Your work will be marked anonymously: Markers will not be aware of which student has written the work that is being marked. Provisional grades will be reviewed by an Internal Moderator.

Aims

The overall aim of this report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the economic performance of both the UK and East Midland (East Midland-Nottinghamshire-Leicestershire) using national and local level data and economic theories.

Wherever relevant, you must

• Apply macroeconomic theories and tools in the analysis of the data. 
• Use properly labelled tables, line graphs and any other graphical illustrations with accompanying commentary

Methods

While working on this topic, you will

• collect data on relevant economic variables
• analyse the data collected.
• give a future outlook analysis

Structure of the report

The structure should be as follows:

• Introduction: You must provide an introduction to your report.  Your introduction must state your overall aims and say how you intend to meet the aims of the report.

• Evaluation of the economic performance of UK: In this section, assess the economic performance of the United Kingdom spanning the years 2005 to 2023/24. Analyse key economic indicators such as the

(i)            GDP growth rate,

(ii)          unemployment rate,

(iii)         inflation rate,

(iv)         exchange rate, and

(v)          exports growth.

Utilise line graphs for each variable to evaluate performance during significant periods, including the recession (2008-2010), the Eurozone crisis (2010-2012), the Brexit referendum (2014-2017), and the Covid-19 and post pandemic period (2020 – 2023/24). Ensure that you not only describe the data presented but also apply your macroeconomic knowledge to thoroughly analyse the underlying causes of these events and their impact on the economy.

Analyse how these events affected the Aggregate Demand-Aggregate Supply (AD-AS) framework and evaluate the fiscal and monetary policies enacted during these times. Additionally, explore the economic theories that influenced these policy decisions to provide a deeper understanding of the rationale behind them.

Source of data: World Bank (World Development Indicators), OECD database, Office for National Statistics and Fame (Financial Analysis made easy). You will have the opportunity to work with all these databases during seminars.

AVOID citing Wikipedia, Investopedia, blogs without author’s name and the like.

• Evaluation of the economic performance of East Midland

In this section, conduct a critical assessment of the regional economy of East Midland, comparing it to the national (UK) averages. The focus here will be on the economic performance of the entire UK, this analysis will specifically involve available relevant cross-sectional or time series data. Ensure alignment with class and guest presentation materials, addressing, but not limited to, the following aspects:

a) Provide a brief introduction to the geographies of EM and explain why it is well-known.

b) Perform a comparative analysis of economic growth, weekly earnings, and unemployment rates in EM against both regional and the national level.

c) Examine the productivity and industry structure of East Midland, emphasising differences in the manufacturing sector compared to the national level.

d) How could devolving power to local authorities benefit the East Midlands region?

• Conclusion:

Your report must include a conclusion where you briefly summarise your overall findings in relation to the specified aims. If there are any weaknesses or limitations in your report, explicitly identify and explain them. Additionally, providing a future outlook analysis for both the local and national economies based on your findings will earn you extra marks. Consider offering insights into potential developments or challenges that may arise, enhancing the overall comprehensiveness of your conclusion.

References and Appendix: References to sources must be provided using the Harvard method in the text of the report and all sources should be fully identified in a references section at the end of the report. I would expect references to all books, journal articles, academic working papers and websites you have used. Tables in the Appendix should be clearly labelled and accurately referenced in the report.

Assessment Content

This piece of coursework is worth 50% of the module and tests learning objective 1 of the module:

Identify, present and explain macroeconomic statistics and discuss the accuracy of economic analysis/ appropriateness of policy response in finance and economics news articles and economic reports. [Learning Objective: 2]