BA 787 Individual Term Paper Directions

The research paper in BA 787 involves comparing and contrasting the economic
conditions of two countries. The pairs of countries have been carefully chosen to
illustrate wide ranges in economic success stories.

Directions for choosing pairs of countries:

 A student cannot choose the same pair of countries as another student. 
o Choices are assigned on a first come, first served basis.
o The instructor reserves the right to assign countries to a student.
 A student can choose a pair of countries not listed below – if given explicit
 permission from the instructor. 
o Students must verify their chosen pair of countries with the instructor
before starting on the research paper.
 Students must email the instructor his top two choices by first day of class. 

Pairs of countries to choose from:

 Canada & Mexico 
 Sweden & Cuba 
 India & China 
 U.S & Russia 
 Germany & Zimbabwe 
 Japan & Spain 
 South Korea & Ethiopia 
 Brazil & Greece 
 Australia & South Africa 
 Nepal & Iran 
 Saudi Arabia & Kenya
 Switzerland & Ukraine 
 Hong Kong & Egypt
 Morocco & Spain
 Jamaica and Haiti


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BA 787 Paper Directions

Basic formatting directions and guidelines:

Term paper grades will be partly determined by formatting and visual organization.
Do not deviate from this list:

 Type in a single standard font (Times or Arial) and 12 point font size. 
 Use 1-inch margins and indent paragraphs by 0.5 inch. 
 The paper must be double-spaced. 

 Do not write in bulleted lists (like this list). 
 Type in paragraph form and use complete sentences. 

  Compile and submit the final paper in 1 file in Microsoft Word. 
 In addition to the reference page(s), cite references within the paragraph using
APA format (or another professional-level format). 

 The term paper directions contain many questions to consider when reading and
writing about the pair of countries. Some questions may not apply to certain
countries. Use the questions as a guide to writing the body of the paper. Do not
rewrite the questions followed by answers. The paper should be in a paragraph
and essay format. 

 Wikipedia and Investopedia are unacceptable sources for information. Students
may view these websites for their personal use, but the information provided in
your paper must come from reliable sources. 

Length of the paper:

 The minimum required length of the body of the paper is 8-12 pages including
the introduction and conclusion sections but excluding cover page, table of
 content page, tables, charts, graphs and reference section.

Each paper must include:

 At least 1 graph 
 At least 1 table 
  At least 1 chart 


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BA 787 Paper Directions

Paper Layout:

All 6 parts below are required and each should start on a separate page.

1. Cover Page (1 page)

o This needs to contain a title for the your paper, the course name and number,
the date, and your name.

2. Table of Contents Page (1 page)

o This should list the page numbers for the introduction, sections in the body of the
paper, conclusion, and the reference page(s).

3. Introduction (1-2 pages)

o Background of countries
 This is a place where you discussed what the paper is all about. It is a selling point.

4. Body of Paper (6-8 pages)

o Economic History
o Current Economic Structure
o International Trade

5. Conclusion (1-2 pages)

o Future outlook
o Policy recommendations

6. Reference Page (1+ pages)

o You must provide full and complete citations of all sources used.
o You may use any professional-level citation method, but must correctly use the
same style for each reference and cite within the text. APA is preferred.
 Note: Only providing a URL is not an acceptable form of a citation.

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 BA 787 Paper Directions

Paper Format:

I. Introduction (1 to 2 pages):
 Summarize and highlight the current international and economic conditions of
each country. 

II. Body of Paper (6-8):

 Papers must address the broad categories of: Economic History, Current
 Economic Structure, and International Trade. 
 The following is an exhaustive list of questions to help guide students’ research
 for each country. 
 Students do not have to address every question. In addition, students must write
 in paragraph form and not in bulleted lists. 
 The body of the paper should not be direct answers to the list of questions. The writing
in the paper should contain a natural flow from topic to topic. 

Economic History:
 Discuss any important historic events that lead the country’s economy to where it
 is today. 
 Was the country a colony as some point? Did this play a role in its economic
development? 

Current Economic Structure:

  Is the economy more capitalistic, more centrally planned, or in between? 
 What have been the economic conditions in the last 5-20 years? What has been
the inflation rate, unemployment rate, GDP growth rate? 
  What is the current population, GDP, and GDP per capita? 
 What are the expected future growth rates in population, GDP, and GDP per
capita? 
 Is government spending a large percentage of GDP? 
 Does the government have a large national debt as a percentage of GDP? 
 What are the overall tax rates in the country? 
  What are the tax rates on investment and savings? 
 Does the government provide national healthcare? What is the overall quality of
healthcare in the country? How is healthcare paid for? 
 Does the government actively impose price controls (price ceilings and floors)? 
 Does the country have a central banking system? Does it do a good job? 
 How is the country’s stock exchange performing? 
  How corrupt are the local, regional, and national governments? 
 Look at measures of standards of living, or well-being, besides real GDP per
capita: life expectancy, infant mortality rate, literacy rate, quality of public
education, availability/ quality of colleges, % of high school graduates, % of
population in poverty, etc. 

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 BA 787 Paper Directions

International Trade:
 Which goods and services does the country have an absolute advantage? 
 Which goods and services does the country have a comparative advantage? 
  What are the major imports to, and exports from, the country? 
 What are top 5-10 trading partners as measure by dollar value of imports and
exports? 
 Does the country have a trade deficit or a trade surplus? 
 Does the country have a free trade zone? If so, with which countries? 
  Does the country have a trade embargo on any countries? If so, why? 
 Are there tariffs, quotas, voluntary export restraints (VER), and other types of
 trade restrictions on certain goods and services? 
 Are there specific industries, or individual firms, that the government protects with
restrictive trade policies? 
  Are there special taxes (or subsidies) on foreign investment? 
 Does the country have a floating exchange rate, a fixed exchange rate, or a
 pegged exchange rate? 
 Does the country’s central bank target (or attempt to manipulate) the exchange
rate? 
  What is the country’s overall immigration policy? 
 Do U.S. and other foreign companies operate inside of the country? If so, do
these firms contribute to the country’s exports? 

Topics to Ignore:
  Do not provide information on sociology, geography, random historic facts, etc. 
 Unless it is related to economics and international trade do not discuss: weather,
geographical aspects, average temperatures, size of country (sq miles), religion,
cultural aspects, languages spoken, national symbols, insignia, and anthems. 


III. Conclusion (1-2 pages):
  What is the future 5-15 year outlook for each country? 
 What are your policy recommendations for improving each economy and helping
promote long-run economic growth? 

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