Unit Outline

BEA121 Economic Policy in Action expands upon the key microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts introduced in BEA111 Introduction to Markets and the Economy. The first module of the unit focusses on extending the macroeconomics in BEA111 to consider international trade, exchange rates and the balance of payments. It also examines conventional and unconventional monetary and fiscal macroeconomic policy options to promote economic growth and manage shocks during times of crisis.

The second module of the unit focuses on how to measure the economic impact of a new business or entity and its impacts on the well-being of different members of society. The unit extends the range of macroeconomic concepts that can be used to understand national account and balance of payments data; and how to investigate issues using the economic method; and to address issues of real importance to business and economic development and to communicate information in an effective manner.

BEA121 is the second of two foundation level economics units offered by the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics. Taken together with BEA111 Introduction to Markets and the Economy, BEA121 provides you with a comprehensive introduction to macroeconomic theory and policy and forms a strong foundation if you are planning to continue your study of economics.

BEA121 is a compulsory unit in the Bachelor of Economics (BEc) degree. It is also a compulsory unit in all the Economic majors offered by the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics and is a nominated elective in a wide range of other programs throughout the University of Tasmania.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Define, measure and interpret key microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts.
2	Apply basic microeconomic and macroeconomic models to describe the impact of global and local events, social change, government policy on markets, market participants and macroeconomy.
3	Develop and critically evaluate basic microeconomic and macroeconomic policy and identify welfare implications for different members of society.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	XPD104

Alterations as a result of student feedback

To Be Determined

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Macroeconomic Assignment	Week 7	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Consultant Report	Week 13	35 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 3:	Weekly Quizzes	Refer to Assessment Description	5 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 4:	Workshop Presentation	Refer to Assessment Description	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 5:	National Economic Poll	Refer to Assessment Description	15 %	LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Macroeconomic Assignment

Task Description:

Students must collect and present macroeconomic data and use the macroeconomic models taught in the unit to explain why macroeconomic conditions have changed, critique past fiscal and monetary policy and suggest new policy for the current environment.

Task Length:

See MyLO

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	See assessment on MyLO for details of the assessment criteria and intended learning outcomes.	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 2: Consultant Report

Task Description:

Students must collect data to in order to measure the direct and indirect economic contribution of a particular Tasmanian industry to the Tasmanian economy. They must present this report as though they were an economic consultant, which is taught in the unit.

Task Length:

See MyLO

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	See assessment on MyLO for details of the assessment criteria and intended learning outcomes.	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 3: Weekly Quizzes

Task Description:

There are five (5) multiple choice quizzes to be completed online via MyLO, one due each week from week 2 to 6. It is advisable to wait until you have participated in your workshop and check the solutions before undertaking each quiz.

Each quiz will be available from Monday morning until Sunday 11 pm of that week. You will have 20 minutes to complete each quiz on MyLO.

Task Length:

See MyLO

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

5 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	See assessment on MyLO for details of the assessment criteria and intended learning outcomes.	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 4: Workshop Presentation

Task Description:

Each student will be randomly allocated to three workshops of the twelve weekly workshops WS1 to WS12. In which they will be called upon to present an answer to a workshop question, either in the face-to-face or online workshop (with camera on). If you can not attend either the face-to-face or online workshop for which you have been allocated to present, you must submit a video file of your presentation to the workshop presenter. The best two of the three presentations will determine your result for this assessment item.

Task Length:

10 minute presentation

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	See assessment on MyLO for details of the assessment criteria and intended learning outcomes.	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 5: National Economic Poll

Task Description:

In week 4, 8 and 12, students must provide a reasoned answer to the Economic Society of Australia’s National Economic Poll organised and reported by The Conversation.

Students may state their opinion or belief, but it should be backed by economic sound analysis. Note that the questions in the National Economic Poll are not always well-defined economic questions and you may have to make assumptions in order to be able to answer the question.

Task Length:

Maximum 1/2 page, A4, 1.5 spaces, 11pt font

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

While there is no prescribed textbook for this unit, it is strongly recommended students have access to the textbook used in BEA111:

Hubbard, Glen., Anne Garnett, Phil Lewis and Anthony O'Brien (2021), Essentials of Economics, (5th ed), Pearson. ISBN 9780655702870, NSW.

Hubbard, Glen., Anne Garnett, Phil Lewis, Anthony O'Brien (2018), Essentials of Economics, (4th ed), Pearson. ISBN 9781488616983, NSW.

Students will also be asked to read from the free e-text:

Greenlaw, Steven A. and Shapiro, David, (2022) Principles of Economics 3e. OpenStax - Rice University, USA.

https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-economics-3e