ECON600 - Managerial Economics in a Global Environment

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit involves the use of economic analysis to make business decisions. The global framework of business decision making includes the international stage, but more inclusive thinking about localised problems: in particular, taking into account behavioural and political modifiers of economically rational decision making. This unit will consider the extent to which markets allocate resources efficiently and effectively; the degree to which market restrictions are efficient and practical; the effectiveness and practicality of different tax regimes; the relative efficiency of different market structures; the best means by which to control environmental damage; the practicality of the government provision of public goods, and the degree to which the macro-economy is subject to coordination failure. It sets these aspects in the context of the modern global economic environment and examines how firms attempt to reach optimal profitability and efficiency in the face of constraints.  

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Evaluate and use the key terms, information, concepts and theoretical relationships involved in micro and macro economics (GA4, GA5)

LO2 - Work collaboratively to examine contemporary economic issues (GA5, GA7)

LO3 - Critique the impact of market structures on business decision making and outcomes while considering the social and environmental issues (GA2, GA5)

LO4 - Critically analyse the factors affecting the production and costs in the firm (GA4, GA5)

LO5 - Apply economic principles and analysis to contemporary local and international economic situations (GA5, GA6)

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics will include: 

• Economic scarcity and the environment 
• Demand, supply and social issues
• Elasticities and consumer behaviour
• Production theory and costs 
• Market structures: perfect competition, monopoly and monopolistic competition 
• Market structures: Oligopoly and Game Theory 
• Pricing strategies 
• Government and business 
• Open economy macroeconomics 
• Macroeconomic policy

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit is predicated on an inquiry approach model. Through the processes of inquiry students develop Economic literacy, i.e. economic knowledge and the skills of communication required to comprehend, analyse, synthesise and evaluate Economic data, use Economic reasoning, including cost/benefit analysis, and to report findings on a range of increasingly complex economic issues and propose possible and preferred responses and policy options. Developing skills in information communications technology will help students to use the processes of inquiry more effectively.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to complete and submit three graded assessment tasks and achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure their level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will also be awarded a final grade that signifies their overall achievement in the Unit. The assessment strategy for this Unit allows students to sequentially develop their knowledge and skills in Economics to the point where they can effectively analyse modern issues from an Economist’s perspective. 

In order to develop this level of capability, students will demonstrate their knowledge of Microeconomics in an essay, further develop their understanding of Macroeconomics through an article critique, and then apply their knowledge and understanding of both Micro and Macroeconomics in the final assessment task.  

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome as indicated in the following assessment table.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Latest editions of: 

Baye, R 2017 Managerial economics and business strategy, 9th edn, McGraw Hill, New York, NY.

Faarnham, G Economics for managers, 3rd edn, Pearson Education, London.

Gans J, King S, Stonecash RE & Mankiw N Principles of economics, 7th edn, Cengage Learning Australia, Melbourne.

Gerber, J International economics, global edition, 7th edn, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Hubbard, G Lewis, 2017 Essentials of economics, 4th edn, Pearson, Frenchs Forest

Layton, A, Robinson, T & Tucker, IB 2018 Economics for today: Fifth Asia Pacific edition, 5th edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne, VIC.

Salvatore, D Managerial economics in a global economy, 8th edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford.