econ paper due monday dec 10 , 12 pm eastern time

ECON 390 - International Economics Paper Assignment

1 Overview

The purpose of this paper is to apply the models we discuss in this class to current events, as well as apply and convey economic reasoning in non-technical terms. Both these skills are important outside the classroom. To paraphrase Alfred Marshall, if you cannot convert the mathematics [models] into plain English, start over.

One never truly knows a subject until s/he must write about it. In this paper, you are to write as though your audience is intelligent but generally ignorant of economics. Therefore, you should seek to avoid using overly technical terms or jargon unfamiliar to the common person. If you must use jargon, be sure to define the term you are using.

Papers are due no later than 10 December by midnight. For every calendar day after 10 December, you will lose half a grade. You may turn in the paper whenever you want. You may give me drafts ahead of the deadline for my feedback, but whatever is the latest version on Blackboard will be what is graded.

2 Task

You will choose one of the following options and write a short essay or briefing paper that is focused, concise, and well-written.

• Choose a country other than the United States and write a briefing paper for the United States Trade Representative that discusses the major trade issues facing this country.

• Choose a trade issue of importance to the United States and write a briefing paper for the United States Trade Representative that discusses this issue and makes a policy recommendation.

• Choose a country other than the United States and write a briefing paper for the Secretary of the United States Treasury that discusses the major international finance issues facing this country—such as exchange rate policy, capital flows, the current account and/or other macroeconomic concerns.

• Write a briefing paper for the Secretary of the United States Treasury that discusses the major macroe- conomic concerns that s/he and the President should discuss with the other G8 countries at the Annual Summit meeting. Make policy recommendations where appropriate.

When writing your paper, keep your audience in mind: they are highly intelligent people, but may not know economics. Furthermore, they are busy: imagine your have 30 seconds to state your case and make your main point as concisely as your can in your opening paragraph. The remainder of your paper should be the rationale for your argument.

Be sure to properly cite any outside information you use (including the textbook!). Your citations should be in proper APA format.

Finally, your argument need not be strictly economic, although it should be primarily economic (you are economists, after all). If you believe there to be political or other concerns that need to be discussed, bring them up!

3 Format

Your paper should be 5-10 pages, double-spaced (including any graphs you may wish to add, but excluding citations), 12pt font, 1” margins, and Times New Roman font. Citations should be in proper APA format.

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Your paper should look professional, not something that was written last minute or on a phone. Spelling, grammar, and style will be important. If I receive a paper that looks like it was written on a phone, I will ask for resubmission with a grade penalty.

Papers are to be submitted on Blackboard. I will not accept hard copies. This is more for your benefit than mine; I tend to lose things and if it is in Blackboard, I always know where to find it.

4 Grading

Your paper will be graded on the strength of the argument, your correct application of models to contempo- rary problems, your ability to translate complex ideas into understandable arguments, and the professionalism and style of the paper. Papers not properly formatted will automatically lose 15 points (meaning the highest grade you can get is a B).

4.1 Criteria

What follows is generally how I will be grading the paper: Formatting Presentation Analysis

A Times New Roman, 12pt, 1” margin, double-spaced

Presentation of argument is clear, logical chain of events and analysis

Shows competency of interna- tional trade models and applica- tion to real-world events. Pol- icy recommendations are appro- priate.

B Some formatting issues Presentation of argument is generally clear, although the thought process is difficult to fol- low at times

Generally correctly applies mod- els, although there may be a few errors of fact or logic. Policy rec- ommendations are mostly appro- priate.

C Major formatting issues Presentation of argument is somewhat clear, although the thought process is difficult to fol- low

Mostly applies models correctly, but substantial mistakes are made. Policy recommendations are somewhat appropriate.

F Major formatting issues Presentation of argument is inco- herent

Incorrectly applies the models. Policy recommendations are in- appropriate/unsupported.

5 Keys to Success

This paper assignment is not something that can be started the weekend before it is due. It takes time to take a complex idea and make it simple to understand and yet informative. You will probably need to go through several drafts.

I heartily encourage you to work with each other on this assignment, but each person must turn in an individual and unique paper. If you do work with each other, please be sure to thank the person(s) in your paper (a footnote will be fine).

I am also a resource you should utilize for this assignment. I am happy to provide feedback or other resources for this paper.

GMU has a writing center that can be a valuable place for proofreading as well as to test your explanation. If the writing center tutor can understand your argument, then you have done your job!

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