This assignment is a report on
a country’s development process and current development status. Your assigned
country is Morocco.
Your report should be no less
than 750 words and no more than 850 words. Feel free to include any charts or
tables that you feel help convey your data or support your arguments (they do
not count against your word limit). All quotes, numbers, charts, etc. should
cite their source. Do not cite your sources on the main text; use footnotes or
endnotes, and a reference page at the end. Charts, footnotes, endnotes and
references do not count against the word limit.
I recommend the use of two
databases to help you in your report. You can find one of them on Canvas: the
database Real GDP per capita 1960-2019 contains information on countries’ real
GDP per capita (adjusted for PPP). The other one is the World Bank’s World
Development Indicators (WDI), and you can find it online at https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
Besides economic indicators, it also includes outcomes on education, health,
the environment, etc. In addition, you are free to use, and cite, other data
and sources as you see fit.
The report should describe and
evaluate the process of economic development for your assigned country compared
to a group of peer countries, starting in the 1960s or 1970s (depending on data
availability) to the current decade. You should ground your analysis in data
indicators and mechanisms/arguments we learned in class. The grading will be
based on the following:
1. Choosing peer countries: pick at least 2
countries that were comparable to your assigned country. This should be
countries that faced the same sort of opportunities and had similar access to
resources in the 1960s and 1970s. For most countries you will want to choose
neighboring or near enough countries, except when you have very large
countries. For example, if your country is Mexico, you would not compare it to
Belize, even though they are neighbors, but you would compare it to Brazil or
Argentina because they are large Latin American economies. On the other hand,
if your country is Belize, you could compare it to Nicaragua, because they are
relatively small Central American economies with similar opportunities.
2. The first paragraph should be an executive
summary of your main argument. How did your assigned country perform, in terms
of economic development, relative to the peer group? Better? Worse? Roughly the
same? What are the main points supporting this argument – these should come for
the analysis you performed below.
3. A paragraph discussing the evolution of
the country’s economic performance for the last 4 or 5 decades
containing a chart with its real GDP per capita over time (compared to two
other peer countries) and a mention to its average growth rate compared to
those two peer countries. Relate discussion to concepts we learned in class. Do
not waste words repeating numbers that readers can see in the chart.
4. A paragraph discussing the evolution
of its education outcomes, containing a table with at least two education
indicators at two points in time (60’s or 70s versus 90’s or 00’s) compared to
two peer countries (the same countries as above). Relate discussion to concepts
we learned in class. Do not waste words repeating numbers that readers can see
in the chart.
5. A paragraph discussing the evolution
of its health outcome, containing a table with at least two health
indicators at two points in time (60’s or 70’s versus 90’s or 00’s) compared to
two peer countries (the same countries as above). Relate discussion to concepts
we learned in class. Do not waste words repeating numbers that readers can see
in the chart.
6. A final paragraph with an analysis of
the country’s main successes, failures, and remaining challenges that were
not mentioned in previous paragraphs. These could be issues like inflation,
population, unemployment, inequality, corruption, environmental issues, etc.
Showcase concepts you learned in class for more points.
In grading each of the
components I will reward concepts and arguments we learned in class relative to
other concepts you might be getting from reading about the economic history of
your assigned country in sites like Wikipedia, or by asking ChatGPT.
