Background Information

The CEO of Starbucks company wants to review the performance of the company in different countries during 2020. He knows that in 2020, the performance in all countries was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also knows that different countries imposed various economic policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and these differences in policy responses could explain some changes in the performance of the company across countries.He believes that it is possible for the world to face another pandemic in the future, and for this reason, he is keen to know in detail how different countries responded to the pandemic. In particular, he wants to know how the performance of the company across countries was affected by the economic policies and the possible implications of the imposed policies on the future economic conditions of the country. You have formed a consulting company and you signed a contract with Starbucks to pick a country of your own choice and analyze the impact of the economic policies of the chosen countries on the performance of business including but not limited to Starbucks.

Project Main Task

Your team will consider the macroeconomic environment of the chosen country and examine the impacts of its economic policies during the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of business including but not limited to Starbucks.In your report, you also need to include some insights into the implications of the imposed policies by the chosen country on the future economic conditions in that country.

Some Questions to Consider as you Approach Your Research

1. What was the state of the economy during 2020? What was the state of the economy before the pandemic? Collect time series data on nominal GDP, real GDP, per capita real GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, bank rates, supply of money, bond yields, exchange rate(s), and any other important macroeconomic data.

2. What kind of output gaps did the country face during 2020? Was it an inflationary or recessionary gap? How is it important for your analysis?

3. Does the central bank have a target for the inflation rate? If yes, what is the implication of the target for their economic policies?

4. Does the central bank have a target for the exchange rate? If yes, what is the implication of the target for their economic policies?

5. What kind of fiscal policies did the chosen country follow in 2020? What tools did the government use to impose fiscal policies during 2020? And how was it important for the business? Explain in detail the programs that the government used during 2020 and the implications of the policies for the economic conditions of the time.

6. What kind of monetary policies did the chosen country follow? What tools did central bank use to impose monetary policies? And how was it important for the business? Explain in detail the programs that the central bank used during 2020 and the implications of the policies for the economic conditions of the time.

7. Did the central bank use asset purchasing programs? What is the implication of the programs on government debt?

8. What is the implication of the fiscal and monetary policies for future inflation?

Required Materials

Review all the required chapters from the course textbook:

Textbook

University of Minnesota. (2016).Principles of macroeconomics. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/principles-of-macroeconomics

• Appendix B: Extensions of the Aggregate Expenditures Model

Article

Business journal databases from Yorkville U Library

Database

Economic data is available in various reputable internet sources including the FRED, Central Bank websites, World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mundi, etc.

Evaluation

The Group Project will be marked in its entirety out of 100. The following rubric indicates the elements your professor will weigh to evaluate your work.