ECON1102: Macroeconomics: Money and Finance
Individual Assignment
Assignment Question:
Examine the economic growth of three countries for the past five years. Explain how the
economic growth in these countries has changed pre- and post-Covid-19. Provide two policy
recommendations on how one of the chosen countries could improve their economy given the
onset of Covid-19.
Purpose of the Assignment:
The purpose of the assignment is to demonstrate both a theoretical and practical understanding
of macroeconomics and it draws upon several topics covered in the unit. Students will need to
present the figures on the economic growth in an appropriate manner and provide evidence to
support their arguments. Students should consider real life events and the theoretical concepts
taught in this unit in their discussions on the policy recommendations.
Assignment Details:
 The assignment is worth 30 percent of the unit.
 Due date: Tuesday 4th October by 2pm.
 Students are required to submit their assignment via LMS.
 The assignment needs to be typed using a font size of 12 and 1.5 spacing.
 Turnitin software will be used to detect plagiarism (see below). The assignment should
be an original piece of research. Students are not permitted to use their research from
previous assignments. This is deemed as self-plagiarism by the University (where strict
penalties will be applied).
 The word limit for the assignment is 2,000 words and a word count must be clearly
displayed on the cover sheet of the assignment. There is no leeway in the word limit. It
is a maximum of 2,000 words (see below for further details).
 The assignment must be referenced correctly and contain a reference list (See UWA’s
guide on referencing: https://guides.library.uwa.edu.au/referencinguwa). The
recommended referencing style is the APA style.
 Figures, headings, data tables, footnotes and the reference list can be excluded from the
word count. Students need to make this explicit in the word count declaration on the
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cover page of their assignment. In text references are part of the word count and cannot
be excluded from the count.
 Students should refer to the unit outline regarding penalties for late submission of the
assignment and for penalties for going over the word limit. Please note that this unit
will apply the ruling of a 1% penalty of the total mark allocated for the assessment for
going over the word limit.
Data:
Students should present the data on economic growth figures in an appropriate manner (e.g.
diagrams, graphs or a table). Students need to clearly identify the source of the data. Students
may which to compare these indicators with other indicators (e.g. unemployment rates,
inflation, investment levels etc.) to give an overall picture of how each country economy has
fared since the onset of Covid-19. Students may wish to consider monthly, quarterly or annual
data, though monthly data will provide a clear picture of changes pre- and post-Covid-19.
Students should generate figures and tables themselves rather than cut and paste them directly
from the data’s websites.
Potential websites where students could obtain information on economic growth and other
indicators from include:
 National Statistics Offices (e.g. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Singapore,
U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis, United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics)
 International Monetary Fund
 Trading Economics
 Reserve Bank of Australia
Where possible, students should use the latest data available to examine the changes in
economic growth since the start of the global pandemic (Covid-19). Some large statistical
houses may not have the most recent data (for example, the latest data on many of the World
Bank’s economic indicators are for 2020). Students are advised to look at the National
Statistical Office for the countries of their choice to get the most recent data.
Plagiarism:
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Turnitin software will be used to detect any plagiarism and the level of originality of the
assignment and any form of plagiarism will not be accepted and will be heavily penalised.
UWA’s Study Smarter hub provides many resources for students including the writing of
assignments and plagiarism. Please see:
https://www.uwa.edu.au/students/Support-services/Academic-support
More information about ‘Turnitin’ can be found at https://www.turnitin.com/.
Suggested Structure:
A proposed structure for the assignment is as follows – the assignment should have headings
for each section:
 Cover page which includes the word count, student’s name and student number and the
student’s tutor and tutorial time.
 Introduction – this should include the purpose of the assignment (i.e. what the
assignment sets out to do) and a brief discussion on your chosen countries. You should
include some background discussion of the countries.
 Analysis of economic growth for the past five years, pre- and post-Covid-19, – this
should include a presentation of the data and discussion on how economic growth has
changed. The discussion also needs to include reasons for the changes in economic
growth, drawing on theoretical and real life events.
 Policy recommendations – this section should contain at least two recommendations on
how the economy of the chosen country could be improved. These recommendations
should be based on the concepts taught in this unit and should be valid for the country.
 Conclusion – this should be a brief paragraph summarising what the assignment has
covered.
 Reference list.
Marking Structure:
Ten marks of the assignment are allocated to the presentation of the assignment based on:
 How well the assignment is written and structured, including whether it is succinct, is
within the word limit and uses appropriate grammar.
 How well the assignment is referenced and that claims are supported with references.
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Twenty marks are allocated to the analysis of the economic growth (and other indicators) for
the chosen countries based on:
 The discussion and analysis of economic growth for the three countries over the past
five years, pre- and post-Covid-19.
 The presentation of the data and research on economic growth.
 Validity of the policy recommendations for the chosen country.
 Evidence of research and understanding of the concepts.
Below is the rubric that will be used for marking:
Criteria Below an Expected Level
(mark of less than 50%)
At an Expected Level
(mark of 50-75%)
Above an Expected Level
(mark of more than 75%)
Presentation (10 Marks):
How well the assignment is
written and structured, including
whether it is succinct, is within
the word limit and uses
appropriate grammar.
 The assignment is written
poorly with points developed
with minimum detail.
 It contains poor grammar and
has weak presentation.
 It is too long or too short and
does not flow.
 The assignment is written at
an acceptable level and the
student has expressed the
content in their own terms.
 Contains an adequate level of
presentation and has a clear
purpose.
 The assignment is easy to
read.
 The assignment is beyond the
quality expected.
 The information is presented
in a relevant and well
expressed manner.
 It is extremely well polished,
contains no grammatical
errors and is structured
appropriately.
How well the assignment is
referenced and that claims are
supported with references.
 The student has not
referenced work correctly.
 Some content is not in the
student’s own words.
 A limited amount statistics
and claims are supported with
references.
 The student has used an
appropriate reference style
and there are limited errors in
the reference list.
 Explanations are supported
with appropriate references.
 There are minimal errors in
referencing.
 The student has explained
concepts in their own terms
and supported these claims
with references appropriately.
 There is no plagiarism or
paraphrasing in the
assignment.
Analysis of the Indicators (20 Marks):
The discussion and analysis of
economic growth for the three
countries over the past five
years, pre- and post-Covid-19.
 The assignment has limited
discussion on economic
growth for the chosen
countries.
 The student has not made
clear differences in economic
growth pre- and post-Covid 19.
 The student has not shown an
understanding of the data.
 The assignment provides
weak statistics and examples.
 The student demonstrates an
understanding of the data.
 The assignment provides
sufficient discussion of the
data and changes to the
indictors pre- and post Covid-19.
 The data has been explained
in a clear manner.
 The student has shown an
excellent understanding of
the data and changes to the
indicators pre- and post covid-19.
 The student demonstrates full
knowledge of the indicators
related to economic growth.
 The student provides very
clear explanations and
pertinent examples and
statistics in the analysis.
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Criteria Below an Expected Level
(mark of less than 50%)
At an Expected Level
(mark of 50-75%)
Above an Expected Level
(mark of more than 75%)
The presentation of the data and
research on the economic
growth.
 The data is only presented in
one form.
 The student has taken data
from only one source.
 The student has not taken
data from a valid source (e.g.
used data from Wikipedia).
 The student has only
examined economic growth,
not any other indicator.
 Figures and tables have not
been generated by the
student.
 The data is presented in a
meaningful manner.
 The data has been taken from
more than one source.
 The data is from a valid
statistical agency.
 The student has provided
some discussion of other
economic indicators.
 Figures and tables have been
generated by the student.
 The data is presented in a
variety of forms and at a
variety levels.
 The student has chosen data
from appropriate sources and
provided good discussion of
other economic indicators.
 The student has identified any
weakness or abnormalities in
the data and its source.
 Figures and tables have been
generated by the student in an
excellent manner.
Validity of the policy
recommendations.
 Limited discussion or
understanding of the policy
recommendations.
 The policy recommendations
are not suitable.
 The student has shown a
reasonable understanding of
the policy recommendations.
 The policies suggested are
valid for the country of
analysis.
 The student has provided an
excellent discussion of the
policy suggestions.
 The policy recommendations
are very intuitive for the
country.
Evidence of research and
understanding of the concepts.
 Overall, the assignment
displays minimal evidence of
research and an
understanding of the
concepts.
 The student has gone to a
large degree of effort for the
assignment.
 Student displays sound
research skills and an
understanding of the topic.
 The assignment is extremely
well researched.
 The student has shown an
excellent understanding of
core macroeconomic theory.

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