[In 2-3 sentences, explain the issues that your report will address and the information your report will offer. Clarify which country’s economy, or regional economy, does your analysis look at. Point out the ways that your report is useful and informative for businesses.]
1. What was the state of the economy before the COVID-19 pandemic?[Provide some insights into the overall state of the economy before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020. Refer to relevant macroeconomic indicators to support your observations.]
2. What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy? [Identify 3 ways that the pandemic has affected the economy. Explain these impacts by comparing what has happened in the economy in the past 6 months to the state of the economy before the pandemic.]
[When you identify these 3 impacts of the pandemic on the economy, think in terms of the 4 components of Aggregate Demand and the ways that the pandemic has affected these components of Aggregate Demand. You can also think in terms of the way that the pandemic has affected Short-Run Aggregate Supply.]
[For one of these particular effects on Aggregate Demand or Short-Run Aggregate Supply that you have identified in this section, think about how you would illustrate this effect through a shift of the AD or SR-AS curve in a AD-AS model. For the purposes of this report, you only need to think about the short-run impact. Illustrate this effect in a diagram in the Technical Appendix of your consultancy report.]
[In your discussion of 3 ways that the pandemic has affected the macroeconomy, provide some economic data to support your observations – your report should include at least one statistical graph. Building on the skills that you developing in Assignment 1, you are encouraged to create your graph by sourcing the original data from the statistical agency (rather than copying and pasting a ready-made graph). You can also include other references (eg. academic papers, news articles, other consultancy reports, government reports) that support your analysis.]
[Within your analysis, highlight at least 1 major macroeconomic problem that businesses, governments and policymakers need to be aware of, out of the following: unemployment, inflation/deflation/cost of living, economic inequality, resilience to economic shocks, and environmental sustainability. Discuss whether there is a risk that this problem is worsening, or will worsen, as an outcome of the pandemic.]
3. Longer-term outlook
[Provide your insights into the ingredients that an economy needs if it is to achieve ongoing improvements in its productive capacity and economic prosperity over the long-run. Drawing on your economic knowledge, discuss whether the pandemic has damaged the economy’s productive capacity and what factors of production should be focused on to strengthen the economy’s potential output in the long-run. You can include a model, diagram or graph if it is relevant to your analysis.]
