ECO 306 Final Project I Guidelines and Rubric Overview The first final project for this course is the creation of an informative presentation
ECO 306 Final Project I Guidelines and Rubric Overview The first final project for this course is the creation of an informative presentation. The presentation will analyze U.S. interest rate behavior over a 10- to 15-year period during the last 50 years. Through your research, you will examine economic trends and risks, and the impact of monetary policy on interest rates. This presentation will provide an opportunity for you to develop an understanding of interest rate behavior. By analyzing a sufficient period of time, you will identify trends and changes in interest rates and witness the impact that key economic events have on interest rate determination. In doing this, you will develop an appreciation of the relationship between policy targets and market factors, which impact economic activity. The final product will be submitted in Module Three. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: Explain the determinants and behavior of interest rates as they relate to markets Analyze the relationship between monetary policy and the economy for informing responsible business decision making Prompt For this final project, create a PowerPoint presentation of 8–10 slides analyzing U.S. interest rate behavior over a 10- to 15-year period during the last 50 years. You will access information in the Federal Reserve Economic Database (FRED) and create a presentation that includes speaker notes and visual representations of your findings. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Overview: Define the specific interest rates and time period that you are analyzing, and explain why you chose them. II. Interest Rates A. Explain interest rate trends over the time period and whether they have been high or low by historical standards. B. Using FRED tools, visually illustrate changes in interest rates during the time period. C. Describe economic risk factors that have impacted interest rates in the time period and what kind of impact they had. Consider bankruptcies, financial crises, geopolitical factors, and so on. D. Describe underlying economic conditions that impacted the activity of these interest rates during the time period. III. Monetary Policy A. Discuss the impact of interest rate changes on general business decision-making. Consider expanding or contracting operations, deciding to undertake or postpone additions of capital (i.e., increasing productive capabilities), or increasing or decreasing inventories. B. Explain the causal relationship between the federal funds rate and market rates of interest. C. Using your analysis of interest rates during the time period as a guide, explain the internal and external impacts on the economy. Deliverable Final Submission: Presentation Submit your presentation in Module Three. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of knowledge and feedback gained up to this point in the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project I Rubric. Final Project I Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your presentation should be 8–10 slides with speaker notes, visual representations of your findings, and citations adhering to the latest edition of APA formatting. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions. Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value Overview Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates exceptional balancing of brevity and detail Defines the specific interest rates and time period being analyzed, including an explanation of why they were chosen Defines the specific interest rates and time period being analyzed, including an explanation of why they were chosen, but definition is cursory or explanation is incomplete Does not define the specific interest rates and time period being analyzed 4 Interest Rates: Trends Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a complex grasp of how interest rate trends compare to historical standards Explains interest rate trends over the time period and whether they are high or low by historical standards Explains interest rate trends over the time period and whether they are high or low by historical standards, but explanation is illogical or contains inaccuracies Does not explain interest rate trends over the time period 11 Interest Rates: Changes Meets “Proficient” criteria and illustration demonstrates a masterful use of FRED tools to show changes in interest rates Visually illustrates changes in interest rates during the time period using FRED tools Visually illustrates changes in interest rates during the time period using FRED tools, but illustration is unclear or incomplete Does not visually illustrate changes in interest rates during the time period using FRED tools 11 Interest Rates: Risk Factors Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of how economic risk factors impacted interest rates Describes economic risk factors that have impacted interest rates in the time period and what kind of impact they had Describes economic risk factors that have impacted interest rates in the time period and what kind of impact they had, but description is incomplete or impacts are unrelated Does not describe economic risk factors that have impacted interest rates in the time period 11 Interest Rates: Economic Conditions Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates a complex grasp of underlying economic conditions that impacted interest rates Describes underlying economic conditions that impacted the activity of these interest rates during the time period Describes underlying economic conditions that impacted the activity of these interest rates during the time period, but description contains inaccuracies or is illogical Does not describe underlying economic conditions that impacted the activity of these interest rates during the time period 11 Monetary Policy: Business DecisionMaking Meets “Proficient” criteria and discussion demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of the relationship between interest rate changes and general business decision-making Discusses the impact of interest rate changes on general business decisionmaking Discusses the impact of interest rate changes on general business decisionmaking, but discussion is unclear or unrelated to the impact Does not discuss the impact of interest rate changes on general business decisionmaking 16 Monetary Policy: Causal Relationship Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a complex grasp of how the federal funds rate and the market rates of interest influence each other Explains the causal relationship between the federal funds rate and market rates of interest Explains the causal relationship between the federal funds rate and market rates of interest, but explanation is cursory or has gaps in logic Does not explain the causal relationship between the federal funds rate and market rates of interest 16 Monetary Policy: Impacts Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of how the interest rates impacted the economy Explains the internal and external impacts on the economy, using the analysis of interest rates during the time period as a guide Explains the internal and external impacts on the economy, using the analysis of interest rates during the time period as a guide, but explanation is incomplete or does not relate to interest rate analysis Does not explain the internal and external impacts on the economy, using the analysis of interest rates during the time period as a guide 16 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-toread format Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 4 Total 100%