Economics 300
Global Economic Issues

Course Description:

Instruction and Preparation

Definitions of student work:

a) Class participation

Students are expected to attend all lectures and take part in class and informal assignment.

b) The midterm exam

This will be an in-class (closed-book) exam consisting of multiple choice and short essay exam.

b) Company Research Project  

The research work which will contribute towards your final grade consists of three different gradable components. The focus of the research will be to investigate how a large transnational corporation (TNC) has globalized. You will have to find out where it has globalized to, why it has globalized, when it has globalized and how. The overarching goal is to enable you to conduct and write-up a significant piece of independent research. The aim is also to help you see how you can bring together insights from lectures and already existing academic writing with primary research conducted by yourself on a large corporation you are especially interested in.

The research report itself should be about 10 pages. It should be double-spaced, in 12 point characters in the 'Times New Roman' font, and should include at least one map. The report must use examples of wider trends of which the particular business you are investigating is part. You should use the MLA (FIND and MSUM site to link to MLA)  reference system.

Research reports should be your own work and must not be copied or otherwise plagiarized from another source whether it be an internet site or another student.

c) Country Research Project 

This paper will give you a chance to explore regions that were not covered in depth in this class.  You will need to describe where your assigned country is located, its geography, topography, and etc.  You should discuss the country's demographic and economic trends, its population and population composition (such as age distribution), life expectancy, growth of the population, education, average income, and other factor so that you may give the reader a good picture of the standard of living of this country.

Provide a brief history of your country as I have done in my classroom presentations.  Highlight so of the important events that have shaped the country's standard of living.

Although the class is an economics class, we know that an economy is high dependent on the government.  Provide information on the current form of government. 

We need a complete description of the country's economics model.  Describe the economic development model your nation has used as well as its current model.  For example, has the country employed Import Substitution, Export Promotion, Market Oriented, or etc.  Be sure to provide your own evaluation of the successes and failures and, as always, provide evidence of your opinions.

As you explain the economic model, be sure to make reference to any international institutions, exchange rate systems, monetary, fiscal, and international trade policies followed.

If you have a documented and approved university related reason for missing an exam, please contact me and an alternative time may be scheduled. 

Any student in the course who has a disability that may prevent him/her from fully demonstrating his/her abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible so we can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation.

Any student who will miss a class in which an assignment is due or a test is to be taken due to the observance of religious holiday must notify me at least one week prior to the date of the class missed.