Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Alexander Blair
Contact via email
E4A 418
To be advised via iLearn link
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
6cp at 200 level including (ECON200 or ECON201 or ECON203 or ECON204)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit focuses on the three major economies of the region, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the People’s Republic of China, and covers the distinctive business and economic institutions of each, both those of today, such as sogo shosha and chaebol, and of the recent past including zaibatsu and Chinese TVEs. The unit goes beyond description, to provide theory to explain why such institutions exist, often uniquely to the region. It therefore approaches the major economies of East Asia as an exercise in applied economic theory, and as an introduction to basic models in development economics. It further draws on economic models to explain how these economies achieved rapid ‘Miracle’ economic growth, and raised per capita incomes from the lowest to amongst the highest in the world. Some of the economic theory will be familiar to students, some of it encountered for the first time, but in either case it will be taught from first principles with no assumed knowledge, for practical application in real world economies. Other economies will be covered as well as the three that are core to the unit, and it will add much to students' knowledge of theoretical and applied economics.
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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 |
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Introductory Test | 10% | No | Week 4 in tutorial |
Mid-Session Test | 25% | No | Week 8 |
Essay | 25% | No | 5th November 11pm |
Final Examination | 40% | No | University Examination Period |
Due: Week 4 in tutorial
Weighting: 10%
This Test will be held in tutorial, and will cover a selection of the material from the early lectures. More than this however, it is intended to give you practice in some of the skills and techniques you will need in the subsequent assessment tasks. In other words, it will give us a snapshot of your current skill set. The Test script will be returned with comments, and this Test with the comments on it will give students an introduction as to how best to prepare for the Mid-Session Test.
Students who are absent for the Introductory Test will score zero for this task. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration has been made and approved. If approved, policy allows for the provision of one additional assessment task. This task need not be the same as the missed assessment. It could be a test, essay or oral task. In submitting a Special Consideration application, the student is agreeing to make themselves available so that they can complete any extra work as required. The time and date, deadline or format of any required extra assessable work will not be open to negotiation.
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 25%
The Mid-Session Test will be held in the lecture in Week 8, and will be of one hour and forty minutes duration. It will cover work presented in Weeks 1-7, but a Guide to the Test will be published on iLearn listing the specific material to be assessed. The aim is to help with the learning process, as much as it is to accumulate marks. This is a very important assessment; it will allow you to demonstrate your grasp of the core material of the Unit, and to accomplish many of the Unit's objectives, at a very early stage of Session. It is also a very impartial, objective gauge of your knowledge - much of the Test will be based on important but easy to grasp rote learnt material. As noted above, a detailed list of the material to be covered will be provided on iLearn so that you can focus your preparations directly on the material covered in the Test. All of that material will be found in the lectures and tutorials, backed up by selected handouts. No outside reading will be required. The scripts will be returned with detailed comments, in Week 10.
Students who are absent for the Mid-Session Test will score zero for this task. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration has been made and approved. If approved, policy allows for the provision of one additional assessment task. This task need not be the same as the missed assessment. It could be a test, essay or oral task. In submitting a Special Consideration application, the student is agreeing to make themselves available so that they can complete any extra work as required. The time and date, deadline or format of any required extra assessable work will not be open to negotiation.
Due: 5th November 11pm
Weighting: 25%
The due date for this assessment is 5th November at 11pm. The essay is to be submitted using two links via the iLearn Unit page. Essays must be at least 2000 words, excluding references. They need not be significantly longer than this, and must not exceed 2,200 words.
Topics will be available via a handout on iLearn, and this handout will include also an essay writing guide. This is a skills exercise, rather than just a means of accumulating marks, and essay skills such as citation of sources and correct presentation of references will be emphasized. The Essay Guide will help with these skills.
Essays will be accepted only up until 5h November at 11pm, after which penalties will begin to apply. 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 – 20% penalty). Submissions will be accepted up until 72 hours after the due date (with a deduction by that time of 30% of the total available marks).This penalty does not apply for cases in which a Special Consideration application has been made and approved. Policy allows for the provision of one additional assessment task. This task need not be the same as the missed assessment. It could be a homework, essay or oral task. In submitting a Special Consideration application, the student is agreeing to make themselves available so that they can complete any extra work as required. The time and date, deadline or format of any required extra assessable work will not be open to negotiation.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 40%
The Final Examination will be of three hours duration, and will consist of a mix of short answer questions (as seen already in the Mid-Session Test) and essay-style questions. A guide to the Final Examination will be available from Week 10 via iLearn. Once again, the Short Answer section of the exam will give an objective and impartial measure of the student's grasp of the rote learnt detail of the Unit, and the Essay section will provide an opportunity to discuss at length the ideas and issues raised in the lectures and tutorial readings. Students who experience misadventure which prevents them from attending the Final Examination, should complete a Disruption to Studies application. If this application meets the criteria set out in University guidelines, then the student may be offered a Supplementary Examination on the day and time timetabled by the University.
No textbook succeeds in covering all the aspects of the topic that we wish to cover, and few try. As a third year unit we will rely on academic journal articles to supplement the lecture material. Any journal article required will be available online via the Library interface, and you will be given a guide as to how to access this. All the material required for understanding the areas covered in the unit will be available through the lectures or these library readings.
Unit Web Page
Lecture and tutorial material as well as up to date information concerning any aspect of the unit, including any changes to the schedule, will be available to students by logging on to iLearn at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au.
ECON394 covers the core institutions of the Japanese economy, as well as key concepts in economic theory and especially development economics. it will not be possible to achieve a Passing grade unless this material has been mastered. The core of the teaching of ECON394 is the lecture program. It is vital that students maintain consistent attendance at lectures. Students unable to meet this requirement should consult the lecturer at the beginning of semester. Consistent attendance at tutorials is similarly vital to success in the unit. The lectures will be supplemented by a discrete set of journal articles reflecting the major themes of the Unit, and these will be discussed at length in the tutorials. Assimilation of the material from these articles and from the lectures and tutorials will be necessary for success in the Unit.
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:
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Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Grading Policy which is available at:
http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
If, at the conclusion of the unit, you have performed below expectations, and are considering lodging an appeal of grade and/or viewing your final exam script please refer to the following website which provides information about these processes and the cut off dates in the first instance. Please read the instructions provided concerning what constitutes a valid grounds for appeal before appealing your grade.
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Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
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