Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Paul Crosby
Contact via email
Lecturer
Wylie Bradford
Contact via email
Lecturer
Edwin Franks
Contact via email
Head Tutor
Mahmut Temur
Contact via email
Marjan Nazifi
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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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 provides an introduction to the main ideas and concepts involved in modern economics, and attempts to provide students with an understanding of how the economy works, what type of problems economists attempt to solve, and how they set about trying to solve them. The unit is primarily concerned with the analysis of individual decision-making units, and the behaviour of firms and industries in the economy, i.e. with microeconomics. Topics include: consumer choice and demand analysis; the firm and its production and costs; market structures from perfect competition to monopoly; welfare economics; and market failure and microeconomic reform.
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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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Tutorial participation | 10% | No | Weekly |
Online quizzes | 10% | No | Weeks 5 and 10 |
Individual Assignment | 30% | No | Week 8 |
Final exam | 50% | No | Exam period |
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%
Tutorial participation is expected throughout the session. You will have many opportunities to participate in both small and large group activities. Your tutor will record your participation throughout the session to provide an overall mark for this component of the assessment. In order to get full marks for this component of the tutorial assessment, you need to demonstrate active participation in at least 10 tutorials throughout the session. Further details relating to tutorial participation are available in the participation rubric on iLearn.
What happens if I miss a tutorial?
We recognise that from time-to-time other commitments may result in you missing a tutorial. Therefore, we have designed this assessment to allow you an opportunity to achieve full marks (10% of your final grade) providing you participate in at least 10 (of 13) tutorials. That is, you may miss up to three tutorials without penalty.
If you have a valid reason that prevents you from attending at least 10 tutorials throughout the session you may submit an application under the Special Consideration Policy. If your application is successful your participation mark will be adjusted accordingly.
Due: Weeks 5 and 10
Weighting: 10%
There will be two online quizzes conducted throughout the session. These will be held during teaching weeks 5 and 10.
The first online quiz will cover lecture material from weeks 1-4, the second online quiz will cover lecture material from weeks 5-9. The quizzes are of equal value (5% each).
During quiz weeks, quizzes will be released in a clearly marked folder 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?
Students who have not completed a quiz prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved.
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 30%
There will be one individual assignment to be completed during the session.
The assignment is to be submitted via Turnitin through iLearn. Assignment submission instructions will be posted on iLearn in a clearly labelled folder. The emphasis in the assignments will be on using economic theory and reasoning to demonstrate the graduate capabilities related to 'ethical thinking' and `communication'. The assignments will be in the form of written short and long answer questions (2000 words in total).
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). This penalty does not apply to cases in which an application for Special Considerations is made and approved.
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.
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.
Prescribed textbook:
Students will need to consult this textbook:
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:
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:
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 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. ECON111 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 ECON111 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.
Lecture Topic | CORE Unit Number | Assessment Task Due | |
Week 1 | The capitalist revolution | 1 | |
Week 2 | Technology, population, and growth | 2 | |
Week 3 | Scarcity, work, and choice | 3 | |
Week 4 | Scarcity, work, and choice | 3 | |
Week 5 | Property and power: Mutual gains and conflict | 5 | Online quiz 1 (5%) |
Week 6 | Property and power: Mutual gains and conflict | 5 | |
Week 7 | The firm: Owners, managers, and employees | 6 | |
Week 8 | The firm and its customers | 7 | Assignment (30%) |
Week 9 | Supply and demand: Price-taking and competitive markets | 8 | |
Week 10 | Supply and demand: Price-taking and competitive markets | 8 | Online quiz 2 (5%) |
Week 11 | Rent-seeking, price-setting, and market dynamics | 11 | |
Week 12 | Markets, efficiency, and public policy | 12 | |
Week 13 | Revision | ||
Exam Period | Final exam (50%) |
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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
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