Business and Law
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/23
Assessment Brief
Submission and feedback dates
Submission deadline:
Marks and Feedback due on: (please note, deadline for returning marking, includes the university shut down over Easter and the five-day late submission window)
N.B. all times are 24-hour clock, current local time (at time of submission) in the UK
Submission details
Module title and code: Applied Economics – UMED94-15-3
Component and type: Component B
Assessment title: Critically review the available evidence of both the drivers and impact of regional FDI. Use this knowledge to suggest policies you believe the West of England Combined Authority should follow in relation to FDI and explain why.
Assessment weighting: 50% of total module mark
Size or length of assessment: 2000 maximum word count
Module learning outcomes assessed by this task:
1. The identification, interpretation and Assessment of a range of economic theories and their applicability to ‘real world’ problems.
2. Interpretation and synthesis of macroeconomic data and the influences and ideologies underpinning the development of macroeconomic theory.
3. Assessment of the success or failure of macroeconomic policy packages.
4. Critical analysis of the relationship between policy and regulation, and actors within a market economy
Completing your assessment
What am I required to do on this assessment?
You are part of a team reviewing the merits of FDI as a tool to drive economic development. As such, you have been asked to write a short report on the drivers of FDI and its potential impacts on a regional economy, using the West of England as a case study area. As such, you are required to apply theoretical knowledge and empirical evidence to make coherent recommendations as to which policies the West of England Combined Authority should pursue in relation to FDI.
In your written assignment, you need to:
1. Set the question within a theoretical context. As such you should critically evaluate the competing theories of FDI and assess their strengths and weaknesses in relation to understanding patterns of regional FDI.
2. Discuss the potential impacts of FDI on regional economies. In this section you may wish to focus on both the positive and negative impacts, primarily focussing on the host economy (i.e., West of England). However, FDI also has effects on the home country (the country from which the FDI originated), so it may also be appropriate to spend some time discussing the potential effects on the home countries.
3. The final section should suggest some policies that the West of England Combined Authority may wish to implement in relation to attracting/restricting FDI to the region. The policies you choose to pursue should follow on from your assessment of the potential impacts.
For an indication of how much to write in relation to these sections of your assignment, please read the marking criteria.
Where should I start?
The materials for this assessment are mainly covered in the first and second block of teaching materials – where we cover the core concepts for FDI and look at the WoE economy. There are some things I would expect you to have read in the reading list:
• The first part of the assignment is supported by Densia (2010), Kurtishi-Katsrati (2013) and Knoerich (2018)
• For the second part of the assignment I would expect you to start with Lipsey (2004)
• The third section is about applying ideas in the first two sections to the specific West of England context
What do I need to do to pass?
Marking Criteria (weight in in brackets)
• The submission is clearly and concisely written in an appropriate style with appropriate Harvard referencing (for a third year UG student) and is within the word limit (10%)
• Critical Assessment of different theories and empirical studies relating to the regional drivers of foreign direct investment (30%)
• Critical Assessment of different theories and empirical studies on the impact of regional foreign direct investment – (30%)
• Ability to analyse the evidence in order to suggest suitable economic development policies for the West of England region – (30%)
How do I achieve high marks in this assessment?
In terms of general scholarship the ranking of scholarship and independent work follows this order (for a level 3 assessment)
• Reliance on materials covered in lectures alone (assuming you have correctly interpreted the material) relates to a mark in the 40s
• Building on materials that push your understanding to include the materials on the reading list pushes you into the 60s (again assuming correct interpretation and an element of critical Assessment/appropriate organisation)
• Demonstrating that you have independently sought out materials and ideas beyond the confines of the module learning materials get you into the 70s (assuming correct interpretation and critical Assessment of those materials)
How does the learning and teaching relate to the assessment?
• Block 1 specifically covers the central issues of economic growth, managing the economy, FDI and regional economic development.
• Block 2 brings in a guest presented from the West of England combined authority to provide more context on the local economy and regional economic development in general
What additional resources may help me complete this assessment?
• FAQs and other resources on your Blackboard site
• Specific UWE library study skills pages
• Office hours, opportunities for formative feedback
What do I do if I am concerned about completing this assessment?
UWE Bristol offer a range of Assessment Support Options that you can explore through this link, and both Academic Support and Wellbeing Support are available.
For further information, please see the Academic Survival Guide.
How do I avoid an Assessment Offence on this module? 2
Use the support above if you feel unable to submit your own work for this module.
Use the support above if you feel unable to submit your own work for this module.
The form of Assessment Offence you are most at risk of committing on this kind of assessment is plagiarism – from the lack of care in referring to ideas that you have got from your reading. It is important to maintain good notes of what you read and to note down the specific location (i.e., page number) of any idea to which you refer in your text. Be careful not to copy and paste long blocks of text.
Marks and Feedback
Your assessment will be marked according to the following marking criteria listed above.
You can use these to evaluate your own work before you submit.
1. In line with UWE Bristol’s Assessment Content Limit Policy (formerly the Word Count Policy), word count includes all text, including (but not limited to): the main body of text (including headings), all citations (both in and out of brackets), text boxes, tables and graphs, figures and diagrams, quotes, lists.
2. UWE Bristol’s UWE’s Assessment Offences Policy requires that you submit work that is entirely your own and reflects your own learning, so it is important to:
• Ensure you reference all sources used, using the UWE Harvard and the guidance available on UWE’s Study Skills referencing pages.
• Avoid copying and pasting any work into this assessment, including your own previous assessments, work from other students or internet sources
• Develop your own style, arguments and wording, so avoid copying sources and changing individual words but keeping, essentially, the same sentences and/or structures from other sources
• Never give your work to others who may copy it
• If an individual assessment, develop your own work and preparation, and do not allow anyone to make amends on your work (including proof-readers, who may highlight issues but not edit the work) and
When submitting your work, you will be required to confirm that the work is your own, and text-matching software and other methods are routinely used to check submissions against other submissions to the university and internet sources. Details of what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it can be found on UWE’s Study Skills pages about avoiding plagiarism.
What is the assessment brief?
The assessment brief is for the Applied Economics module, UMED94-15-3, for the academic year 2022/23. The assessment is Component B, and it is worth 50% of the total module mark. The assessment title is “Critically review the available evidence of both the drivers and impact of regional FDI. Use this knowledge to suggest policies you believe the West of England Combined Authority should follow in relation to FDI and explain why.” The assessment requires a 2000 maximum word count.
The assessment aims to assess the following module learning outcomes:
The identification, interpretation and Assessment of a range of economic theories and their applicability to ‘real world’ problems.
Interpretation and synthesis of macroeconomic data and the influences and ideologies underpinning the development of macroeconomic theory.
Assessment of the success or failure of macroeconomic policy packages.
Critical analysis of the relationship between policy and regulation, and actors within a market economy.
The assessment consists of three sections:
Critical Assessment of competing theories of FDI in relation to understanding patterns of regional FDI.
Discussion of the potential impacts of FDI on regional economies, focusing primarily on the host economy (West of England) but also discussing potential effects on the home country.
Suggestions of policies that the West of England Combined Authority may wish to implement in relation to attracting/restricting FDI to the region, based on the assessment of potential impacts.
The marking criteria for the assessment includes:
Appropriateness of style, referencing, and word limit (10%)
Critical Assessment of different theories and empirical studies relating to the regional drivers of foreign direct investment (30%)
Critical Assessment of different theories and empirical studies on the impact of regional foreign direct investment (30%)
Ability to analyze the evidence to suggest suitable economic development policies for the West of England region (30%)
The assessment is supported by materials covered in the first and second block of teaching materials, and students are expected to use independent work beyond the module learning materials to achieve higher marks. UWE Bristol offers Assessment Support Options, Academic Support, and Wellbeing Support to help students complete the assessment.
