MPE 781/981- Economics for Managers
Trimester 2, 2015 Assignment: Economics Case Study
Due: 7th September (Monday, 11:59 pm), 2015.
I. Assignment Overview: This assignment is based on an article “Tourism Investment Monitor,” by Tourism Research Australia, May 2015. The article is already attached to this assignment question. Please read the article carefully before attempting this exercise. You will also need to draw on other resources available through the library as well as external resources. Please note that you need to provide clear references for your sources when citing research and data.
II. Learning Objectives: This assignment is d esign ed to encourage you to think about the application of concepts learned in this unit in a real world scenario. This assignment, indeed, is interesting as it explains how the existing economic theories can explain the implication of the power awards, in particular, how awards provide incentives to individual members of an organisation or promote certain norms in the society/organisation. We hope that this assignment will expand the horizon of your thoughts.
III. Assessment: Your score on this assignment contributes towards 40% of your final score for this unit. Based on the attached Rubric, your assignment will be graded on your use of appropriate economic theory and concepts, clarity of exposition and overall quality of your answers. Although you can work in group, this is not a group assignment and you must submit answers individually.
IV. Submission: This assignment must be submitted electronically on CloudDeakin (CD) Dropbox area by all students by 11:59pm on the due date. No hard copy is required. Print your name and student ID clearly on the first page of your answers. Please check the Academic Honesty and Misconduct section in the Unit Guide. Submitting your answers automatically implies that you have read and accepted the Plagiarism and Collusion Declaration, and that the submitted answers are entirely your own work.
V. Questions: Answer all questions. Limit the total word count of your assignment to less than 3,000 words. You are encouraged to 1provid e necessary graphs, figures and tables with data wherever possible, which are not subject to word limit. Please be careful in implementing referencing styles.
Question 1: (8 marks)
In your own words, summarize the article, “Tourism Investment Monitor,” by Tourism Research Australia, May 2015. In particular, what are the main messages of the article? [Hint: Please link your summary with relevant economic theories wherever you can]
Question 2: (8 marks)
Use appropriate diagrams to answer: Do you think increasing investment in Australian tourism industry is a prudent economic policy for the future sustainability? Why or why not? [Hint: Please do an extensive literature review to find out the pros and cons of the global tourism industry, their short term and long term impacts, etc.]
Question 3: (8 marks)
Suppose that the Australia’s hospitality industry is perfectly competitive (i.e., many hotel and/or accommodation providers). The federal government decides to levy a buyer’s tax (specific tax) on hotel accommodations. Use appropriate diagrams to answer:
(a) Examine the impacts of this buyer’s tax on the equilibrium rental prices, consumer surplus, producer surplus, and total surplus (or social welfare).
(c) Can an increase in the buyer’s tax raise social welfare?
(d) Can an increase in the buyer’s tax raise the federal government’s revenue?
Question 4: (8 marks)
Suppose that the tourism department’s prediction of increased tourism activities and investment has been proved right. Use appropriate diagrams to answer [Hint: Let’s assume the labor market in tourism industry is perfectly competitive]:
(a) What should be the new wage level in the tourism industry?
(b) If due to huge union pressure, the government sets minimum wage above this equilibrium wage, what should be the consequence? What would happen to social welfare?
Question 5: (8 marks)
Find three other countries or economies who are among the leaders in global tourism market. Give a brief description about their tourism industries [Hint: If possible present concrete fact and figures]. Provide your views or suggestions on the best measure to promote Australian as a highly sought tourism destination based on your research on the above three tourism based successful economies.