Part A:
Data collection, presentation and analysis
Q1. Go to the following webpage from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/trade-investment/australias-trade-in-goods-and-services/Pages/australias-trade-in-goods-and-services-2016.aspx
Identify and present in a Table the countries that have ranked the 6th, 7th, 8th
, 9th
and 10th
in terms of bilateral trade with Australia in 2014. What are the ranking of the previous countries in terms of Australia’s top exports destination in 2015? Could you list in a clearly marked Table the top ten exports from Australia as of 2016?
[4 + 2 + 4 = 10]
Q2. Visit FRED’s website (https://fred.stlouisfed.org) find and collect the data and graphs the following information for the time period 2000-2015 for Australia, New Zealand, India and Germany for the following: (i) GDP (2010 U.S. Dollars, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted); (ii) total central government debt, total (% of GDP, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted); (iii) Imports: Value Goods (Percent of GDP, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted); and (iv) Government Final Consumption (nominal, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted.
Present the data in tables. You are free to decide how many tables to use, and which variables/countries to include in each table. Each table must be numbered and have a clear heading/title indicating its contents, and a reference for the source of the data under the table.
Put in different figures the corresponding graph that FRED produces for each country (Australia, New Zealand, India and Germany) and each of the variables you have collected data (GDP; total central government debt; Imports: Value Goods and Government Final Consumption).
Using the previous figures describing GDP and government final consumption, analyse and explain any general relationship you see between in the figures for each of the countries. On the basis of the data collected, analyse any similarities and differences in the performance of economies. (Word limit: 300 words)
[4 + 6 + 8 = 18]
Q3. Visit FRED’s website (https://fred.stlouisfed.org) and download and plot information for Australia. In particular plot the annual inflation rate using consumer prices (Not Seasonally Adjusted) and unemployment rate (Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted), corresponding to Australians aged 15 and over for the period 1980-2015. Do you see any relationship between unemployment rate and inflation rate? (Word limit: 200 words)
[10 + 7 = 17]
Part B: Short Answer Questions
Q4. Starting from long-run equilibrium, use the basic (static) aggregate demand and aggregate supply diagram to show what happens in both the long run and the short run when there is a decrease in government expenditure. (Word limit: 300 words)