Economics of Transition      Aug - Dec 2003        Economics 232  

    Exercise #1

    Comparison of World Development Indicators

    Due Wednesday, Aug 27, in class

    Let's expand the list of indicators we looked at in class to include other indicators listed below.  Using World Development Indicators find the relevant indicator for "your" transition country, the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa. Click on "WDI Online", then "Data Query," then "Data Query" again, and follow the instructions.  

    Write down the statistics, making sure to indicate the year each number refers to and the units.  First, comment on whether the cross-country comparisons for these variables are consistent with your expectations. Second, discuss how and why you expect long-term economic growth to be affected by each factor (noticing the trends if data permit).  

    Certain indicators are available only in some years. Therefore, select all 5 years and choose the most recent figure. Do not worry if the data are not available.

    1. life expectancy at birth, total
    2. secondary school enrollment
    3. CO2 emissions per capita (in metric tons)
    4. electric power consumption (in kwh per capita)
    5. personal computers per 1000 people
    6. Trade as % of GDP
    7. Population growth (annual %)