Group Project — Part 1-1 — GDP Per Capita

  • Publication date January 29, 2024
Macroeconomics > Macroeconomics Group Project > > Group Project — Part 1-1 — GDP Per Capita

Welcome to the first phase of our series of assignments, which will lead to a comprehensive project on analyzing the macroeconomic performance of a country. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 0: Choose a Country

So far, as a group, decide on a country you wish to study.

Note: For this phase, rely solely on the information I guide you to gather. We’ll dive deeper with further research in subsequent assignments.

Step 1: Data Collection from the World Bank

  1. Access the Database:
    1. Under the Country section:
      • Search for and select your chosen country from the list.
      • Also, select “World” to get global data.
      • Depending on your country’s income level group, select the aggregate group. (For example, if your country is classified as a “Low income,” select the aggregate for “Low income”).
    2. Under the Series section:
      • Search for “GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$)” and select it. This will ensure you are collecting data that has been adjusted for inflation and is standardized to 2015 U.S. dollars.
    • Typically, there will be options to select a start year and an end year. If you want as comprehensive a dataset as possible, select the earliest available start year and the latest end year. For example, you might select a range from 1960 to 2021.
    • Some datasets may have a ‘Select All’ option which will automatically choose the entire available time range.Under the Time section:
  2. Time Range:
    • Navigate to the ‘Time’ or ‘Select Time’ section.
    • Typically, there will be options to select a start year and an end year. If you want as comprehensive a dataset as possible, select the earliest available start year and the latest end year. For example, you might select a range from 1960 to 2021.
    • Some datasets may have a ‘Select All’ option which will automatically choose the entire available time range.
  3. Download Data:
    • Once all the parameters are set, find the ‘Download’ option. This will often allow you to download the data in various formats, such as Excel or CSV.
    • Choose your preferred format and save the file to your computer.
  4. Review Data:
    • Open the downloaded file and review the data to ensure you have all the necessary information.

Step 2: Data Visualization

Formatting and Visualizing GDP Data in Excel:

1. Data Cleaning for the Selected Country’s GDP per capita:

    • Open “P_Data_Extract_From_World_Development_Indicators.xlsx”.
    • Navigate to the row corresponding to your chosen country.
    • Examine the columns representing each year’s GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) for your country.
    • If a particular year’s GDP per capita value is “..” or missing, right-click on the column header (the year) and select “Delete” to remove that entire column (year).

2a. Reformatting Columns:

  • Click on the column headers (e.g., “1973 [YR1973]”) and edit them to just the year (e.g., “1973”). Press Enter.
  • Ensure columns are chronologically ordered. If not, click the column letter, then drag and drop to the correct position.

Pro Tip:

To quickly remove the ” [YR*]” format from multiple column headers, you can use Excel’s ‘Find and Replace’ feature. Press Ctrl + H to open the ‘Find and Replace’ dialog. In the ‘Find what’ box, type ” [YR*” (without quotes) and leave the ‘Replace with’ box empty. Then click on “Replace All”. This will remove the ” [YR1973]” part from all column headers.

2b. Rearranging Columns in Excel:

  • Select the ‘Country Name’ Column:
    • Click on the column header labeled “Country Name” to select the entire column.
  • Cut the Column:
    • Right-click on the selected column and choose “Cut” from the dropdown menu. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + X.
  • Insert the ‘Country Name’ Column Before the First Year:
    • Right-click on the column header of the first year (e.g., “1973”) and choose “Insert Cut Cells” from the dropdown menu.
    • Now, the “Country Name” column should be positioned right before the column for the year 1973, or whichever is the first year in your dataset.
  • Delete the ‘Country Name’ Cell

3. Plotting the Data:

  • Highlight Data for Multiple Rows:
      • Start by locating the row for your chosen country.
      • Click on the cell in the column for the first year (e.g., “1973”) corresponding to your country.
      • While holding down the Shift key, move to the rightmost data point for your country and click on that cell. This will highlight the GDP per capita values across the years for your country.
      • Without releasing the Shift key, move down to the rows for “Middle income” and “World” while continuing to hold the rightmost year’s cell. This
      • action will highlight the rows for all three datasets.
  • Insert Line Chart:
      • With the data for the three rows highlighted, go to the ‘Insert’ tab in the Excel ribbon located at the top.
      • In the ‘Charts’ group, you’ll find a dropdown labeled ‘Line’. Click on it.
      • From the dropdown options, select the first option which should be a simple line chart (usually named “Line”).
  • Customize the Chart (Optional but Recommended)
      • Click on the chart to reveal the “Chart Tools” in the Excel ribbon.
      • Use the “Design” and “Format” tabs under “Chart Tools” to customize the appearance, layout, and styles of your chart.
      • Ensure you have a title, legend, and labeled axes to make your chart clear and informative.
  • How to adjust the Y-axis units of a line chart in Excel to display values in thousands:
      1. Select Your Chart: Click anywhere on your line chart to activate it.
      2. Access the Y-axis: Once the chart is active, you should see three new tabs at the top of Excel – Chart Design, Format, and a third one. Click on the Y-axis of your chart (usually the vertical axis on the left). If done correctly, the Y-axis should now be highlighted.
      3. Open Format Axis: With the Y-axis selected, right-click and choose Format Axis. This will open a sidebar on the right side of Excel with various axis formatting options.
      4. Adjust Units: In the sidebar:
        1. Look for the Axis Options (it’s typically symbolized by a small histogram icon).
        2. Under Axis Options, find the section called Display units. Click on the dropdown next to it.
        3. From the dropdown, select Thousands.
      5. Close the Sidebar: Once you’ve made the changes, you can close the formatting sidebar by clicking on the X in the upper right corner.

4. Customizing the Graph:

  • Update the chart title, axis labels, and ensure a legend differentiates between your country and the income group.

5. Saving Your Work:

  • Go to “File” > “Save As”.
  • Name the file “YourCountryName GDP per capita.xlsx” (replace “YourCountryName” with the actual name).
  • Click “Save”.

Following this guide will help you create a clear and focused visualization of the GDP per capita trends for your chosen country and its corresponding income group.

Example File: Guatemala GDP per capita

Step 3: Analysis

Write a concise paragraph discussing:

    • Your thoughts on the standard of living in your chosen country, based solely on the GDP per capita statistic.
    • Mention three additional data points that could enhance your understanding of the standard of living in the country.
    • Ensure your analysis clearly demonstrates an understanding of real GDP per capita and makes a compelling link between your findings and the three additional data points.

Step 4: Presentation

  1. Design a group poster, which can be a single Power Point slide.
  2. Incorporate your graph and analysis paragraph in this slide.
  3. Ensure your graph is clear, labeled appropriately, and the data source is mentioned.
  4. Consider incorporating design elements that set the stage for the upcoming phases of this project.
  5. Only one member from the group should submit this. The entire group will share the score, which will be out of 10 points. A sample project is provided for reference: Sample Project Part 1 Guatemala– GDP per capita

Step 5: Peer Review

  1. Each member will be assigned another project for peer review.
  2. While reviewing, keep the following in mind:
    • Highlight the parts where the project meets the criteria and suggest areas of improvement. Use your own project as a reference for suggestions.
    • Reflect on the project and think about what elements you could adopt to enhance your own work. Share these reflections.
  3. To aid in your review, you will be provided with a rubric.
  4. Your peer review will be graded, but it will not impact the score of the project you are reviewing. Each student will be graded individually for this task out of 5 points.

How do I complete peer review assignments?

Remember: The objective of these assignments is to build towards a thorough analysis of a country’s macroeconomic performance, pinpoint its primary issues, and explore potential policy solutions. Good luck!

FYI,

  • This is a group project, and the essence of teamwork is to involve every member actively.
  • Intentionally, no group leader has been designated. This approach fosters collective responsibility and inclusivity.
  • Treating this project as a simulation will be beneficial. In the future, when you join a real firm, you’ll often be tasked with projects and partners. Learning to work collaboratively now will prepare you for such professional scenarios.

Let’s embrace this opportunity to learn, collaborate, and grow together!

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