General Instructions

1. This Unit 7 Assignment is a research and writing assignment, so there is no template into which you should insert your answers. Instead, follow this assignment guide and create a new document.

2. Unless specified differently by your course instructor, save your completed assignment to your computer with the following file naming format:

Course number_section number_Last name_First name_unit number.

Example: BU204_Section02_David_Alex_Unit1

3. On your cover page, include the appropriate information: Your Name, Course Number and Section (BU204 – Section 0x), and the Date.

4. The research paper should

a.         follow current APA format with citations to your sources,

b.         include a list of references at the bottom of your last page,

c.         be in Standard English with correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style,

d.         be double-spaced, and

e.         be formatted in Times New Roman,12-point, black font.

5. Respond to the questions in a thorough manner, providing specific examples of concepts, topics, definitions, and other elements asked for in the questions. Your answers should be highly organized, logical, and focused.

6. Direct any questions about the assignment to your course instructor.

Assignment

This assignment addresses international macroeconomics and the importance of cultural diversity. This is a two-part assignment consisting of research skills to identify relevant information and your analysis based on the information you located.

This assignment assesses your knowledge of the following Course Outcomes:
BU204-5: Examine how exports, imports, the balance of payments, and capital flows impact individual national economics and global economics.

GEL-1.02: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English.

GEL-6.05: Adapt research skills to discover and sort relevant sources to complete tasks.

PC-4.1: Assess the value of multiculturalism and diversity in a global environment.

Assume you are an assistant researcher who is tasked with conducting a detailed study of how different international trade situations and cultural diversity produces observable disparities between an economically advanced country and a developing country. In addition to collecting the World Bank data listed below (under the Assignment checklist) for each country, like the procedures you followed in Unit 3, you will need to locate at least three academic sources that will enable you to analyze the cultural, social, and political diversity between the two cultures. Finally, you will discuss how these differences contribute to the economic differences you found, based upon specific evidence from the data you collected.

The first, and shorter, part of your paper should describe how you determined what data to collect, the sources of that data, how you sorted the data, the time periods that the data described, and how you chose to analyze your data.

The second, and longer, part of your paper should focus on the differences between the economic indicators of your two countries, your resulting conclusions regarding the differences between the two countries you chose, your analysis of the cultural diversity between the two countries, your analysis of the social diversity between the two countries, your analysis of the political diversity between the two countries, and how these differences contribute to the economic disparities revealed in the data you collected.

Step 1: Research

Access the World Bank from Purdue University’s Economic Education website, or you can go directly to the World Bank website, to retrieve macroeconomic data for both the economically advanced country and the developing country you selected. Refer to the World Bank Research Steps, as needed. Collect, download in an Excel file, and include as an appendix in your research paper, the following data from the World Bank for your two chosen countries for the years 2000 and 2015:

1. GDP (constant 2015 US$)
2. GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$)
3. Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$)
4. Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$)
5. External balance on goods and services (constant 2015 US$)
6. External balance on goods and services (% of GDP)
7. Population, total
8. Population, female (% of total population)
9. Population, male (% of total population)
10. Rural population (% of total population)
11. Urban population (% of total population)
12. Life expectancy at birth, female (years)
13. Life expectancy at birth, male (years)
14. Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19)
15. Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population)
16. Educational attainment, at least completed lower secondary, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative)
17. Educational attainment, at least completed lower secondary, population 25+, male (%) (cumulative)
18. Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative)
19. Educational attainment, at least completed upper secondary, population 25+, male (%) (cumulative)
20. Educational attainment, at least Bachelor’s or equivalent, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative)
21. Educational attainment, at least Bachelor’s or equivalent, population 25+, male (%) (cumulative)
22. Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
23. Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
24. Employment to population ratio, 15+, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate)
25. Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

Locating scholarly articles:

You will need to locate three (3) or more peer-reviewed articles from the Purdue Global Library that will help you to analyze cultural, social, and political factors that determine the disparities of economic growth among countries. The articles should provide you with information to answer Part 2 of your assignment.

Scholarly articles must be current and of high quality. These include peer-reviewed academic articles, articles published in journals, and other library resources found in the Purdue Global Library.

1. Click the Library link under Academic Tools..
2. Scroll midway down the page and click “ProQuest ABI/Inform Collection.”
3. Make sure “Full text” and “Peer Reviewed” are checked.

4. Enter your keyword(s) in the search area and select the search button.
5. Once the database has retrieved materials based on your keywords, filter results by selecting “Scholarly Journals” under Source Type.

In Course Resources under Course Documents, you will find multimedia guides covering how to use ProQuest databases like ABI/INFORM to search for scholarly articles.

The Business Resource Guide (available by clicking the Library link under More Tools in your classroom) features more resources to help you search and evaluate research materials.

Practice locating an assignment-appropriate scholarly article:

Locate and read the article below through the Purdue Global Library.

Donnelly, R. (2015). Tensions and challenges in the management of diversity and inclusion in IT services multinationals in India. Human Resource Management, 54(2), 199–215.

Examples of other assignment-appropriate scholarly articles:

The following examples may help you to familiarize yourself with scholarly articles that address the significant role multiculturalism and diversity play in aiding economic growth and development. You are welcome to use these sources in your research paper, in addition to the three (3) sources that you locate on your own.

Arocena, F., & Porzecanski, R. (n.d.). Ethnic inequality, multiculturalism and globalization: The cases of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. http://www.multiculturalismoenuruguay.com/Docs/Articulos/IJCSArocena.pdf

Fensham, P. (2017). Planning in Australia: Economic benefits of cultural diversity. https://www.sgsep.com.au/publications/insights/economic-benefits-of-cultural-diversity

Kivoto, E. (n.d.). Ethnic conflict and its impact on economic development in Africa: A case study of Kenya. http://www.academia.edu/11302119/ETHNIC_CONFLICT_AND_ITS_IMPACT_ON_ECONOMIC_DEVELOPM ENT_IN_AFRICA_A_CASE_STUDY_OF_KENYA

Additional resources you may find useful for collecting macroeconomic data:

Observatory of Economic Complexity. https://oec.world/

Atlas of Economic Complexity. https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/

Step 2: Write Your Research Paper that Provides an Outline of Research Steps, Analysis of the Data, and Conclusions

Based on the articles provided above, the 25 economic indicators you collected from the World Bank for the two countries, and the research you conducted using the Library and Internet, write a 4-5 page paper, not including the title page, reference page, and appendix, that addresses the following criteria:

Assignment Checklist:

• Follow correct 7^th edition APA formatting guidelines which require in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your paper. Review APA format through the Writing Center’s Using Sources & APA Style page and the Library’s Academic Writer and Library Support resources, as needed. (Library and Academic Success Center links are also located within the Academic Tools area of the course.)
  
  
  
• NOTE: APA guidelines require research papers to be written in the third person. This means that pronouns such as I, me, us, we, and you should be avoided. Here are some examples of how to change first-person text to third-person text:

First Person: I found the data to be revealing.
Third Person (APA compliant): The data was revealing.

First Person: I believe a big concern for this country is political corruption.
Third Person (APA compliant): Political corruption appears to be a major concern for this country.

• Upload the completed assessment to the Dropbox. 

Part 1 (This should be relatively brief compared to Part 2 of your paper.)

• Identify the steps you took to locate at least three (3) relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly sources in the Library. You are welcome to use the above listed examples of assignment-appropriate scholarly articles to supplement your reference list.
• Identify key words you used to conduct your search in the Library.
• Identify what sources outside the Library you used to locate relevant material and how you chose them.

Part 2 (This should be relatively long compared to Part 1 of your paper.)

Complete your analysis:

1. Provide a brief overview of the findings that your research has revealed about the economic conditions of your two countries.
2. Compare gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, exports, imports, and the balance of payments to explain the two countries’ economic differences. (Economic Indicators 1-6 listed above.)
3. Describe the differences in population, population per square kilometer, male vs. female population, and urban vs. rural population, and explain how these differences may contribute to the economic disparities between your two chosen countries. (Economic Indicators 7-15 listed above.)
4. Analyze how each country’s life expectancy at birth, fertility rates, nourishment levels, education attainment, employment levels, and access to technology contribute to these countries’ differences. (Economic Indicators 16-25 listed above.)
5. Analyze how cultural differences, political structure, and social influences contribute to the economic disparities between your two chosen countries.
6. Discuss the value of recognizing and accommodating multiculturalism and diversity in a globalized economic environment and their roles in promoting long-run economic growth.
7. Provide a conclusion/summary.
8. Include your downloaded Excel spreadsheet with the 25 economic indicators data from the World Bank for your two countries, as an appendix.