Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Jordi McKenzie
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
6cp at 200 level including ECON203
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
In standard economic theory, markets exist to allocate and distribute a nation's wealth through the process of exchange. The way in which a society organises these markets and the purposes to which the resulting structures are put, cannot be understood without in turn comprehending the way in which industries are organised within that economy, specifically the contractual arrangements that facilitate economic exchange. This unit analyses markets, firms and government as simply three different institutional or governance structures that serve to accomplish given economic objectives. The issue then becomes not which one should be utilised, but which is the most efficient mix. The actual mix chosen depends upon the comparative transaction costs of using each one.
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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 |
---|---|---|---|
Class Test | 20% | No | Week 7 |
Research Assignment | 20% | No | Week 12 |
Final Examination | 60% | No | University Examination Period |
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 20%
The class test will be held in (teaching) Week 7. The test will include 10 multiple choice questions and two short answer questions. It will be of 60 minutes duration (plus 5 minutes reading time). The test will cover material from Week 1-5 (inclusive). Further details will be provided in due course.
Students who do not sit the class test will be awarded a mark of 0, except for cases in which an application for 'Special Consideration' has been made and approved. Students should note that applications for 'Special Consideration' are reviewed by a Faculty committee and suspected non-genuine cases will not be granted.
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 20%
The Research Assignment will be 1500 words and primarily assesses the Learning Outcomes relating to 'Ethical Thinking' and 'Communication'. It is due on Friday November 1 (week 12) at 2pm and must be submitted online through iLearn. More information about the Research Assignment will be provided during lectures and on iLearn by the end of week 4.
Late submission: No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% 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 in submission incurs a 20% penalty). Late submissions will be accepted up to 96 hours after the due date and time. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. Note: applications for Special Consideration must be made within 5 (five) business days of the due date and time. When an application for special consideration has been approved, Policy allows for the provision of one additional task. The format, time and date of this task will be determined by the Unit Convenor.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 60%
The final examination is of 2 hours duration and will be held in the official Macquarie University examination period. All material covered in the unit is examinable. Further details of the structure of the final examination will be provided in due course.
If an application for Special Consideration is approved, Policy allows for the provision of one additional task. Note: applications for Special Consideration must be made within 5 (five) business days of the due date and time.
The teaching format for this class is one 3-hour session per week. This session will typically include a formal lecture component and discussion of practice exercises. It is strongly recommended that students attend all lectures and gain access to the prescribed textbook.
Prescribed textbook:
Other textbooks which may also be useful include:
For a more advanced treatment of the material covered in this course you may want to consider the following textbooks:
Week | Topic | Reading* |
1 | Introduction to IO; Microeconomics review | PRN 1, 2 |
2 | Market structure and power; Technology and cost | PRN 3, 4 |
3 | Price discrimination | PRN 5, 6 |
4 | Product variety and quality | PRN 7 |
5 | Bundling and tie-in sales | PRN 8 |
6 | Cournot competition; Price competition | PRN 9, 10 |
7 | Class test. No lecture or workshop. | |
8 | Price competition (cont.); Dynamic games | PRN 10, 11 |
9 | Entry deterrence and predation; Predatory conduct | PRN 12, 13 |
10 | Price fixing, repeated games and antitrust | PRN 14 |
11 | Advertising, market power and information; Research and development | PRN 19 |
12 | Research and development (cont.); Patents and patent policy | PRN 20 |
13 | Review |
* All readings taken from Pepall, Richards, and Norman (PRN), Industrial Organization 5E.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Course material is available on the learning management system (ilearn). The web page for this unit can be found at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/
Students should check this site regularly for announcements, test results and lecture material.