ECON20039- Economics for Managers
Term3,2018
This is assessment 2: Research Essay 30 marks
Length 3,000 words
Assessment Due Date: Week 8 Friday (11 Jan 2019) 5:00 pm AEST. Penalties will apply for any late submissions without an approved extension.
Please note that this assessment requires substantial research (see the assessment criteria below).
Questions
(a) Suppose that a perfectly competitive industry becomes a monopoly. Describe the effects of this change on price, quantity, consumer surplus, producer surplus and deadweight loss. (8 marks)
In answering this question, as a minimum, you need to
• discuss the key features of each market structure such as number of sellers, type of product, and entry conditions
• explain how short run and long run profits or losses might arise by using diagrams
• compare price, quantity, consumer surplus, producer surplus and deadweight loss in both market situations with graphs
(b) Choose an Australian industry that represents oligopoly. Justify your example by relating them to the characteristics of oligopoly market. Why is it that in some oligopolistic industries in Australia there is a large amount of advertising while in others there is very little? (9 marks)
As a minimum, you should
• discuss key features of oligopoly and the role of advertising in oligopoly
• provide a brief description of the Australian industry and the impact of advertising
• justify by providing actual and reliable data
(c) What are the reasons for housing affordability becoming an increasing problem over the past few decades in Australia? Explain some of the factors that contribute to restrictions in supply of housing in Australia’s capital cities. Using diagrams analyse the solutions to housing affordability problem. (9 marks)
In answering this question, you need to
• discuss housing affordability crisis in Australia with the demand and supply side factors
• explain the solutions that have been attempted or are proposed to address housing affordability
• explain the effect of first home owners’ subsidy on price and quantity (subsidy with perfectly elastic and perfectly inelastic supply)
• Use housing market data to justify your answer
Additional marks (4 marks)
Overall presentation of work, especially use of graphs, clear written expression. 2 marks
Appropriate use of referencing. 2 marks
Assessment criteria
• You must refer to the textbook in the first instance.
• Besides the textbook, you should also refer to a few other academic books, journal articles and relevant websites in answering these questions.
• Use in-text referencing and provide a list of references.
• All submissions for this course must use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style.
• Concepts must be defined accurately and completely.
• The assumptions upon which the analysis is based must be stated at the onset.
• Diagrams must be drawn properly, correctly labelled and the relations they depict explained.
• Photocopied and scanned graphs from books, articles or websites are not acceptable. It is preferable to hand-draw a graph then scan it to insert in your file.
• Answers must be complete, addressing the specific tasks nominated in the questions.
• Remember an extension is not a gift, it is a burden.
Assignment submission
? In Moodle there is now a default setting, which will automatically submit your assignment for marking, if you have forgotten to click the Submit for marking button.
? After an assignment's due date and time has passed, any assignments that are still in draft mode (i.e. you have not yet submitted the assignment for marking) will be auto-submitted on your behalf.
? This action will occur only once for an assignment at the due date/time. If you are submitting an assignment after the due date/time has passed, then you will still need to click the Submit for marking button as normal.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a real concern, therefore, please remember to reference in-text and provide a reference list. Do not give your assignment to anyone or copy from other students.
The following information is from the Academic Misconduct Procedure Policy available from CQUni website: https://www.cqu.edu.au/policy -
Plagiarism: the presentation of work, ideas or data of others as one’s own, without appropriate acknowledgment and referencing. Plagiarism also includes self-plagiarism.