Need an Economic Research Topic?

Question

Any idea on a good topic? It has to be abit specific not just The R&R Industry.
One topic that I might tackle is: What's behind the low personal Saving Rate?

Another topic I am looking at: Reason behind the American Automobile Industries decline in sales

Answer 1

That's a good start, and I suggest you should thoroughly define what the "savings rate" does and does not count (401ks? IRAs? Home Equity? Unrealized Capital Gains?) A lot of people argue Americans actually do save and invest -- indeed there was a news splash last week about how many people are saving way TOO MUCH for retirement -- but that the outmoded savings rate calculation does a poor job of reflecting modern practices.

That in itself would be an interesting study.

Answer 2

The availability of good data is important to consider when picking a topic. Their are many interesting topics where there is no reliable data base, and I suspect that "What's behind the low personal Saving Rate?" is one of them. Something about financial markets would be a good choice.

Answer 3

The low savings rate is a good topic. The answer is not so simple.... Is it because US citizens are wanting to spend today, and not worried about the burdens of the next generation? Or, it is because foreigners are so willing to lend to us, that they accept low interest rates for that willingness, which discourages US savings?

Answer 4

Contrast Supply-side Economics with Demand-side economics.

The premise is simple (Laffer and Rahn Curves), has loads of theoretical support and opposition.

Best yet is the 25 years of historical data that can be used to quantitatively "prove or disprove" the theory....

Answer 5

How about the value of the dollar or what it's backed with?