Assignment Task

McTaggart, D., Findlay, C., & Parkin, M. (2012). Economics (7th ed.). Sydney: Pearson Education.

Answer the following:

Question 1

You are an Economist and have been asked by the Gold Coast Council of Queensland to provide advice on the policy options to deal with the increasing use of jet skis on the Broadwater. The increasing use of jet skis has had an adverse effect on other water uses and people who live in the near vicinity have complained about the excessive noise.

Question 2

You are an Economist advising the Federal Government about the Australian Labour Market and issues relating to unemployment. The issues that you have been asked to report are:

a) if the labour market is working properly why does Australia experience simultaneous periods of unemployment and job vacancies?

b) does the minimum wage prevent lower rates of unemployment?

c) what types of unemployment are the most serious? Explain your answer.

Rationale

The questions address the following learning outcomes:
- be able to apply demand and supply analysis to make a range of market related decisions
- be able to explain and defend why it is important to understand the structure of the market in which a firm operates
- be able to critically examine and demonstrate why it might be necessary for government to intervene in the production of goods and services and in the distribution of income
- be able to examine critically the health of the economy as a whole through analysis of major economic variables and advise on likely policy alternatives

In your working life you will be required to present arguments and explain your decisions. Economics gives you tools to do this. However, many of those with whom you work will have little, if any, understanding of the principles of economics and their application. To communicate with these people you will have to put your arguments succinctly into language that they understand. This does not mean that your argument is any less rigorous or sophisticated. Rather, it means that you are being asked to communicate important concepts and decisions in a manner that most people can understand. We see this as the most important result of your study of this subject and therefore a passing mark (50% to 64% depending on the quality of your answer) on any question will require that you are able to successfully explain to the lay person (one who has not studied economics) the issues associated with any question. Thus in the first part of an answer to any assessment question in this subject you will be required to summarize, in a non-technical manner, the essence of a correct answer.

Of course, you will need to know and understand the relevant theory and associated diagram(s)/model(s) on which you are basing your answer. Thus in the second part of your answer to any question you will be required to correctly outline the basic theory - including the construction and explanation of the diagram(s)/model(s) associated with it. This ability to theorize will indicate your ability to place the issues raised in the question into an appropriate theoretical/abstract context from which to further examine the economic issues and to draw appropriate conclusions. You should then correctly utilize the diagram(s)/model(s) to illustrate the changes to the diagram(s)/model(s) that the circumstances discussed in the question imply. This will illustrate your ability to manipulate the tools of economics. Finally you must come to a conclusion using the diagram(s)/model(s), the impact of the change on variables and issues of concern, determine if a response is required (by business or government), what that response should be and predict the impact of that response in both the short-run and the long-run.