The Economic Growth and Trade Competitiveness of Countries

The economic growth and trade competitiveness of countries can be influenced by the economic, political, and cultural development within the country. There are several countries that can be compared to see how a successful economy’s decisions differed from a less-successful economy.

Step 1: Select Economies

Review the pairs of economies listed below. Each pair has 1 highly successful country and 1 less successful country, except for NAFTA /EU.

• NAFTA vs. European Union (world’s two largest economic entities)
• China vs. India (world’s two most populous countries)
• South Korea vs. North Korea (two polar economic opposites, one people)
• Venezuela vs. Saudi Arabia (world’s two largest sources of oil reserves)
• Nigeria vs. Democratic Republic of the Congo (functioning government and civil order vs. struggling government and violent clashes among factions; note: the Republic of the Congo is not the same country as the Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Research the economies for your chosen pair of countries.

Compare similarities and differences between your chosen countries/economies.

Step 2: Create a Presentation – Evaluate Economic Growth and Advantages

In a 12- to 16-slide presentation with detailed speaker’s notes and visual elements, including graphs and tables, explain how their economic, political, and cultural development since 1992 has influenced their economic growth and trade competitiveness.

Use tables or graphs to support your analysis of the following economic statistics/indicators of your 2 chosen economies through the most recent year available since 2009 (the trough of the last economic cycle):

• GDP per capita growth over time
• Inflation rate over time
• Unemployment rate over time
• Exports as a percentage of GDP over time
• National government debt as a percentage of GDP

Whenever possible, plot the metric for both economies on the same chart.

Evaluate why the economic growth of the 2 economies/countries varied.

• Discuss how international trade influenced the strength of each economy.
• Discuss the role of value chains and value-added production.

Analyze how the failure to use value-added trade measures distorts trade statistics.

Examine at least 2 industries that have provided each economy a comparative advantage in world trade.

Cite at least 2 academically credible sources.