Worksheet on Economic Growth in Developed and Developing Countries
This worksheet has been developed to help you understand the issues connected with economic growth, it uses various sources of data and information which are available on the Internet. To answer the questions follow the highlighted links (or the Internet address given in brackets) to access the information you will need to complete this worksheet.
Aims:
- To gain experience of using Penn World Data specific to economics
- To facilitate critical reading skills
- To be able to understand and interpret data presented in a variety of forms
- To evaluate source material and use this to analyse economic problems
1. Types of Economies
Match the type of economy with the countries selected in the table below.
- Subsistence
- Market
- Mixed
- Oil based
- Transitional
- Command
| Ghana | |
| UK | |
| Bulgaria | |
| Iran | |
| Korean Republic |
2. Growth Data
Use the Penn World Data Tables (http://www.bized.co.uk/dataserv/penndata/pennhome.htm) Data Request Form on biz/ed to find the real GDP per capita (current international prices) for the five countries selected above.
To do this you will need to complete a four step form.
- Step 1. How do you want your data? Select HTML - display as a web page
- Step 2. What years do you want to know about? Select 1991 - 1991
- Step 3. Which countries to request data for? Select the five countries listed above
- Step 4. Select variables. Choose real GDP per capita (current international prices)
Rank them in the table below by putting the country with the highest GDP first.
| Country | GDP |
| 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. |
How does real GDP per capita (current intl. prices) data help you to compare the economic growth of these countries?
Now go back to the Penn World Data Tables and select the most recent five years available and work out levels of economic growth over time, putting the country with the highest level of growth first.
| Country | GDP |
| 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. |
3. Causes of Economic Growth
Part I: Use the Penn World Data Tables (http://bized.co.uk/dataserv/penndata/pennhome.htm) on Biz/ed again, to find investment figures and suggest how these might have contributed to the difference in economic growth of these countries.
Part II:
(You may like to work in a group to complete this part of the worksheet)
You are asked to present a short report, comparing the evidence you have gathered from the previous sections to describe what you think might have caused these levels of economic growth. Use the space below to note down all the relevant points to back up your argument.
The additional data supplied below may or may not be relevant. Try to highlight the relationships (both positive and negative) between these variables to support your argument. You may also like to consider the following points:
- Does high investment always result in high levels of growth?
- What is the importance of education for economic growth?
- What are the implications for economic growth of technological change?
Look at:
- The United Nations Indicators on Literacy
(http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/socind/socind2.htm#ill)
Find the source listed below and print out the reports (if you have a printer nearby), looking for relevant information to use in your presentation. You may also like to use a search engine like Google to search for further information.
-
The Making of the East Asia Miracle
(http://www.worldbank.org/html/dec/Publications/Bulletins/PRBvol4no4.html)