ECO3036 – International Economics

Continuous Assessment: Individual Essay (weightage: 60% of total marks)

This final assignment for this course will take the form of an essay to be submitted by the midnight on
Friday 6th January 2022.

The objective of the assignment is to provide students the opportunity to apply theories learnt
during the module to a real-world study of their choosing (via relevant newspaper articles
collected during the first semester on relevant topics of international economics) and to provide
appropriate policy advice, if relevant, to some or all actors involved.

Students will then submit all the newspaper articles (at least 10 articles) they collected, and their
analysis of the chosen topic via Canvas, identifying the theory or theories applied, and describe the
policy advice that they deem appropriate given the application of theory to the topic of their choice.

Instructions

• Students should collect newspaper articles of current relevance with regards to
international economics and trade. Students then need chose an article (or related
articles) from the ones they’ve collected and apply the theoretical learning from the
module to that specific situation.
• Ultimately, the application of theory to the real world should allow students to appreciate the
efficacy of the theory more fully, and/or challenge the legitimacy of the theory in the modern
world. Ultimately, students should provide some policy advice, if relevant, on the back of
their application of theory to this real-world scenario.
• As such, students have freedom to select a topic of their choice. The key element of the
assignment is that theory is applied to the real world, which results in some form of policy
advice to any or all of the economic actors involved. As such, there is no ‘correct’ answer for
application of the theory to any particular situation. Students should therefore seek to display
a sense of originality and independence of thought in their critical analysis.
• The report should be no longer than 1,000 words (excluding bibliography).

• Student essays must be concise. The word limit (which excludes the bibliography and/or any
appendices) is set intentionally low. Essays must be professionally word-processed and fully
referenced throughout. If students require guidance concerning the latter, it is suggested that
they follow the Harvard-style source citation method. Plagiarism, along with any other
academic offence, will be punished according to the university’s standard procedures, as
outlined in the Student Handbook and on the university website.

• Adequate essays will demonstrate sufficiently deep understanding of the economic
theory/theories introduced in the module. Good essays will incorporate application of a more
thorough knowledge of the theory and evidence of the use of sources from inside and outside
of the module. Excellent essays will exhibit ability to go beyond the syllabus, e.g., by
engaging with relevant academic research, which may allow and help facilitate the display of
independence of thought and critical judgement.


Assessment Method

Essays shall be assessed according to the following components:

1. Identification of relevant real-world study: Ability to clearly identify a recent real-world
study that is relevant to the topic of international trade and economics. Selection of an
appropriate article is an element of assessment and therefore the lecturer will not provide
feedback to any student on the appropriateness of their chosen article(s).
2. Application of the course theory: Ability to draw explicitly on relevant concepts and theory
from the module to describe and analyse the dynamics of the chosen article(s).
3. Preparation of appropriate policy advice: Ability to propose effective and informed policy
advice (to one or more parties in the case study) based upon your application of theory.
4. Communication of analysis: Ability to structure your critical analysis, and your ultimate
policy advice, into an effective and complete package of communication.
5. Newspaper articles: Students should attach at least 10 news paper articles, collected on a
weekly (or bi-weekly) basis throughout the 1st semester. These articles should be related to
international economics or trade.
Once more, as stated above, grades will be assigned holistically, and all the listed components will be
considered when determining the final grade. Failure to adequately meet the expectations of any one
area will result in reduced marks.

Submission Details

The final report should be submitted via Canvas by the submission deadline (unless otherwise
advised).