You are a business development consultant for the expansion department of a Spanish multinational dedicated to industrial activity.
The management of the company has asked your department for a report containing a proposal on business expansion outside of Spain, specifically in the European Union.
Before beginning, it is advisable to carefully read the mandatory indications for carrying out the group work that you can see below, and that is mandatory.
You get to work as a team, following the steps defined below:
MANDATORY INDICATIONS FOR THE ELABORATION OF GROUP WORK
As far as possible, each variable should be analyzed for 2017-2021. The basic economic theory that you should apply are basically from the textbook Modern Principle of Economics. You should read and perceive what you have learned from it.
Statistical information must be carefully selected (indicator, period, unit of measurement, etc.) on the indicated web pages. Next, the statistical information must be downloaded and worked with in Excel. The tables and graphs resulting from the data obtained will be exclusively produced by the students, citing them as follows:
Source: Own elaboration based on OECD data. Indicating the link where the information is obtained. (www.https://data.oecd.org/gdp/real-gdp-forecast.htm#indicator-chart Links to an external site.) and the date of consultation.
The tables and graphs must be numbered with full titles, indicating the variable analyzed, the unit of measurement, the period, and the country, and compare the results with those of the EU 27 for each variable requested. The chosen country must be a member of the EU27 and cannot be Spain.
The added statistical and graphic information must be interpreted and commented on the same slide where the graphs and tables requested for each variable appear.
At the end of the last phase of the work, the group must include conclusions (maximum 2 pages), where the country chosen for the expansion of the business is determined, justifying the answer given with the data obtained in the variables studied in each unit and compared with the EU average. Discuss the relationship among private property rights, economic freedom, entrepreneurship, and economic growth.
The variables that are requested for group work are divided into 4 units.
The report, reference and citation format are APA style. The use of Mendeley is highly recommended.
UNIT 1: Country selection based on long-term economic growth indicators
It is recommended that the company’s expansion be sustainable over time, so the new location will have to be in one European country whose long-term economic growth indicators reflect stability.
It is necessary to analyze the following indicators of long-term growth:
GDP variation (Real GDP growth)
Income or GDP per capita (GDP /capita)
Productivity indicators:
Real labor productivity per person;
Real labor productivity per hour worked;
Nominal unit labor cost;
Multifactor productivity,
Hours worked/worker.
Compensation per employee (euros)
Compensation of employees per hour worked (euros)
Part-time employment and temporary contracts (annual data)
Tertiary educational attainment by sex, age group 30-34.
Competitiveness indices:
Ease of doing business index (DOING BUSINESS); Last year
Global competitiveness index (ICG World Economic Forum) of the selected country. (Last year’s data, 2021)
Economic freedom index:
It analyzes how private property rights and economic freedom improve a country’s economic prosperity. You need to explain what economic freedom (Fraser Institute) is
It is also used to explain why entrepreneurship, as the driving force of the market economy, provides economic activities. Explain why entrepreneurship is that important.
It shows how, in most cases, government regulations and taxations impede entrepreneurs and economic growth.
In the group work part of unit 1, it is recommended to consult the following sources:
OECD:
https://data.oecd.org/economy.htm
Eurostat:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database Links to an external site.
Ease of doing business index:
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ Links to an external site.
Global Competitiveness Index:
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2016-2017/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2016-2017_FINAL.pdf Links to an external site.
Economic Freedom Index of the Fraser Institute:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom-of-the-world-2022-annual-report Links to an external site.
Huerta de Soto, J. (2010). Socialism, Economic Calculation and Entrepreneurship. London: Edward Elgar. (especially Chapter 2 on entrepreneurship)
UNIT 2: Short-term business forecast (according to the income-expenditure model)
Once the European country of expansion has been chosen, in the project’s second phase, the management of the company asks the team what the short-term business prospects in their new location are. As you remember, the income-expense model defines a series of variables that condition the short-term evolution of economic activity. Between them:
Household consumption (real personal consumption expenditure). (%GDP)
Final consumption expenditure of households for consumption purposes. (% GDP)
Household savings (gross household saving rates). (% GDP)
Business investment (total investment to GDP ratio).
Public sector consumption (real government spending expenditure). (%GDP)
The composite leading indicator. (OECD)
Business confidence index. (OECD)
Consumer confidence index. (OECD)
In the group work part of unit 2, it is recommended to consult the following sources:
OCDE Economic Outlook. Statistical Annex:
http://www.oecd.org/eco/outlook/economic-outlook/ Links to an external site.
Annual National Accounts (ESA 2010):
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database Links to an external site.
Economic Freedom Index of the Fraser Institute:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom-of-the-world-2022-annual-report Links to an external site.
UNIT 3: Short-term business forecast (according to the AD-AS model)
In the third installment, you must continue preparing the proposal, for which you need to analyze the following variables.
Long-term interest rates. Total, % per annum
Short-term interest rates. Total, % per annum
Trade in goods and services (% annual growth and as % GDP)
Terms of trade.
Exchange rate of the euro against the New Taiwan dollar and the US dollar (euro exchange rates vs. New Taiwan dollar; US dollar)
Public deficit (government deficit, % of GDP)
Public debt (%GDP)
Tax revenue (%GDP)
Private sector debt, consolidated (% of GDP)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP)
In the group work part of unit 3, it is recommended to consult the following sources
The Statistical Office of the European Union:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/ Links to an external site.
OCDE:
https://data.oecd.org/ Links to an external site.
Economic Freedom Index of the Fraser Institute:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom-of-the-world-2022-annual-report Links to an external site.
UNIT 4: The macroeconomic imbalance procedure
In the fourth and last installment, you must continue preparing the proposal, for which you need to analyze the following variables.
Analyze from the Eurostat website the set of indicators of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP) for the last year that there is a publication that identifies emerging or persistent macroeconomic imbalances in the country in which you are doing the study.
Next, summarize the indications given for the country in the Alert Mechanism Report published last year prepared by the European Commission.
Based on the information collected indicate the weak points that the country has regarding the possible expansion of the business in it. Mainly, you should analyze if the economy has better protection of private property rights and economic freedom and how economic freedom would affect the country’s economic growth and entrepreneurship.
In the group work part of unit 4, it is recommended to consult the following sources:
Eurostat:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/macroeconomic-imbalances-procedure Links to an external site.
The Alert Mechanism Report:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/macroeconomic-imbalances-procedure/publications Links to an external site.
Economic Freedom Index of the Fraser Institute:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom-of-the-world-2022-annual-report
