About
Country Economy is an Assignment where you unpack the term economy and compare the economies of three countries.
Estimated Time
An estimated 90 minutes is needed to complete this activity.
What is Economy?
Typically, when we hear “economy” we think of jobs and the stock market. While these terms are relevant, they only scratch the surface of what economy is. Economy are the micro-level transactions between individuals and firms, and the macro-levels activities and actions of the market and government. As such, economy includes the entries dealing with the size, development, and management of productive resources, i.e., land, labor, and capital. Below is a list of 35 features that help define, measure, and explain an economy:
- Economic overview
- GDP real growth rate
- Inflation rate (consumer prices)
- Credit ratings
- GDP (purchasing power parity) – real
- GDP (official exchange rate)
- GDP – per capita (PPP)
- Gross national saving
- GDP – composition, by sector of origin
- GDP – composition, by end use
- Ease of Doing Business Index scores
- Agriculture – products
- Industries
- Industrial production growth rate
- Labor force
- Labor force – by occupation
- Unemployment rate
- Population below poverty line
- Household income or consumption by percentage share
- Budget
- Taxes and other revenues
- Budget surplus or deficit
- Public debt
- Fiscal year
- Current account balance
- Exports
- Exports – partners
- Exports – commodities
- Imports
- Imports – commodities
- Imports – partners
- Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
- Debt – external
- Exchange rates
Why is economy important in Comparative Politics?
Economy is important to comparative politics for at least two reasons.
First, the economy is intertwined with government and political geography. What micro-transactions occurs between individuals and firms within a country depend on its raw materials, natural resources, and baseline demand for things like water, food, and shelter. The macro-level activities of the market and government can promote or inhibit economic activities in some sectors compared to others.
For example, if a country is rich in a natural resource, say oil, then it is likely to adopt public policies that support the extraction, refinement, and distribution of oil and its derivative products, like user-end oils and fuels. Countries with an absence of this same natural resource will adopt public policies, such as strategic investments and trade agreements with oil-producing countries to ensure its economy has the fuel it needs to power its residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.
Second, the economy offers comparativists another dimension to work with. If we compared countries by just looking at government, or just looking at geography, we can learn a lot, but these dimensions have their limits. However, the economy provides another, and arguably more complex, dimension by which to compare countries. When trying to explain why some countries “succeed” and other countries “fail”, looking to the current state of both countries’ economies can help us explain these outcomes.
Instructions
Step 1: Select two countries, which are different from the prior “Government” and “Political Geography” assignments, to learn about their “Economy”
- Go to Country SummariesLinks to an external site.
- Select two new and different countries that you want to learn more about
Step 2: Review the One Page Summary for the United StatesLinks to an external site.
Step 3: Explain each of the following comparisons in 3 or more sentences
- Compare economy of country 1 to the United States
- Compare economy of country 2 to the United States
- Compare economy of country 1 to country 2
Step 4: Make a list of the six different countries you have compared so far
- At this point, your list should have 6 countries total: 2 from Government, 2 from Political Geography, and 2 from this Economy assignment