Economics Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics Assessment - Assignment Example Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The GDP is an important primary economic indicator for assessing economic growth of a country as it impacts on the businesses, industries and people. The economic growth measured by comparison over a period of time indicates trends in the economy. GDP Real growth rate refers to GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and measured on year-over-year basis. GDP real growth rate North Korea South Korea 2012 (est.) 2.7% 2011 (est.) 0.8% 3.6% 2010 (est.) -0.5% 6.3% 2009 (est.) -0.9% The GDP real growth rate of South Korea during 2010 to 2012 reflects the effect of slowdown in the international economy consequent upon the US subprime crisis and financial crisis in Europe due to its level of exposure to international trade. The strength of the country’s economy could be assessed meaningfully by comparing its GDP growth rates with the other developed countries’. ... The developing countries like India (4.5%) and China (7.9%) have higher GDP growth rates as they were not affected by subprime or European financial crisis. North Korea’s GDP growth compared to many of the developing and under-developed countries has been poor. The country had negative growth in 2009 and 2010 against good performances of several Asian and African countries during this period. The industrial development achieved by South Korea over the period of time is linked to its external trade and GDP growth as can be observed from the following table. External Trade of South and North Korea (USD 100 million) North Korea (A) South Korea (B) B/A 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 Trade Amount 41.7 63.2 8916.0 10796.3 213.8 170.8 (22.3) (51.3) (29.9) (21.1) Exports 15.1 27.9 4663.8 5552.1 308.9 199.0 (42.5 (84.2) (28.3) (19.0) Imports 26.6 35.3 4252.1 5244.2 159.9 148.6 (13.2) (32.6) (31.6) (23.3) Notes: 1) Excludes bilateral trade between North and South Korea. 2) Figures in par entheses represent rates of growth over the previous years. Source: The Bank of Korea, p. 6. â€Å"Historically, from 1971 until 2012, South Korea GDP Annual Growth Rate averaged 7.23 Percent reaching an all time high of 18.20 Percent in September of 1973 and a record low of -7.30 Percent in June of 1998. South Korea’s economy became one of the most diversified and technologically advanced in the world in the last 50 years† (Trading Economics, 2012). The sanctions imposed on North Korea by the US and European community has affected the country’s internal trade severely. Apart from South Korea, other trading partners of North Korea are mostly the developing nations of the world. The comparative performance of the two countries reflects the weakness in the political system