This exercise is designed to familiarise you with some of the key economic concepts in the course. The task is to take one of the key concepts from the beginning of the course and relate it to the interests of social policy and research. First, choose one of the three readings below and the concept that goes with it. You will need to explain what the concept is and how the reading develops it. You then need to link this concept to a current policy or social research concern. For example, you might discuss how the division of labour relates to the paid care workforce, or to hospital reforms, or you might discuss how commodification applies to the delivery of social services, where the distinction between producer and consumer is less stark than for physical commodities. You are not expected to go into depth. Rather the exercise is designed to demonstrate your understanding and ability to apply concepts. Briefly explaining the key aspects of the concept and one potential implication is all that is required.

Remember too, this is a short exercise. It is not designed as a research assignment, although you may wish to refer to a few additional references. Instead the focus is on demonstrating that you understand the argument and can relate the concept to social analysis.

Division of labour. Smith, A 1952, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chapters 1-3: 3-10.

Embeddedness. Granovetter, M 1985, 'Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness', American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481-510.

Commodity fetishism. Marx, K. 1976 [1867], ‘The fetishism of the commodity and its secret’, Capital, vol. 1, London: Penguin, 163-177.

For this exercise you will be required to do an analysis of the Commonwealth Budget. The exercise is due in Week 8. You should look to the readings in Weeks 7 and 8 in particular to assist you. The assignment should be written in the form of a report. It should contain a brief summary at the beginning, a description of the main policies that will be examined. Then add a short section on each explaining the changes and the likely impacts. It should end with a brief conclusion that assesses the overall impact.

A Budget Overview (1,500 words)

Here you will need to give a summary of the main changes made in the budget. You will need to identify changes in both taxation and government spending, however you only need to focus on the main changes. As a general guide you should be looking to cover 4-6 areas in the budget (a change being a particular spending initiative, change in tax rates or change in rules governing a program). Then give a discussion of what the likely effects of the changes are in terms of both over fiscal policy (is it net expansionary or contractionary), and in terms of the distribution of resources (who wins and who loses). How would you assess the overall effect of the budget?

In this assignment you will explore the application of market economics to social and environmental policy making. You will need to select a case study where policy has changed (or is proposed to change) to provide a greater role for market forces in the production or allocation of resources. This should ideally be related to the topic of your last assignment.

Your analysis will need to outline the policy changes and the rationale for the change. You should then explore the effects (or predicted effects) of the policy change and address arguments both in favour and against the policy change. You should conclude by suggesting ways forward, has the policy been effective and what might make it more effective?

Below are a few examples you might wish to choose. You can also choose a different topic.

• The decision to grant equal pay for care workers in 2012
• The Clean Energy Future package or the European Emissions Trading Scheme
• The introduction of HECS
• The private health insurance rebate and proposals to means test this
• Water privatisation in Bolivia
• Increasing the compulsory contributions to superannuation
• The first home savers scheme

As part of your involvement in the course you are expected to actively participate in seminars. This involves reading and thinking about the required readings each week. It also involves making some contribution to discussion. You will be assessed on the basis of your contributions in terms of both your understanding of the issues and your effort to engage with the subject matter. This is not a measure of how much you contribute, but of the quality of your contributions.

It is also important that everyone contributes in a way that promotes reasoned discussion and includes all. If you find it easy to contribute, be careful not to dominate debate. If you find it difficult, make an effort to get involved, or discuss the issue with your tutor so they can help you participate fully. Debating and discussing ideas is an important part of academic life and sociological inquiry.