Growth, Development and the Macroeconomy Custom Essay

ASSIGNMENT TOPIC: GROWTH ECONOMICS
Your task is to write a short research paper where you have to make a comparative analysis between
long run growths in Australia and any one or more countries in the long run. Any time period
covering at least thirty years on annual basis is sufficient (more is better) and you can go back as far
back in history as you want. In your text, identify which variables have the most influence on long run
growth and assess any possible reasons for this.
This is a research project. I expect it to take the appearance of an academic paper and be structured as
follows:
– Introduction
Mention the main objectives of this research and reasons you choose these countries to
compare. You may cite any relevant literature to explain the importance of your research.
– Theory/Model (Short section)
Very short description on the theories or models those are relevant for the research objective
above.
TIP: DO NOT SPEND MANY WORDS IN THIS SECTION. THIS COMES DIRECTLY FROM
YOUR TEXT BOOK. YOU CAN ALWAYS REFER TO THAT WHEN NEEDED.
– Empirical Findings (Main section)
TIPS on writing this section: please note these are guidelines only, you don’t have to
follow them blindly. Use your own judgement.
1. Remember this analysis is on long run growth. Try to avoid discussions on short-run
factors.
2. Download indicators of long run growth on annual basis for Australia and other country
or countries. You can use any economic databases to download data and consult the
library if you face any difficulty. Some common examples would be:
a) ABS (http://www.abs.gov.au/),
b) US Bureau of Economic Analysis (http://www.bea.gov/)
c) Penn Tables (http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt70/pwt70_form.php),
d) World Bank database (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator)
e) OECD i-Library (http://stats.oecd.org/)
f) Angus Maddison homepage (http://www.ggdc.net/MADDISON/oriindex.htm)
3. If you are interested to calculate TFP, follow the standard procedure of growth
accounting.
4. Using Microsoft Excel, try to construct and plot graphs on long run growth indicators.
Consider scaling issues while plotting the graphs in excel.
5. You can use diagrams, charts, tables or empirical regression techniques to explain your
findings.
? DO NOT copy and paste diagrams or tables directly from other sources. It is
expected that you use your own collected data to construct them.
6. The readers might find your assignment useful to understand the following questions:
a) How does Australian growth compare to this/these countries in this period?
b) What explains the ups and downs in the series (world wars, recessions, oil shocks
etc.)?
c) Is it possible to relate these findings to any of the theories we have learnt in this
course?
d) Does any other research support (or refute) these findings? Page 2 of 2
e) What are the future policy implications for Australia and the other country?
– Conclusions (may be in one short paragraph)
Summarise your findings and future policy implications
– References
Do not forget to refer to the data sources and any other references you have used to write this
short paper.
Apart from your text book, read these articles to have a better idea about how to write an academic
paper. The papers are also relevant to the analysis you will be doing:
1. Banerjee, R. and S. S. Roy (2014), “Human Capital, Technological Progress and Trade: What
explains India’s long run growth?”, Journal of Asian Economics.
2. Banerjee, R. (2012), “Population growth and Endogenous Technological Change: Australian
Economic Growth in the Long Run”, Economic Record, 88, pp. 214-228.
3. Barro, R (1999), “Notes on Growth Accounting”, Journal of Economic Growth’, 4, pp. 119-
137. – used in week 5 lecture
4. Bosworth, B. P. and S. M. Collins (2003), “The empirics of Growth: and update”, Brookings
Papers on Economic Activity, 2, pp. 113-179. – used in week 5 lecture
5. McLean, I.W. (2004), ‘Australian Economic Growth in Historical Perspective*’, Economic
Record, 80(250), 330-345.
6. Broadberry, S. (2003), ‘Relative per Capita Income Levels in the United Kingdom and the
United States since 1870: Reconciling Time-Series Projections and Direct-Benchmark
Estimates’, The Journal of Economic History, 63(03), 852-863.
7. Greasley, D. and Oxley, L. (1998), ‘A Tale of Two Dominions: Comparing the
Macroeconomic Records of Australia and Canada since 1870’, The Economic History Review,
51(2), 294-318.
The assignment must be clearly written; any diagrams, charts, tables etc must be clearly labelled and
explained in your text and any equations defined and explained. The quality of your argument, the
clarity with which you explain and illustrate the relevant concepts and the way in which you relate
theory to the available empirical evidence is very important here.