ECONOMICS
Unit 2: Contemporary Economic Issues
Area of Study 1:Economic growth, long-term economic prosperity and environmental sustainability
Outcome 1
- On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain the factors and policies that may influence economic growth and environmental sustainability, and analyse the potential trade-off.
Key knowledge
- aggregate demand and its components
- government economic policy responses designed to influence the rate of economic growth such as budgetary policy, monetary policy and aggregate supply policies.
Key skills
- define key economic concepts and terms and use them appropriately
- gather, interpret and analyse statistical and graphical data.
Unit 3: Australia's Economic Prosperity
Area of Study 2: Domestic macroeconomic goals
Outcome 2
- On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse key contemporary factors that may have influenced the Australian Government’s domestic macroeconomic goals over the past two years and discuss how achievement of these goals may affect living standards.
Key knowledge
The nature and purpose of economic activity
- the circular flow model of income including the role of households, businesses, government, financial institutions and the external sector in an open contemporary macroeconomy
- the nature and causes of the business cycle
- the meaning and importance of aggregate demand and the factors that may influence the level of aggregate demand in the economy: changes in the general level of prices, disposable income, interest rates, consumer confidence, business confidence, the exchange rate and rates of economic growth overseas
- the aggregate demand curve
- the effects of changes in aggregate demand and aggregate supply on the level of economic growth, employment and price levels.
Key skills
- define key economic concepts and terms and use them appropriately
- calculate relevant economic indicators using real or hypothetical data
- explain trends, patterns, similarities and differences in economic data and other information.
Unit 4: Managing the Economy
Area of Study 1: Aggregate demand policies and domestic economic stability
Outcome 1
- On completion of this unit the student should be able to discuss the nature and operation of aggregate demand policies and analyse how the policies may influence the Australian Government’s domestic macroeconomic goals and living standards.
Key knowledge
- the need for aggregate demand policies in terms of stabilising the business cycle.
Budgetary policy
- the budget outcome: balanced, deficit or surplus
- the stance of budgetary policy: expansionary or contractionary
- the effect of budget initiatives from the past two years on the Australian Government’s domestic macroeconomic goals of strong and sustainable growth, full employment and low inflation.
Key skills
- define and use key economic concepts and terms relating to the Australian Government’s aggregate demand policies.