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Students compare the size of the government sector (tax revenue and government spending as a proportion of GDP) of different countries in the Asia region. They analyse these statistics and use the Human Development Index (HDI) of each country to draw conclusions about how taxation systems impact on a country’s economic and social dimensions, such as health, education and living standards. Students select one country to compare with Australia and…

In this activity, students are introduced to the concept of protection and explore the question of how taxes affect trade between countries. They assess the impact of tariffs on the market, including domestic production costs and prices, the demand and supply of imported goods and the potential effects on levels of employment and tax revenue and spending. They also consider how tariffs impact on the overall economic wellbeing of consumers,…

Students learn about different types of goods and apply their understanding to categorise goods they consume. This learning is essential to understanding how resources are allocated and the role of government in addressing limitations of a free market economy.

Students participate in a game that demonstrates both the characteristics of public goods – that they are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, and the free-rider problem associated with public goods. Through class discussions, students explore the conflict between individual incentives to free-ride and social incentives to contribute toward the provision of a public good.

Students learn how governments intervene in the market to vary the quantity of goods and services produced or consumed due to either social costs (negative externalities) or benefits (positive externalities). The focus of this set of activities is on how governments vary supply through imposing taxes, paying subsidies and enforcing regulations. Students discuss whether government intervention leads to a more efficient allocation of resources.

Students explore welfare reform as an aggregate supply policy. They investigate one welfare reform, evaluate its effectiveness and discuss the potential trade-offs between the promotion of economic efficiency and the protection of equity in the distribution of income.

Students learn about income distribution, inequality and poverty and how they are measured. They learn the difference between absolute and relative poverty and between equity and equality in the distribution of income. They analyse data to draw conclusions about Australia’s distribution of income, trends in the level of inequality and the incidence of relative and absolute poverty.

Students learn about some of the main types of taxes that the Australian Government levies. They also calculate the average rate of tax to determine whether different taxes are progressive, proportional or regressive and make a recommendation to the government on how GST could be made a fairer tax.