overview The final project for this macroeconomics course is an analysis of a country of your choice and the impact of a fiscal, monetary, or trade related policy, as well as an industry that is likely to be affected either positively or negatively by the policy. For example, raising personal income or payroll taxes cuts back on disposable personal income, which can lower the amount of discretionary funds available for consumer spending on cars or vacation travel. You will analyze and evaluate the costs, benefits, implications, and potential impacts of your selected policy for that context. As a result, you will develop conclusions about the overall value of the policy as a means of correcting the economic problem it was designed to address. Finally, you will draw “big-picture” conclusions about the importance of understanding macroeconomic conditions for companies to compete and remain profitable. The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Six. The final submission will occur in Module Nine. Outcomes This assignment will assess your mastery with respect to the following course outcomes:  Evaluate contemporary global economic situations through the lenses of major economic schools of thought for their resulting implications to models and policies  Evaluate the effectiveness of alternative approaches to fiscal, monetary, and trade policies for their impact on the economy  Create short-run, qualitative macroeconomic forecasts based on the sound application of major macroeconomic models  Communicate the effects of macroeconomic conditions and policies on industry and firm performance  Determine the impacts of international comparative advantages on industry performance Guidelines The final product represents an authentic demonstration of competency, because this project is designed to guide you through the process of macroeconomic analysis as introduced in this course. The following guidelines are comprehensive of the final project as presented throughout the course in Milestones One and Two along with an additional prompt that directs you through the final submission of the analysis. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in your analysis: I. Overview a. Which macro fiscal, monetary, or trade policy (i.e., marginal tax rates, reducing the rate of growth in the money supply, or signing a free trade agreement with a key trading partner) have you chosen to evaluate? What is the goal and essential structure of the policy? In other words, what problem is it intended to correct? How will it be implemented? b. What country and which industry have you chosen as the context for your review of this policy? Select cases that are likely to be affec ...

1. ECO 530 Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide
Overview
The final project for this macroeconomics course is an analysis
of a country of your choice and the impact of a fiscal, monetary,
or trade related policy, as well as
an industry that is likely to be affected either positively or
negatively by the policy. For example, raising personal income
or payroll taxes cuts back on disposable
personal income, which can lower the amount of discretionary
funds available for consumer spending on cars or vacation
travel. You will analyze and evaluate
the costs, benefits, implications, and potential impacts of your
selected policy for that context. As a result, you will develop
conclusions about the overall value of
the policy as a means of correcting the economic problem it was
designed to address. Finally, you will draw “big-picture”
conclusions about the importance of
understanding macroeconomic conditions for companies to
compete and remain profitable. The project is divided into two
milestones, which will be submitted
at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and
ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be
submitted in Modules Three and Six.
The final submission will occur in Module Nine.
Outcomes
This assignment will assess your mastery with respect to the
following course outcomes:

2. the lenses of major economic schools of thought for their
resulting implications to models
and policies
monetary, and trade policies for their impact on the economy
-run, qualitative macroeconomic forecasts based
on the sound application of major macroeconomic models
policies on industry and firm performance
advantages on industry performance
Guidelines
The final product represents an authentic demonstration of
competency, because this project is designed to guide you
through the process of macroeconomic
analysis as introduced in this course. The following guidelines
are comprehensive of the final project as presented throughout
the course in Milestones One and
Two along with an additional prompt that directs you through
the final submission of the analysis.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed
in your analysis:
I. Overview
a. Which macro fiscal, monetary, or trade policy (i.e., marginal
tax rates, reducing the rate of growth in the money supply, or

3. signing a free trade
agreement with a key trading partner) have you chosen to
evaluate? What is the goal and essential structure of the policy?
In other words, what
problem is it intended to correct? How will it be implemented?
b. What country and which industry have you chosen as the
context for your review of this policy? Select cases that are
likely to be affected either
positively or negatively by the policy and for which you can
find sufficient information and data for this assignment. What
issues or debates have
been raised about your policy in this context? Be sure to
provide all essential background information necessary for
understanding your
subsequent evaluation, forecast, and industry analysis.
II. Policy Evaluation
a. Evaluate your given policy through the lens of each of the
three major schools of economic thought listed below:
i. How would a New Keynesian view your selected policy in
terms of its implications for your chosen context? Be sure to
apply the New
Keynesian model in your evaluation to determine the likely
effects on major macroeconomic variables such as GDP,
inflation, interest
rates, employment, exports, and imports. Include charts and
graphs to illustrate your claims where appropriate.
ii. How would a monetarist view your selected policy in terms

4. of its implications for your chosen context? Be sure to apply the
monetarist
model in your evaluation to determine the likely effects on
major macroeconomic variables such as GDP, inflation, interest
rates,
employment, exports, and imports. Include charts and graphs to
illustrate your claims where appropriate.
iii. How would a neo-classicalist view your selected policy in
terms of its implications for your chosen context? Be sure to
apply the neo-
classical model in your evaluation to determine the likely
effects on major macroeconomic variables such as GDP,
inflation, interest rates,
employment, exports, and imports. Include charts and graphs to
illustrate your claims where appropriate.
b. What are the differences and similarities among the models in
terms of their predicted outcomes? How do the different
assumptions of the
models result in policy debates among their respective
adherents?
c. Which of the three contemporary macroeconomic schools do
you believe most appropriately captures the likely impacts of
the policy on your
given context? Why? Be sure to defend your answer with
specific evidence from the course or other academic resources.
You will use your
selection in the following section (“Macroeconomic Forecast”).
III. Macroeconomic Forecast: Using the selected school of
thought, create a qualitative, short-term (i.e., 12 to 24 months)
forecast detailing the impacts
of your chosen policy on the economy of your chosen country.
For example, if your policy is raising the minimum wage, what

5. is the expected
direction of change for key macroeconomic variables like
disposable personal income, labor costs, employment, prices,
inflation, and GDP from a
Keynesian perspective?
a. Specifically, which macroeconomic variables (e.g., GDP,
inflation, interest rates, employment, unemployment rate,
consumer spending,
investment spending, exports, imports, labor costs, or exchange
rates) should be considered? Address three to five variables and
any uncertainty
that exists with these variables.
b. What are the expected directions of change for your
identified variables as a result of the policy? What uncertainty
exists given these
macroeconomic conditions?
IV. Industry Analysis
a. What are the likely effects of the policy for your selected
industry? Will the policy be beneficial to the industry? Will it
cause costs to rise?
Reduce or increase demand? Consider including charts and
graphs to illustrate your claims where appropriate.
b. What are the likely impacts to your selected industry’s
international competitiveness? Consider including charts and
graphs to illustrate your
claims where appropriate.
c. What is likely to happen to the profitability of a typical
company in the industry? Consider including historical
examples, charts, and graphs to
illustrate your claims where appropriate.

6. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Monetarism.html
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/NewClassicalMacroeconomi
cs.html
V. Conclusion
a. As a result of your evaluations and analyses, what final
determinations have you made about the policy? Would the
benefits outweigh the costs
for your given country and industry? Are there unintended
consequences that should be considered, and if so, what? Do
you recommend the
policy be enacted, continued, or repealed?
b. Finally, consider the “big picture.” Why is it important to
understand the different macroeconomic models? In other
words, why are they
significant? If you were a business leader, how would you make
better decisions as a result of your knowledge of the macro
economy? How
would you use this knowledge to improve your strategies?
Remember, your conclusions should be based on your analysis
of I–IV. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all
of the main elements of the final
product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained
throughout the course.
Milestones
Milestone One: Overview and Policy Evaluation

7. In task 3-2, you will submit Milestone One: Overview and
Policy Evaluation. The format should be a 2–3 page paper with
double spacing, 12-point Times New
Roman font, one-inch margins, and citations in APA format. For
further explanation of Milestone One, refer to the Milestone
One Guidelines and Rubric
document.
Milestone Two: Macroeconomic Forecast and Industry Analysis
In task 6-1, you will submit Milestone Two: Macroeconomic
Forecast and Industry Analysis. The format should be a 3-4
page paper with double spacing, 12-
point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and citations
in APA format. For further explanation of Milestone Two, refer
to the Milestone Two Guidelines
and Rubric document.
Deliverable Milestones
Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading
One Final Project Milestone One: Overview
and Policy Evaluation
Three Graded separately; Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric
Two Final Project Milestone Two:
Macroeconomic Forecast and Industry
Analysis
Six Graded separately; Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric
Final Final Project: Macroeconomic
Environment and Conclusion

8. Nine Graded separately; Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Final Project Rubric
Requirements of Submission: Written components of projects
must follow these formatting guidelines when applicable:
double spacing, 12-point Times New
Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA appropriate citations.
The analysis should be approximately 10–12 pages in length,
not including title and references
pages.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in
Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade
Center. For more information,
review these instructions.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (90%) Needs
Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Overview Meets “Proficient” criteria and
connects the goals of the policy
to the overall macro economy
of the country selected
Selects a relevant policy and
establishes a context for review
that includes the policy’s goals,
intended effects for the
selected country and industry,
issues raised in debates over

9. the policy, and the policy’s
structure and implementation
strategies
Selects an appropriate policy
and context for review, but
does not include all necessary
information stipulated in the
“Proficient” criteria
Selects an inappropriate policy
or does not establish a context
for review
5
Policy Evaluation:
New Keynesian
Approach
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
includes relevant and correctly
structured graphs and charts to
illustrate and support the
analysis
Appropriately integrates New
Keynesian principles and
applies the model to determine
reasonable implications of the
policy for the given context
Integrates principles to
determine implications of the

10. policy for the given context, but
there are gaps in the logic or
the model is not appropriately
applied
Does not address New
Keynesian principles or does
not apply the model
7.5
Policy Evaluation:
Monetarist Approach
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
includes relevant and correctly
structured graphs and charts to
illustrate and support the
analysis
Appropriately integrates
monetarist principles and
applies the model to determine
reasonable implications of the
policy for the given context
Integrates principles to
determine implications of the
policy for the given context, but
there are gaps in the logic or
the model is not appropriately
applied
Does not address monetarist
principles or does not apply the

11. model
7.5
Policy Evaluation:
Neo-classical
Approach
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
includes relevant and correctly
structured graphs and charts to
illustrate and support the
analysis
Appropriately integrates neo-
classical principles and applies
the model to determine
reasonable implications of the
policy for the given context
Integrates principles to
determine implications of the
policy for the given context, but
there are gaps in the logic or
the model is not appropriately
applied
Does not address neo-
classicalist principles or does
not apply the model
7.5
http://snhu-

12. media.snhu.edu/files/production_documentation/formatting/rubr
ic_feedback_instructions_student.pdf
Policy Evaluation:
Differences and
Similarities
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides insights into the
assumptions of the models that
lead to areas of debate related
to the policy
Accurately identifies differences
and similarities among the
schools of thought in terms of
their predicted outcomes and
illustrates how the differences
result in policy debates
Identifies differences and
similarities among the schools
of thought in terms of their
predicted outcomes and
illustrates how the differences
result in policy debates, but
there are errors in the
identification or the illustration
is incomplete or lacking in
detail
Does not identify the

13. differences and similarities
among schools of thought in
terms of their predicted
outcomes or does not illustrate
how the differences result in
policy debates
7.5
Policy Evaluation:
Selection
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides support for the
selection through sources that
are especially relevant to the
defense
Selects a school of thought on
which to base industry analysis
and defends the choice with
evidence from course materials
or other academic resources
Selects a school of thought, but
there are gaps in the defense or
does not substantiate with
appropriate evidence
Does not select a school of
thought or does not defend the
selection
7.5

14. Macroeconomic
Forecast:
Variables
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
indicates potential areas of
uncertainty in terms of the
affected variables based on
ability of the selected model to
perform well under the
macroeconomic conditions
present
Creates a qualitative, short-
term forecast detailing the
impacts of the policy on the
economy of the chosen country
for at least three macro
variables
Creates a forecast, but it is
either not qualitative, not short
term, or it does not
appropriately address at least
three macro variables for the
economy of the chosen country
Does not create a forecast
detailing the impacts of the
policy on the economy of the
chosen country
7.5
Macroeconomic

15. Forecast:
Directions of Change
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
indicates potential areas of
uncertainty in terms of
direction of change based on
ability of the selected model to
perform well under the
macroeconomic conditions
present
Proposes expected directions of
change for each identified
macro variable in the forecast,
including the uncertainties
Proposes directions of change,
but not all macro variables or
uncertainties are addressed
Does not propose directions of
change for macroeconomic
variables
7.5
Industry Analysis:
Effects
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides supporting graphs or
charts to illustrate the

16. relationship between
macroeconomic variables and
industry performance
Determines likely effects of the
policy for the selected industry
based on the direction of
change of key macro variables
from the forecast, including
addressing costs and demand
Determines likely effects of the
policy for the selected industry,
but there are gaps in the
analysis or logic
Does not identify likely effects
of the policy for the selected
industry
7.5
Industry Analysis:
International
Competitiveness
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
supports the finding with
additional qualitative analysis
on the same industry in other
countries

17. Determines reasonably likely
impacts to the selected
industry’s international
competitiveness
Determines impacts to the
selected industry’s
international competitiveness,
but there are gaps in the
analysis or logic
Does not identify impacts to
the selected industry’s
international competitiveness
7.5
Industry Analysis:
Typical Company
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides graphs or examples
that illustrate past effects of
similar policies on the industry
Determines reasonably likely
impacts to the profitability of a
typical company in the selected
industry
Determines impacts to the
profitability of a typical
company in the selected
industry, but there are gaps in

18. the analysis or logic
Does not identify impacts to
the profitability of a typical
company in the selected
industry
7.5
Conclusion:
Final Determinations
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides additional insights into
possible unintended
consequences of the policy
action that can affect its overall
costs and benefits
Makes final determinations
about the ability of the policy
to achieve the intended
outcomes, the net benefit or
cost of the policy for the given
country and industry, and
recommends a logical future
course of action
Makes final determinations and
recommendations, but there
are gaps in evaluation or logic
Does not make final
determinations about the net
benefit or cost of the policy for

19. the given country and industry
or does not recommend a
future course of action
7.5
Conclusion:
Big Picture
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
illustrates the significant
influence the different
macroeconomic schools of
thought can have on
policymaking and resulting
economic well-being
Reflects upon the “big picture”
by making and defending a
claim about the relevance of
macroeconomic knowledge in
relation to individuals and
business leaders
Reflects upon the “big picture,”
but fails to sufficiently defend
claims about the relevance of
macroeconomic knowledge in
relation to individuals and
business leaders
Does not reflect upon the “big
picture”
7.5

20. Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented in
a professional and easy-to-read
format; tables and charts
correctly formatted and
referenced within the text
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of
main ideas
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas
5
Total
Comments:
100%