Go to theBEA website(Links to an external site.)(http://www.bea.gov) and download the annual data for the United States' end-of-year international investment position (IIP) from 1976 to the present. Next, download the annual data for the United States' nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP), also from 1976 to the present. Compare the annual ratio of the IIP to nominal GDP starting in 1976, then graph the data. The United States has run a current account deficits almost every year since the mid-1980s. In the paper,

• Explain the trends in the data collected from the BEA website.
• As a percent of the nominal GDP, compare the current account deficit with the growth rate of the nominal GDP. Using this information, examine the annual current account data from the BEA website.
• Explain if a country can have a current account deficit at the same time as having a surplus in its balance of payments. Use the data that you have gathered.