Balance of Payments Resources  

For a sample balance of payments analysis, take a look at any April issue of Survey of Current Business for its article on U.S. international transactions for the preceding year. 

Some SAIS faculty make available examples of good papers submitted by past students. Check with your professor, or look on that professor's ERes page.

photo by mandolux, 2005

Some students might call the balance of payments - or BOP - paper a "rite of passage" for all SAIS MA students. This guide suggests possible sources for statistics, background country information and articles.

Your professor is the best source of information for what to include in a BOP paper. Some SAIS economics faculty have prepared detailed guidelines for writing the balance of payments paper, including a template for structuring the paper.