GeoData

For this exercise we will  learn to use GEOFRED (Links to an external site.) : the GEOGRAPHICAL ECONOMIC DATA at FRED. You can watch this  tutorial (Links to an external site.)  to feel more comfortable. GEOFRED can do some amazing things- at the county, and State level for the USA but for this exercise we will compare data across Countries (and time). 

Part 1: GEOFRED:10 points

· L earn to use GEOFREDLinks to an external site. : the GEOGRAPHICAL ECONOMIC DATA at FRED. You can watch this  tutorialLinks to an external site.  to feel more comfortable. GEOFRED can do some amazing things- at the county, and State level for the USA but for this exercise we will compare data across Countries: USA and 1 other country of your choice

· Go to  GEOFRED and choose Build a New MAP. (Links to an external site.)  Choose any variable from the following list to GEOPLOT: (for USA and 1 other country of your choice)

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· Bank Capital to Total Assets

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· Bank Credit to Bank  Deposits

· Bank Deposits to GDP

· Financial System Deposits to GDP

· Loans from Non_resident Banks, Net to GDP

· or a MONEY&BANKING variable of your choice

· Embed the picture in the area provided.  How to embed in Canvas directions are here (Links to an external site.) .

Part 2: Discussion post 15 points by Friday

· Why did you choose the variable you did?

· Interpret your (binary) data:  What does the map say about USA and 1 other country of your choice - in regards to the variable you chose. 

· How does the Central Banking System Compare between USA and 1 other country of your choice?

· look up and link to a resource on the central Banking System of both countries:

· is the Central Banking system indepenant of the Government?

· What is the current monetary policy of these two countries: Link to the articles (one per country) you looked up 

· interest rate focus? expansionary/contractionary?

· Are there any areas of concern or interest to you? Why? 

Part 3: Peer Post 5 points by Sun 

· Reply to one of your classmates and extend the discussion. See if you can help extend their understanding or clear the confusion. You must:

· Compliment your peer on their data presentation.

· Identify and analyze position taken by your peer.

· Is your peer correct in their analysis of the monetary policy? 

· Link to an article that can help support their research or change their opinion.

· Identify any questions that are left unanswered or need more information.

· A reply that simply agrees or likes the original post will not be considered for full credit .

PEER POST,please reply it as the requirements

Above are two embedded images of the bank-deposit-to-GDP variable applied to the U.S. and Ireland. I chose this variable because I find it's potential implications quite interesting, specifically regarding two questions: how are bank deposits and GDP related; how does this ratio affect the economy as a whole? 

Both countries have bank-deposit-to-GDP ratios around 75%, which is relatively high compared to other countries in the world, especially impoverished ones. In general, wealthy countries have high bank-deposit-to-GDP ratios and poor countries have low bank-deposit-to-GDP ratios, implying some connection between the two. It seems that having a high bank-deposit-to-GDP is an indicator of a successful economy, to some degree. 

Ireland's central bank is the Central Bank of Ireland, a national branch of the ESCB. As such, Ireland's central bank is ran by the European Central Bank very similar to the Fed, but with a few key operational differences: first, ECB operations are simultaneously executed at all National Central Banks; second, hundreds of European banks participate in the ECB’s weekly auctions; third, different countries are permitted different options for collateral against refinancing operations. Additionally, the ECB is more focused on tightly controlling interest rates in the short term, with its main focus being to keep prices stable. As a result, the ECB fluctuates between expansionary and contractionary policies, but will contract quite often to mitigate inflation. Like the Fed, however, the ECB is incredibly independent of government influence. The ECB's price-based focus is very interesting to me, as it is likely the result of the difficulties that surround combining so many distinct and largely independent economies.

Below are linked two articles that help explain the two central banks:

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/mopo/html/index.en.html (Links to an external site.)

https://www.federalreserve.gov/