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Macroeconomic Essay – 2020 Economic Failure

1. Read the article “2020 was the worst year for economic growth since World War II” by Siegel, Van Dam, and Werner.
   • Download the article or visit the website.
2. In a word document or a pdf file, submit the following:
   • (20 points) A detailed summary of the article (5-6 sentences ONLY).
   • (50 points) What is happening in the U.S. economy as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?
     • (10 points) What happened to consumer spending? What changed or shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Give examples listed in the article.
     • (25 points) Read the quote: “The businesses that have been hit hardest disproportionately employ women, people of color, and workers without college educations. Americans in those groups are suffering.”
       • Use the https://www.bls.gov/ to find the April 2020 unemployment rates of:
         • Men and Women
         • White, Black or African American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino
         • Those with less than a high school diploma, those with a high school degree, those with some college or associate degree, and those with a bachelor’s degree and higher.
       • Compare the figures you found. What do you notice? Is the quote accurate?
     • (15 points) In Chapter 9, we learned that to find total spending we just need to add consumption, investment, government purchases, and net exports. On your own, find these values for the fourth quarter of 2020. Then, use the values you found to calculate the fourth quarter of the GDP in 2020. Show your work.
       • Go to the https://www.bea.gov/ , search for the latest GDP data, and look at “related materials”.
   • (30 points) Now, create your own example!
     • Go to the  https://fred.stlouisfed.org and report the following:
       • (5 points) California’s current (or latest available data) GDP, population, and unemployment rate.
       • (10 points) Calculate California’s GDP per capita and show your work.
     • Go to the https://fred.stlouisfed.org or the World Bank, choose a state or a country, and report the following:
       • (5 points) The current (or latest available data) GDP, population, and unemployment rate.
       • (10 point) Calculate the state or the country’s GDP per capita and show your work.