EC111 INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS

Group Project
Current Issues in the UK Economy
2015/16

EC111 Introduction to Economics

Group Project 2016

Current Issues in the UK Economy

Answer Both Questions in No More than 2000 Words

Question 1

The impact of the great recession on the UK labour market has received a lot of attention from policymakers,
academics and others. Darby & McIntyre (2014) provide a useful discussion of some of these issues.
a. Thinking about unemployment, outline what the two main methods of measuring unemployment are, and
what the advantages and disadvantages of these measures are. [25%]
b. Define the terms underemployment and overemployment. [25%]
c. Describe the variation in underemployment by age cohort in the UK and comment on some of the reasons for
the differences that you observe (data are available from ONS (2014)). [15%]
d. Describe the variation in underemployment between regions of the UK (data are available from ONS (2014)).
[15%]
e. Using the information that you have already used in answer to parts a-d of this question, discuss the
statement: UK policymakers should be worried about all instances of underemployment, because
underemployment is always a bad thing. [20%]

Question 2

There is currently a debate underway in the UK about the extent of the recovery from recession and what impacts the
recovery has had for different types of people in the UK.
a. Describe what has happened to real GDP in the UK over the past 10 years, using a chart to assist in your answer
(annual

data

are

available

here

(http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/data-

selector.html?cdid=ABMI&dataset=qna&table-id=A2) or from ONS (2016)). [15%]

b. Describe what has happened to real GDP per capita in the UK over the past 10 years, using a chart to assist in
your answer (annual data are available here: (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/dataselector.html?cdid=IHXW&dataset=ukea&table-id=X11) or from ONS (2016)). [15%]
c. Describe what has happened to real household disposable income per head in the UK over the past 10 years,
using a chart to assist in your answer (annual data are available here (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasetsand-tables/data-selector.html?cdid=IHXZ&dataset=ukea&table-id=A12 ) or from ONS (2016)). [15%]
d. Explain which of the three measures you think is a better measure of prosperity in the UK. [20%]
e. GDP is an aggregation of a number of different factors. Comment on changes in the share of wages, profits
and taxes in GDP, and what this might suggest for the prosperity of people in the UK over this period (data are
available from ONS (2016)). [35%]
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Advice

References are provided below, you should use them. You should also seek to read beyond these references and
demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.
All sources directly quoted or paraphrased must be referenced where the quotation or paraphrasing occurs in the
report, with the appropriate citation included in a list at the end of the report in alphabetical order.
All members of the group should participate in and contribute to this report- failure to do so by any group member
should be reported to Kathleen Tyrrell.
Students should detail at the end of the report the contribution that each group member made to the production of
the report.
The word count does not include the: abstract/executive summary, references, title page, or tables/charts.
Note: this is a WORD LIMIT and reports exceeding this number of words will be the subject of a penalty.

References
Darby & McIntyre, 2014, The post-crisis labour market and its challenges to policymakers. Fraser of Allander
Institute Economic Commentary:
https://pure.strath.ac.uk/portal/files/39148743/FEC_38_2_2014_DarbyJMcIntyreS.pdf
Giles, C, 2014, The truth about UK living standards since the Crisis, Financial Times, November 19, 2014,
available here: http://bit.ly/1l0HFRK
ONS, 2014, Underemployment and Overemployment in the UK, available from:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/underemployed-workers-in-the-uk/2014/rpt-underemploymentand-overemployment-2014.html#tab-Underemployment
ONS, 2016, ONS Key Economic Time Series Data, data available from:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/site-information/using-the-website/time-series/index.html
Wolf, 2015, The fantasy of Britain as most prosperous economy, available
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/acfb50ce-9426-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af.html#axzz3wxi9GqAJ

from:

Wren-Lewis, S, 2014, The UK feel good factor, available from:

http://mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-uk-feel-good-factor.html

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EC111 Introduction to Economics

Current Issues in the UK Economy:

This project is one of four pieces of assessed coursework for EC111. It accounts for 40% of the overall coursework
mark. The marks for the project will be divided between 70% for a report and 30% for a presentation. You will work
in groups to prepare a report (no more than 2000 words) and present your findings to your tutor. Presentations will
be held during tutorial 9 (Semester 2, week 6) week commencing 22 February 2016. The group report must be
submitted on myplace by 12 noon on Monday 7 March 2016 with all relevant documents (see below).

DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

PRESENTATION
You will give a 10 minute (max) oral presentation (including time for questions and discussion) with your group which
accounts for 30% of the total marks available for the project. Presentations will be held during tutorial 9 (week
commencing 22 February 2016).
All group members must attend the presentation session. The contribution of each group member to preparation of
the presentation must be noted in an appendix to the report (see below).
The purpose of the presentation is for you to summarise your approach to answering the question set and your
provisional findings/conclusions.
Your tutor will ask questions at the end of your presentation. Your ability to respond to these questions will be
reflected in the mark awarded to the presentation. Your ability to respond to your tutors comments and questions
in completing your report will be reflected in the mark awarded to the report.
The broad set of criteria that will be used to mark your presentation is as follows:
A. Presentation style:
structure of presentation, including clear introduction (including signposting) and conclusion;
communication with the audience (including use of visual aids, speaking clearly, making eye contact etc);
handovers between presenters and evidence of team work;
handling questions.
B. Content
outline of policy issue your project addresses;
demonstration and explanation of economic analysis applied;
provisional conclusions of your project.
REPORT
Each group will produce a 2000 word report accounting for 70% of the marks available for the project. The group
report must be submitted on myplace by 12 noon on Monday 7 March 2016. Late submission penalties:

1 day late
2 days late
3 days late
4 days late
5 days late
After 5 days

deduct 5% of mark allocated

deduct 10% of mark allocated
deduct 20% of mark allocated
deduct 40% of mark allocated
deduct 80% of mark allocated
deduct 100% of mark allocated
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NOTE: The report must contain an appendix detailing the contribution of each group member to the project as a whole
(i.e. your research and analysis, preparation of both presentation and report).
When writing your report, use the question numbers to identify the relevant sections of your answers. Your report
must include a cover with the following details:
- tutorial group details;
- tutors name;
- project group name;
- registration number and name of each group member.
Reports & presentations must be submitted on myplace by the given deadline (only one member of each group is
required to submit online).
The broad set of criteria that will be used to mark your report is as follows:
A. Content
answering the question set;
use of relevant economic theory/analytical tools;
making use of feedback from presentation.
B. Structure
clear introduction;
logically developed argument(s);
drawing and presenting conclusions from analysis.
C. Evidence of teamwork
explicit in appendix;
implicit in consistency of analysis and conclusions drawn.
D. Style and presentation
use of relevant diagrams;
use of citations (see below for guidance);
spelling and grammar;
bibliography;
legibility;
1.5 line spacing, 12 point font.
FURTHER GUIDELINES
Reading
The reading list is there to help you, not to write the report for you. Parts of the readings may be directly relevant to
your topic, parts not. But the object of the exercise is not to give you practice in copying things out of books, or in
prcis-writing. The report has to be your own, however much you are informed by what you read; the material must
be chewed over and fashioned to help you give your answer to the questions.
Help
If in doubt about the scope of the topic or what is required, ask your tutor.
If you have any difficulty in finding material in the Library, ask one of the Library staff for help; if no-one else is available,
ask the Reader's Services Librarian in the main entrance area.

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RULES TO FOLLOW IN ACADEMIC WRITING (N.B. Read this Carefully)

Academic writing is an important part of University training and to do it properly you should observe certain
conventions discussed below.
Evidence and References
The idea behind the conventions applied in academic work is that the reader ought to be given as much opportunity
as possible to make up his/her own mind whether what is being asserted is true or not. When you are writing a piece
of work, therefore, do not simply make assertions and generalisations of fact on your own authority unless the fact is
something about which there can be no doubt and about which many readers can be presumed to know.
It is of course not always easy for a beginner in a subject to know what can be taken as common knowledge but it's a
good idea to err on the side of caution. If you want to make some assertion about which you cannot be certain, make
it clear that the assertion is tentative only.
Another way of presenting the rule is to say that, if you are drawing on some other writer's opinion or generalisation,
some reference should be made to that other writer. If you want to use his words, the put them in quotation marks.
In summary, give some reference to the source for:
i) assertions of fact that cannot be presumed to be common knowledge;
ii) direct quotations or paraphrases of other writers' as statements;
iii) opinions and generalisations derived directly from other writers;
iv) borrowed tables and diagrams (for which the source is usually given underneath the table or diagram).
Form of Citation
1. Whatever form of citation you use, your report should contain at the end a list of references, that is to say of books
and articles you have used I writing it. These should be in alphabetical order of author's surname.

Books should be listed as follows:

- Author, Title of Book, Edition (if other than 1st), Publisher, Date of Publication.
e.g. Tyler, J.E., The Art of Bee-Keeping, 2nd Ed, George Allen, 1970.

Articles should be listed as follows:

- Author, "Title of Article", Name of Journal, Volume and Number (if any), Date, Page(s).
e.g. Danckwerts, G., & Pearce, A.R., "The Works of Captain W E Johns: A Bibliographical Note", Journal of
Children's Literature, Vol. 11, No.2, June 1968, pp. 678-686.

2. When you need to refer to a book or article at some point in the text, put in the text in brackets just the author's
name, the year of publication and if appropriate the page(s). If the reader want to know the details, he/she
looks up your list of references at the end. If you are referring to two or more works by the same author
published in the same year, these can be distinguished by "a", "b" etc., after the year of publication.
For example the text might read:
"Tyler (1970, p.211) claims that the best honey is produced from areas adjacent to the typical grouse-moore,
while others (Moore 1963m Ch.6; Wilkins 1972b) maintain ."
"Biggles is cited as an example of the blinkered hero (Danckwerts and Pearce 1968b, p. 682) ."
The entries in the reference list at the end would then include:
Tyler, J.E. (1970), The Art of Bee-Keeping, 2nd Ed, Geo.Allen.
Danckwerts, G. and Pearce, A.R. (1968), "The Works . note", Journal of Children's Literature", Vol. 11, No.2,
June, pp. 678-686.

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Plagiarism
The Economics Department treats plagiarism as a serious academic offence. You can find an official university
statement on plagiarism. The Department routinely submits students' work to a plagiarism detector. Incidences of
suspected plagiarism are dealt with according to the University guidelines see:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/ps/cs/gmap/plagiarism/plagiarism_student_booklet.pdf
Some Further Guidance (extracted from Guidance to Honours Students in Economics):
All work you submit is accepted on the understanding that it represents your own effort and that the ideas of others
are appropriately acknowledged and referenced.
Work you submit for assessment is graded in recognition of your achievement in terms of the level of understanding
and insight that you have demonstrated (and of course you need to directly answer the question you've been set!).
Be sure to cite appropriate evidence or provide explanations for any assertions you make.
Incorporating arguments, evidence and direct quotes from published work, including online sources, with appropriate
referencing, are valid and desirable qualities of academic work.
Quotes can often be used to lend support your line of argument. However, in order to assess your contribution,
markers must be clearly alerted to the fact that you are using direct quotes. So, make sure that you identify quoted
passages using inverted commas and follow any quote with a citation to the author and date of publication as well as
the page number you are quoting from, then include full details of the source in your bibliography.
Similarly any tables, charts or diagrams you copy should be followed by a citation to the original source.
Keep in mind that the overuse of quotations leaves you open to accusations of failing to demonstrate your own
understanding and offering little value added in your work. So, consider whether it might be more effective to express
the argument in your own words (while still citing the originator). If you still think a direct quote is the best approach,
try to add value by explaining how you interpret the quote and why it is relevant to the question set. Likewise, rather
than copying a chart or table, consider trying to add value by updating the information, or combining information from
more than one source. All sources must still be cited, but it will be possible for markers to give you due credit if you
have shown you are able to add value in this way.
Failure to acknowledge sources (even with no deliberate intention to cheat) constitutes plagiarism. Work may be
considered to be plagiarised if it consists of a direct quotation, a close paraphrase, unacknowledged summary of a
source or word-for-word copying. Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism is unacceptable. Since plagiarism can
occur when students misunderstand or misuse academic conventions it is important that you review how to
acknowledge sources, including web based sources, appropriately.
Another common way in which plagiarism can appear in submitted work reflects poor note taking practice. To avoid
this, when you are recording information from material you are reading, whether you paraphrase the source or you
copy material word-for-word, make sure you record information on the source. Any notes taken word-for-word from
a source should be kept in inverted commas and you should record the details of the source including the page
number.

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