Online quizzes

Due: Weeks 3, 5, 9,13

Weighting: 20%

 

There will be four online quizzes (weight: 5% each) conducted throughout the session. These will be held during teaching weeks 3, 5, 9 and 13.

The first online quiz will cover lecture material from weeks 1-2, the second online quiz will cover lecture material from weeks 3-4, the third online quiz will cover lecture materials from weeks 5-8,  the fourth online quiz will cover lecture materials from weeks  9-12. 

During quiz weeks, quizzes will be released on iLearn at 9am on Monday and close at 5pm the following Sunday.

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?

 

If you have a valid reason that prevents you from attempting an online quiz you may submit an application under the Special Consideration Policy. If your application is successful, your marks from the remaining online quizzes will be adjusted accordingly.

 

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Knowledge and Understanding: Demonstrate recognition of how principles of microeconomics are relevant in understanding decision-making by economic agents.
• Problem solving and critical thinking: Display creativity and critical thinking and the ability to apply the theoretical understanding of microeconomics to real-life economic problems.
• Analytical skills: Evidence competence in the solution and interpretation of models in microeconomics.

 

Individual Assignments

Due: Weeks 6, 12

Weighting: 30%

 

There will be two individual assignments to be completed during the session. The first assignment is due by 3pm on Friday, Week 6 and the second assignment is due by 3pm on Friday, Week 12.

The assignments are to be submitted via Turnitin through iLearn. The emphasis in the assignments will be on using economic theory and reasoning to demonstrate the graduate capability related to 'ethical thinking'. The assignments will be in the form of two written essays (1250 words each) and worth 30% of your final mark in this unit.

The first assignment will be available on iLearn in week 2 and the second assignment will be available in week 8. 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 an assignment will be given an extension if the application is approved. Please consult the Special Considerations Policy.

 

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Knowledge and Understanding: Demonstrate recognition of how principles of microeconomics (including issue relating to business ethics and sustainability in addressing business challenges) are relevant in understanding decision-making by economic agents.
• Ethical thinking: Exhibit the ability to evaluate economic theory, related social issues and real-world applications critically.
• Communication: Develop communication skills to effectively demonstrate the understanding of economic ideas, including the presentation of both quantitative and visual material.

Final exam

Due: Exam period

Weighting: 50%

 

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 may 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.

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Knowledge and Understanding: Demonstrate recognition of how principles of microeconomics are relevant in understanding decision-making by economic agents.
• Problem solving and critical thinking: Display creativity and critical thinking and the ability to apply the theoretical understanding of microeconomics to real-life economic problems.
• Analytical skills: Evidence competence in the solution and interpretation of models in microeconomics.
• Communication: Develop communication skills to effectively demonstrate the understanding of economic ideas, including the presentation of both quantitative and visual material.

Delivery and Resources

Prescribed textbook

Students are recommended to purchase the following textbook:

• Goolsbee, A, Levitt, S.. & Syverson, C, (2020) Microeconomics (3rd Ed.), Macmillan.

The text is available for purchase  https://www.booktopia.com.au/coop or may be purchased as an e-book (http s://www.vitalsource.com/en-au/products/microeconomics-austan-goolsbee-steven-v9781319136 628?term=goolsbee).

The publisher also provides additional resources through 'Launchpad', an online site that includes the e-book and various other resources (practice tests, etc). If you have purchased an access code for Launchpad, you should go to the website http://www.macmillanhighered.com/lau nchpad/gls2e/10291617 and enroll in the online course.   Please note, this is an extra resource  and it is NOT required for the unit.  It is entirely optional whether or not you wish to purchase   these extra resources. More information about Launchpad is provided in the introduction to the text.

Additional references (in alphabetical order)

Apart from the prescribed textbook, students may find the following resources useful.

• Frank, R.H. (2010), Microeconomics and Behavior (8th Ed), Boston: McGraw-Hill.

• Nechyba, T.J. (2011), Microeconomics: An Intuitive Approach with Calculus (1st Ed), South-Western.
• Perloff, J.M. (2016) Microeconomics (7th Ed), Pearson

• Pindyck R.S. and Rubinfeld D.L. (2017), Microeconomics (9th Ed), Pearson International Edition.
• Varian, H.R. (2014), Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach (9th Ed), New York: Norton.

For equity concerns, the library has assisted ECON2003 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 by 5pm Friday each week before 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 every week - delivered online)

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. ECON2003 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 both online and face to face to allocated groups)

Tutorials constitute a critical learning experience of this unit and students must attend. Group work is an essential part of this learning. In ECON2003 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, subject to change)

Revision of the material from both lectures and tutorials.

Week	Lecture Topic	Readings	Assessment
1	Introduction; supply and demand revision	Ch 2, 3
2	Consumer behaviour	Ch 4
3	Individual and market demand	Ch 5	Online quiz 1
4	Producer behaviour; costs	Ch 6, 7
5	Perfect competition; monopoly	Ch 8, 9	Online quiz 2
6	Monopoly, Pricing strategies for firms with market power	Ch 10	Assignment 1
	MID-SESSION BREAK
7	Imperfect competition	Ch 11
8	Game theory	Ch 12
9	Factor markets	Ch 13	Online quiz 3
10	General equilibrium	Ch 15
11	General equilibrium (cont.); asymmetric information	Ch 15,16
12	Public economics and Externalities	Ch 17	Assignment 2
13	Revision		Online quiz 4