AEM 4005 - Rating Nations: Economic Performance and Other Indicators

Spring. 1.5 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Prerequisite: ECON 1110.

K. Basu.

There are various ways in which nations are rated and ranked. Rating agencies like S&P ranks nations on the basis of how good and safe they are in terms of investment returns. The World Bank’s Doing Business report ranks nations in terms of how easy it is to do business in a nation. The UNDP ranks countries in terms of their level of “human development”. This half semester course will introduce students to the theory and practice of rating and ranking nations in different ways. The students will be encouraged to develop their own ideas of new ways to rate and rank nations. One particular fledgling idea that will be discussed is how easy it is for citizens in different nations to interact with their government. We can call it the Living Life index, to chime with the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. It is hoped that by the end of the course we will have two or three concrete ideas for new ways of rating nations.

Outcome 1: Define what constitutes a good and efficient economy.

Outcome 2: Collect data and perform your own rating and ranking of countries.

Outcome 3: Collaborate with UNDP office in NYC on the development of the Human Development Index.