Research Project Instructions

Econ 320 – International Trade

Summer 2010

Instructions
1. Each student shall choose a single country to study for the duration of the term.
2. Choose a country, except one within your continent of birth.
3. Students will research a country’s political economy, cultural background, economic conditions,
and interaction with international economic institutions (e.g., IMF).
4. The research project will be written in segments, with roughly two to three weeks between
segments.
5. Each student will give periodic presentations that briefly summarize findings and respond to
questions from the class. These intermediate presentations are rather informal.
6. A final presentation will be at the end of the course highlighting all of the country’s facts.

Phases

Phase 1 – Due May 18

Phase 1 will cover the country’s political structure, underlying political philosophy, market structure, legal
system, and culture. This phase should permit the reader to have a basic idea of the role for the Head of
Government, Head of State, legislature, and court system. The reader should also be able to comprehend
the amount of social and economic freedom to be experienced in the country. Finally, one should
understand the basic culture of the society that governs the population’s daily activities.

This phase should adequately communicate the above criteria. At a minimum, it is unlikely this information
could be summarized in less than two pages.

Phase 2 – Due May 27

Phase 2 will cover the country’s economic system in greater detail than Phase 1. In particular, this phase
will explore the country’s involvement in international trade, its political policy regarding trade, current
and historical levels of foreign direct investment, and activity in global and regional trade agreements. The
reader should be able to understand the country’s attitude toward trade and whether trade has been
important to the country. Moreover, the reader should understand if international investors are investing
into the country and whether this investment has increased, decreased, or remained stable. Lastly, the
reader should be able to comprehend the country’s activity in global trade (e.g., WTO) and regional trade
agreements (e.g., NAFTA).

This phase should adequately communicate the above criteria. At a minimum, it is unlikely this information
could be summarized in less than three pages.

Phase 3 – Due June 8

Phase 3 will cover the country’s monetary system as it relates to international trade. In particular, this phase
will explore the country’s involvement in borrowing of funds (e.g., IMF), a country’s monetary reserves,
and current accounts. The reader should be able to comprehend whether the country has or had fiscal
problems and resorted to lending. Similarly, the reader should understand whether trade has benefited or
harmed the country’s monetary reserves.

This phase should adequately communicate the above criteria. At a minimum, it is unlikely this information
could be summarized in less than two pages.

Phase 4 – Due June 15

May 6, 2010
Phase 3 will include the revisions to the prior phases and also offer some economic policy advice to the
country. In particular, the policy advice should note aspects of the country’s political structure, economic
structure, culture, or economic policy that is hindering their economic growth. The resulting economic
policy should be clearly linked to the facts stated in the first three phases by using the theory learned in
class and readings.

This phase should adequately communicate all of the aforementioned criteria. At a minimum, it is unlikely
the policy information could be summarized in less than one page. In total, the entire paper is unlikely to be
summarized in less than eight pages.

Presentation

Intermediate presentations are informal and can be done in a seminar format. The intermediate
presentations should highlight the findings for the most recent phase, present facts, present some analysis,
and pose questions to the class. The intermediate presentations will be used to provide feedback from the
class participants and instructor.

The final presentation should highlight main points from each phase of the research project. An outstanding
presentation will connect the facts observed in the first three phases to link to policy advice. These
presentations will be more formal insofar as the presenter will be in the front of the class. The instructor
encourages the use of visual materials (e.g., slides) to communicate the results.

Paper Guidelines

Papers should be double-spaced using Times New Roman, size 12 fonts. Margins should be 1” on all sides.
Papers will not be graded on their length, but the content, clarity, and knowledge of facts and theory.

At the end of the semester, each student should save their paper to their P;\ drive on Grand View’s
networks.

May 6, 2010