Assignments – MACRO FINANCES

For the 40% of the total course grade students are required to submit two
home assignments until the last week of the spring semester.
The assignment file(s) should be uploaded in Moodle until: 20th May 2022
Students holding presentations in any of the lectures are only expected to
submit one home assignment.

Assignment 1
Describe your home country’s/an arbitrary EU country’s public debt dynamics
between 2005-2021. Compare the debt-to-GDP ratio of the selected country to
that of the EU27 average/USA. Use your own Excel diagrams to illustrate your
solution. (Not simply tables with descriptive statistics.) Describe the underlying
factors of the change in the debt-to-GDP ratio (e.g. average interest rate on
debt, primary balance, GDP growth, credit rating, CDS spreads etc.)
Minimum length: 5 pages with references and diagrams. (Font size: max. 12,
line spacing: max. 1.5)
Assignment 2
Describe your home country’s/an arbitrary EU country’s public expenditure
structure in a functional breakdown between 2015-2020. Compare the
spending structure with that of OECD/EU countries. Use your own Excel
diagrams to illustrate your solution. (Not simply tables with descriptive
statistics.) In your analysis pay special attention to social expenditure and its
components. Highlight the most important changes in the structure of
spending and its background.
Minimum length: 5 pages with references and diagrams. (Font size: max. 12,
line spacing: max. 1.5)
Please use correct in-text and bibliography referencing also in the case of data
downloads.
If two identical assignments will be submitted in either of the above categories
both will be refused.