Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Jordi McKenzie
Contact via jordi.mckenzie@mq.edu.au
E4A 408
Consultation TBA
Teaching Assistant
Sunny Shin
Consultation TBA
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides an introduction to the main ideas and concepts involved in modern economics, and attempts to provide students with an understanding of how the economy works, what type of problems economists attempt to solve, and how they set about trying to solve them. The unit is primarily concerned with the analysis of individual decision-making units, and the behaviour of firms and industries in the economy, i.e. with microeconomics. Topics include: consumer choice and demand analysis; the firm and its production and costs; market structures from perfect competition to monopoly; welfare economics; and market failure and microeconomic reform.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Online Quizzes | 10% | No | See below |
Tutorial Assessment | 10% | No | Weekly |
Individual Assignment | 20% | No | Friday 4 May at 3pm |
Final Exam | 60% | No | Exam period |
Due: See below
Weighting: 10%
There will be eight online quizzes conducted throughout the session. These will be held during teaching weeks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12.
During quiz weeks, quizzes will be released on iLearn at 9am on Monday and close at 5pm the following Sunday.
The best five out of eight quizzes will count towards your online quiz mark.
Please note that no extensions will be granted. Failure to complete any quiz will result in a zero mark for that quiz.
If students undertake a quiz off-campus, it is their responsibility to ensure the compatibility of the software they use with that of the university. Technical failures that occur when a quiz is done off-campus cannot be verified by the university and will result in a mark of zero for that quiz.
What happens if I miss a quiz?
As only the best five quizzes will be counted, you need not apply for Special Consideration unless you have a serious misadventure that prevents you from attempting at least five quizzes. You do not need to apply for Special Consideration for missing a single quiz.
If you have a valid reason that prevents you from attempting at least five quizzes throughout the session you may submit an application under the Special Consideration Policy. If your application is successful you will be required to undertake a substitute quiz.
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%
There will be two components of Tutorial Assessment in ECON111:
1. Tutorial participation (5%)
Tutorial participation is expected throughout the session. You will have many opportunities to participate in both small and large group activities. Your tutor will record your participation throughout the session to provide an overall mark for this component of the assessment. In order to get full marks for this component of the tutorial assessment, you need to demonstrate active participation in at least eight tutorials throughout the session. Further details relating to tutorial participation are available on iLearn.
2. Three in-class tests (5%)
There will be three in-class tests held in tutorials during the session. These will occur in weeks 5, 9 and 13. Each in-class test will involve five randomly selected multiple choice questions. The selected multiple choice questions will be based on the 10 weekly multiple choice practice questions assigned each week from the preceding four weeks (i.e. five questions selected from 40 practice questions).
Specifically:
1. Week 5 test covers lecture topics weeks 1-4.
2. Week 9 test covers lecture topics weeks 5-8.
3. Week 13 test covers lecture topics weeks 9-12.
Each test will begin at exactly 5 minutes past the hour and will run for 5 minutes only. You are expected to be familiar with the questions beforehand and it is strongly recommended that you consistently complete the weekly multiple choice questions in order to maximise your mark for this component of the assessment. You will be marked on the best results you obtain from two of the three in-class tests.
Please note that weekly multiple choice practice questions will not be discussed in class. You may find it useful to work with other students to complete the weekly practice questions. Solutions and feedback will be provided to all multiple choice questions after each in-class test.
What happens if I miss a tutorial or an in-class test?
We recognise that from time-to-time other commitments may result in you missing a tutorial. Therefore, we have designed this assessment to allow you an opportunity to achieve full marks (10% of your final grade) providing you participate in at least eight (of 13) tutorials, and that you attend at least two (of three) in-class tests.
If you have a valid reason that prevents you from attending at least eight tutorials or attending two of three in-class tests throughout the session you may submit an application under the Special Consideration Policy. If your application is successful then an alternative assessment task will be organised and this may take the form of an oral assessment task.
Due: Friday 4 May at 3pm
Weighting: 20%
Each student must submit their assignment by 3pm on Friday 4th of May, 2018 (Week 8). The assignment is submitted via Turnitin through iLearn. The emphasis in the assignment will be on using economic theory and reasoning to demonstrate the graduate capability related to 'ethical thinking'. The assignment will be in the form of a written essay (1000 words) and worth 20% of your final mark in this unit.
The assignment will be available on iLearn in week 5. Please note that no extensions will be granted. Late assignments will be accepted up to 96 hours after the submission deadline. There will be a deduction of 20% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late means a 40% penalty).
All students who apply for Special Consideration in relation to the assignment will be given an extension if the application is approved. Please consult the Special Considerations Policy.
Due: Exam period
Weighting: 60%
End of unit two hour written examination, to be taken during the end of session examination period. The examination will cover material drawn from all parts of the unit’s subject matter. The exam will consist of multiple choice questions and written-answer questions.
What happens if I miss the final exam?
All students who apply for Special Consideration for the final exam will be required to sit a supplementary examination, if the application is approved. Please note that the supplementary examination may have a different format to the original exam. It is reasonable to point out that because students who sit the supplementary examination usually have much longer to prepare for their examination, the supplementary examination will be more difficult and marked at a higher level than the original examination.
Recommended Textbook:
Students are recommended to purchase this textbook:
Additional References (in alphabetical order):
Apart from the textbook above, students may find the following resources useful as well. Most reputable microeconomic textbooks cover the same economic theories, but perhaps you may want to refer to supplementary chapters from these texts for topics that you need extra help on:
Students interested in a very readable and non-technical account of where many of the economic ideas studied in this course come from are encouraged to consult:
A copy of all of these books has been placed in the reserve section of the library. If you purchase a copy of a book, the publisher provides a range of support material for the textbook, including a website. Information on accessing this material is provided in the introduction to the text. The website material includes trial questions and quizzes. You may find it useful to devote some limited time to these questions and quizzes. They will give you some feedback on how your understanding is progressing. Note however that the bulk of your study time, outside of the classroom, should be devoted to studying.
For equity concerns, the library has assisted ECON111 with placing scanned resources from a variety of resources on the library's e-Reserve website. If you are facing financial difficulties in obtaining a textbook, this could be an option for you.
Technology Used and Required
The unit uses the learning management system (iLearn) that can be accessed via iLearn.mq.edu.au. The lecture slides for each week’s lecture will be posted on iLearn before the lecture. You will find it useful to download the slides prior to the lecture, and bring them to the lecture. The iLearn site is also used to post important notices. You should check this regularly. The iLearn web page has the facility to allow peer to peer discussion and also allows students to put questions to an Online-Tutor. The Online-Tutor will attempt to answer your questions in a timely manner.
Learning and Teaching Activities
This unit is taught as a mix of tutorials and lectures. The lectures are designed to provide the tools which can then be applied in tutorials.
Lectures – large group learning (2 hours for each topic)
Lectures are intended to provide an overview of the key concepts explored in the unit. Students are expected to read the relevant chapters before each lecture. Independent learning ECON111 relies heavily on independent learning where students read the relevant chapter, revise lecture notes and prepare answers to the tutorial questions.
Tutorials – small group learning (1 hour for each topic)
Tutorials constitute a critical learning experience of this unit and students must attend. Group work is an essential part of this learning. In ECON111 we emphasise peer-to-peer learning by working as a group through the exercises and learning from others. Your tutor's role is to help you understand the material. Ask your tutor for guidance on how to approach questions and problems.
After the tutorials – the learning continues. At the end of each teaching day, review your tutorial notes, compare your answers to those of friends, members of your group and the discussion board. Note that model answers will not be provided. You get the answers by engaging in all the above activities.
PAL, Peer Assisted Learning (1 hour for each topic)
Revision of the material from both lectures and tutorials.
Week (beginning) |
Lecture topic |
Reading* |
Assessment |
1 (26 Feb) |
Introduction to microeconomics |
Ch 1 |
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2 (5 Mar) |
The economic problem |
Ch 2, 3 |
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3 (12 Mar) |
Demand and supply |
Ch 4 |
Online Quiz 1 |
4 (19 Mar) |
Elasticity |
Ch 5 |
Online Quiz 2 |
5 (26 Mar) |
Efficiency and fairness in markets |
Ch 6 |
In Class Test 1^ |
6 (2 Apr) |
Government intervention in markets |
Ch 7, 8 |
Online Quiz 3 |
7 (9 Apr) |
Global markets and trade |
Ch 9 |
Online Quiz 4 |
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Mid-session break (16 Apr – 27 Apr) |
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8 (30 Apr) |
Externalities and public goods |
Ch 10, 11 |
Online Quiz 5, Assignment |
9 (7 May) |
Production and costs |
Ch 13 |
In Class Test 2 |
10 (14 May) |
Perfect competition |
Ch 14 |
Online Quiz 6 |
11 (21 May) |
Monopoly |
Ch 15 |
Online Quiz 7 |
12 (28 May) |
Monopolistic competition and oligopoly |
Ch 16,17 |
Online Quiz 8 |
13 (4 Jun) |
Revision |
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In Class Test 3 |
*All readings relate to Parkin & Bade, Microeconomics: Australia in the Global Environment
^Students who have tutorials on Friday (Good Friday public holiday) will sit the In-Class test in the following week.
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