No extensions on within-session assessment tasks or the final examination will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the due date will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which a formal application for Special Consideration is made (via http://www.ask.mq.edu.au/) and approved.

Prescribed textbook:

Students will need to consult this textbook:

• The Economy: Economics for a Changing World.

This text is produced by the CORE ECON team, and is available free online at https://www.core-econ.org/project/core-the-economy/. You will need to register on the site as a student. It is possible to obtain hard copies if desired.

Note that the CORE ECON project site contains significant additional resources that you should aim to make use of in aiding your learning.

Additional References (in alphabetical order):

Apart from the textbook above, students may find the following resources useful as well. Most reputable microeconomics 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. Note that the CORE ECON approach can differ substantially from standard texts, so it will be necessary to consider alternatives judiciously:

• Gans, J., King, S., Byford, M. & Mankiw, N. G. Principles of Microeconomics: Australia and New Zealand Edition 6th Ed., Cengage Learning.
• Hubbard, G., Garnett, A, Lewis, P. & O'Brien, T. Microeconomics 3rd Ed., Pearson, Australia.
• McEachern, W., Microeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction 11th Ed., Cengage Learning.
• Stiglitz, J., Walsh, C.E.,Gow, J. & Richmond, B. Introductory Microeconomics: First Australian Edition, Wiley.

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:

• Kishtainy, N. (2017). A Little History of Economics. London: Yale University Press. 

Technology Used and Required

The unit uses the learning management system (iLearn) that can be accessed via iLearn.mq.edu.au. 

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 chapter(s) before each lecture. ECON1020 relies heavily on independent learning where students read the relevant chapter(s), 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 ECON1020 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. Brief tutorial solutions will be posted on iLearn after completion of all classes of each week.

PAL, Peer Assisted Learning (1 hour for each topic)

Revision of the material from both lectures and tutorials.