Posted: November 3rd, 2020

Gathering and summarizing macroeconomic data of Russia

   
Econ 301 (Data Analysis) 
Assignment 1 – Individual Presentation 
The first data assignment of the course involves gathering and summarizing macroeconomic data 
in a 10–15 minute video presentation (just write 5 pages paper, 1500 words and graphs ).  The country I choose is Russia.
. Your presentation will include summaries of the following macroeconomic 
indicators. 
1. GDP (MER) 
2. GDP (PPP) 
3. Per Capita GDP (PPP) 
4. Consumer Inflation 
5. Unemployment 
6. Currency/Exchange Rate 
7. Exchange Rate System (Fixed, Float, Dirty Float, Currency Union) 
8. Trade 
A. Imports as a percentage of GDP 
B. Exports as a percentage of GDP 
C. Total Trade (Imports + Exports) as a percentage of GDP 
In addition, you should conclude your presentation with an analysis of the major economic 
opportunities and challenges facing the country you selected. 
I am assuming that you will be using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) to create 
your presentation. You will start by downloading raw data from potential data sources listed on 
page 4. Most likely you will use Excel to create your own tables, graphs and exhibits that 
summarize your data in a way that makes sense in your presentation. Since presenting 
summarized data is visual in nature, you will next imbed the graphics that summarize these 
macroeconomic indictors into a PowerPoint presentation. 
Specific Graphics that must be included 
You have considerable leeway in developing the graphics for your presentation. However, to 
provide some structure and to guarantee that you are creating the appropriate graphics to 
represent the data you are presenting, you must include the following specific graphics. 
1. Table/tables that summarizes data items 1–8 listed above. 
2. Time series graphs of 
A. GDP for at least 5 years 
B. Consumer Inflation for at least 5 years 
C. Unemployment for at least 5 years 
D. Exchange rate of the country’s1 currency against the dollar for at least 5 years. 
E. Trade (imports and exports) for at least 5 years. 
3. Assessment of the country’s per capita GDP in relation to level of development 
(underdeveloped, developing or developed). 
4. Provide the sources of your data in the exhibits you create. 
5. Bullet pointed summary of the country’s key economic opportunities and challenges. 
Note: Other graphics are not only acceptable but encouraged. 
1 For the student who selects the United States, please provide a time series graph of the Dollar Index for five years. 
 
 
3 
Econ 301 (Data Analysis) 
Assignment 1 – Individual Presentation (Country Video) 
Potential Data Sources 
OECD: https://data.OECD.org/ 
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/country-statistical-profiles-key-
tables-from-oecd_20752288 
CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ 
World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/ 
FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ 
Your Audience 
Assume that your audience are your colleagues (upper division students) in economics. As such, 
we assume that they are familiar with major macroeconomic indicators and economic 
terminology.