Students

ECON3056 – Evolution of Economic Ideas

2023 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Wylie Bradford
wylie.bradford@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including ((ECON110 or ECON111 or ECON1020) and 20cp at 2000 level or above)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Why is economics the way it is? Are modern approaches to analysis related to past contributions? Has there been progress in economics, and how would we know? What is the place of the history of economic thought in the history of ideas more generally? The answer to these and many other fascinating questions form the focus of this unit. The unit considers history of economic thought from a non-standard and enlightening perspective. Rather than trace through the chronology of authors and schools of thought, the unit examines the evolution of theories and theoretical ideas from their origins (sometimes in antiquity), through to their modern forms. This puts the economics you have already learned into context and allows for a greater appreciation of the historical, social and philosophical influences on the development of economic thought. Topics may include: theories of value; theories of distribution; theories of growth; theories of cycles and fluctuations.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Identify the distinguishing characteristics of key schools of thought and stages in the development of economic theory.
  • ULO2: Evaluate the major theoretical approaches to the analysis of economic issues, the assumptions on which they are based, and their implications.
  • ULO3: Analyse and describe the important individual contributors to the development of economics.
  • ULO4: Exhibit the ability to interpret economic reasoning as presented in varying literary forms at different points in time.
  • ULO5: Show a clear capacity to critically assess and compare current and historical approaches to the development of economics.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments) 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration. Note that reflective blogs and discussions fall in this category.

As reflections will be based on unit content (recorded lectures) the marks for blogs will be affected by the amount of relevant content viewed. Watch rates of lecture videos will be tracked via ECHO360 and will partly determine marks for individual blogs. Note also that attendance at tutorials for which work is being submitted is necessary for the reflective component to be marked.

See the guides to assessment tasks available on ilear for more detail.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Discussion 25% No Weeks 8,12
Personal Reflective Blog 40% No Fortnightly, beginning Week 3
Tutorial assignment 35% No Student-determined, beginning Week 3

Discussion

Assessment Type 1: Debate
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Weeks 8,12
Weighting: 25%

Full details are available in the Unit Guide
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify the distinguishing characteristics of key schools of thought and stages in the development of economic theory.
  • Evaluate the major theoretical approaches to the analysis of economic issues, the assumptions on which they are based, and their implications.
  • Show a clear capacity to critically assess and compare current and historical approaches to the development of economics.

Personal Reflective Blog

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Fortnightly, beginning Week 3
Weighting: 40%

Full details are available in the Unit Guide
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify the distinguishing characteristics of key schools of thought and stages in the development of economic theory.
  • Evaluate the major theoretical approaches to the analysis of economic issues, the assumptions on which they are based, and their implications.
  • Analyse and describe the important individual contributors to the development of economics.
  • Exhibit the ability to interpret economic reasoning as presented in varying literary forms at different points in time.
  • Show a clear capacity to critically assess and compare current and historical approaches to the development of economics.

Tutorial assignment

Assessment Type 1: Qualitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Student-determined, beginning Week 3
Weighting: 35%

Weekly study of major thinkers
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify the distinguishing characteristics of key schools of thought and stages in the development of economic theory.
  • Analyse and describe the important individual contributors to the development of economics.
  • Exhibit the ability to interpret economic reasoning as presented in varying literary forms at different points in time.
  • Show a clear capacity to critically assess and compare current and historical approaches to the development of economics.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

There is no set text. A guide to reading resources will be supplied on iLearn. Recorded lecture content will be provided and available weekly. Tutorials will be in face-to-face format (there are no online classes in this unit).

Unit Schedule

Week

Lecture

Tutorial

1

Introduction – History of Economic Thought: What, Why, How?

 

2

Theory of Value I (Origins, Ancient & Medieval, Pre-Classical)

Intro/admin

3

Theory of Value II (Classical)

Aristotle 

4

Theory of Value III (Classical, Neoclassical)

Aquinas 

5

Theory Of Value IV (Neoclassical, Modern) 

Petty

6

Distribution Theory (Origins, Pre-Classical)

Cantillon
7

Distribution Theory (Classical, Neoclassical)

 Smith

 

 Mid-session recess  

8

Distribution Theory (Neoclassical, Modern)

Ricardo

9

Growth Theory (Origins, Pre-Classical)

Marx 

10

Growth Theory (Classical)

Walras

11

Growth Theory (Neoclassical, Modern)/Fluctuations and Cycles (Origins)

Marshall

12

Fluctuations and Cycles (Classical, Crisis Theories, Neoclassical)

Keynes

13

Fluctuations and Cycles (Modern)

Hicks

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Results

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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

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Unit information based on version 2023.03 of the Handbook