Search Results

Unit 1 Topic 1: The Basic Economic Problem On this page: Topic overview video What is economics? The division and specialisation of labour Why study economics? Factors of production Economic activity versus economic growth (and the factors of production) Video Overview of Unit 1 Topic 1: linking the content to the syllabus PART 1: WHAT IS ECONOMICS? Syllabus: Describe the basic economic problem of relative scarcity and the need for decision-making by individuals, businesses and governments at local, state, national and international levels. Economics is the study of how humans make decisions in the face of scarcity. These can be individual decisions, family decisions, business decisions or societal decisions. If you look around carefully, you will see that scarcity is a fact of life. Scarcity  means that human wants for goods, services and resources exceed what is available. Resources, such as labour, tools, land, and raw materials are necessary to produce the goods and services we want but they exist in limited supply. Of course, the ultimate scarce resource is time - everyone, rich or poor, has just 24 hours in the day to try to acquire the goods they want. At any point in time, there is only a finite amount of resources available. Think about it this way: in November 2021, the labour force in Australia contained over 13,177,300 workers, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)[1]. Similarly, the total area of the Australia is 7,692,020 square kilometres[2]. These are large numbers for such crucial resources, however, they are limited. Because these resources are limited, so are the numbers of goods and services we produce with them. Let’s delve into the concept of scarcity a little deeper, because it is crucial to understanding economics. The Problem of Scarcity Think about all the things you consume: food, shelter, clothing, transportation, healthcare, and entertainment. How do you acquire those items? You do not produce them yourself. You buy them. How do you afford the things you buy? You work for pay. Or if you do not, someone else does on your behalf. Yet most of us never have enough to buy all the things we want. This is because of scarcity. So how do we solve it? Every society, at every level, must make choices about how to use its resources. Families must decide whether to spend their money on a new car or a fancy vacation. Towns must choose whether to put more of the budget into police and fire protection or into the school system. Nations must decide whether to devote more funds to national defence or to protecting the environment. In most cases, there just isn’t enough money in the budget to do everything. So why do we not each just produce all of the things we consume? The simple answer is most of us do not know how, but that is not the main reason. When you study economics, you will discover that the obvious choice is not always the right answer—or at least the complete answer. Studying economics teaches you to think in a different of way. Think back to pioneer days, when individuals knew how to do so much more than we do today, from building their homes, to growing their crops, to hunting for food, to repairing their equipment. Most of us do not know how to do all—or any—of those things. It is not because we could not learn. Rather, we do not have to. The reason why is something called the division and specialization of labour, a production innovation first put forth by Adam Smith,  in his book, The Wealth of Nations. PART 2: The Division of and Specialisation of Labour The formal study of economics began when Adam Smith (1723–1790) published his famous book  The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Many authors had written on economics in the centuries before Smith, but he was the first to address the subject in a comprehensive way. In the first chapter, Smith introduces the  division of labour, which means that the way a good or service is produced is divided into a number of tasks that are performed by different workers, instead of all the tasks being done by the same person. To illustrate the division of labour, Smith counted how many tasks went into making a pin: drawing out a piece of wire, cutting it to the right length, straightening it, putting a head on one end and a point on the other, and packaging pins for sale, to name just a few. Smith counted 18 distinct tasks that were often done by different people—all for a pin, believe it or not! Modern businesses divide tasks as well. Even a relatively simple business like a restaurant divides up the task of serving meals into a range of jobs like top chef, sous chefs, less-skilled kitchen help, servers to wait on the tables, a greeter at the door, janitors to clean up, and a business manager to handle paychecks and bills—not to mention the economic connections a restaurant has with suppliers of food, furniture, kitchen equipment, and the building where it is located. A complex business like a large manufacturing factory, or a hospital can have hundreds of job classifications. Why the Division of Labour Increases Production When the tasks involved with producing a good or service are divided and subdivided, workers and businesses can produce a greater quantity of output. In his observations of pin factories, Smith observed that one worker alone might make 20 pins in a day, but that a small business of 10 workers (some of whom would need to do two or three of the 18 tasks involved with pin-making), could make 48,000 pins in a day. How can a group of workers, each specializing in certain tasks, produce so much more than the same number of workers who try to produce the entire good or service by themselves? Smith offered three reasons. First, specialisation in a particular small job allows workers to focus on the parts of the production process where they have an advantage. People have different skills, talents, and interests, so they will be better at some jobs than at others. The particular advantages may be based on educational choices, which are in turn shaped by interests and talents. Only those with medical degrees qualify to become doctors, for instance. For some goods, specialization will be affected by geography and climate—it is easier to be a wheat farmer in rural Western Australia than in Cairns, but easier to run a tourist hotel in Cairns than in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Whatever the reason, if people specialise in the production of what they do best, they will be more productive than if they produce a combination of things, some of which they are good at and some of which they are not. Second, workers who specialise in certain tasks often learn to produce more quickly and with higher quality. This pattern holds true for many workers, including assembly line laborers who build cars, stylists who cut hair, and doctors who perform heart surgery. In fact, specialised workers often know their jobs well enough to suggest innovative ways to do their work faster and better. A similar pattern often operates within businesses. In many cases, a business that focuses on one or a few products (sometimes called its “core competency”) is more successful than firms that try to make a wide range of products. Third, specialisation allows businesses to take advantage of economies of scale, which means that for many goods, as the level of production increases, the average cost of producing each individual unit declines . For example, if a factory produces only 100 cars per year, each car will be quite expensive to make on average. However, if a factory produces 50,000 cars each year, then it can set up an assembly line with huge machines and workers performing specialized tasks, and the average cost of production per car will be lower. The ultimate result of workers who can focus on their preferences and talents, learn to do their specialised jobs better, and work in larger organisations is that society (as a whole) can produce and consume far more than if each person tried to produce all their own goods and services. The division and specialisation of labour has been a force against the problem of scarcity. Trade and Markets Specialisation only makes sense, though, if workers can use the pay, they receive for doing their jobs to purchase the other goods and services that they need. In short, specialisation requires trade. Instead of trying to acquire all the knowledge and skills involved in producing all of the goods and services that you wish to consume, the market allows you to learn a specialised set of skills and then use the pay you receive to buy the goods and services you need or want. This is how the economy has evolved in modern society. PART 3: Why Study Economics? Now that we have gotten an overview on what economics studies, let’s quickly discuss why you are right to study it. Economics is not primarily a collection of facts to be memorized, though there are plenty of important concepts to be learned. Economics is better thought of as a collection of questions to be answered or puzzles to be worked out. Most importantly, economics provides the tools to work out those puzzles. If you have yet to be bitten by the economics “bug,” there are other reasons why you should study economics. Virtually every major problem facing the world today, from global warming, to world poverty, to the conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia, has an economic dimension. If you are going to be part of solving those problems, you need to be able to understand them. Economics is crucial. It is hard to overstate the importance of economics to good citizenship. You need to be able to vote intelligently on budgets, regulations, and laws in general. When the Australian Government had to make tough economic and financial decisions during the “Covid lockdowns” in 2020, what were the issues involved? Did you know? A basic understanding of economics makes you a well-rounded thinker. When you read articles about economic issues, you will understand and be able to evaluate the writer’s argument. When you hear classmates, co-workers, or political candidates talking about economics, you will be able to distinguish between common sense and nonsense. You will find new ways of thinking about current events and about personal and business decisions, as well as current events and politics. The study of economics does not dictate the answers, but it can illuminate the different choices. Source: https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-2e/pages/1-introduction Footnotes [1]https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/latest-release [2]https://info.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/the-australian-continent Factors of Production Syllabus: Classify the factors of production (land, labour, capital and entrepreneurial ability) and link these to income (rent, wages, interest and profit) Let's start with a question.... WHAT are the four factors of production? Answer: Land, Labour, Capital, and Enterprise (or Entrepreneurship). Easy! You've learnt this in class and can explain each of the the factors. And you know that the four factors are all required (in different combinations) to make different goods and services. So let's go deeper .... Economic Activity versus Economic Growth (and the factors of production) I believe that being able to distinguish between economic activity and economic growth this is one of the most important concepts that you need to understand in your study of economics. Economic activity represents the cyclical changes in the economy (also referred to as the 'short-run'). Sometimes economies are expanding / expansionary phase (as households, firms and government buy more goods and services), and sometimes economies are contracting / contractionary phase (as we buy less stuff). At any point in time, the available factors of production are somewhat fixed. For example: available labour is determined by the quantity of labour available to work with appropriate skills, knowledge and experience; land resources are relatively scarce, and generally allocated to a certain production function (eg. agriculture or mining); capital such as machinery and factory size is relatively fixed at a point in time. So the short-run refers to the level of output an economy with the currently available factors of production. In other words, the amount of possible output with a fixed amount of factors of production. Factors of production may not always be utilised to their full capacity When the level of demand in the economy is high, we will see that the available factors of production will be close to fully engaged in the process of making goods and services. For example, labour will have jobs, and we see this when the unemployment rate is low. Factories will be working near to full capacity, and maybe doing overtime shifts. Economy is in an expansionary phase of the economic cycle. If firms can't produce enough G+S to meet demand, they will tend to increase prices of the available stock to maximise profit. We call this demand-push inflation (more on this later). BUT, When the level of demand is low, the available factors of production will not be used to their full extent. For example, some workers will lose their jobs, and the unemployment rate will rise. Factories will cut back on production output, and some machines will not produce to their production capacity. So we will see a contraction in the level of economic activity. The 'ups and downs' in the economy represents changes in the level economic activity, and we refer to these changes as expansionary and contractionary . Economic activity :: data examples 1/3 Economic growth is a sustained increase in the level of output, caused by structural growth in the economy (the long-run). Over time, economies experience an increase in the quantity and quality of the factors of production. For example: Population increases leads to an increase in the quantity of labour Improvements in education and training improves the quality of labour, and workers tend to be more efficient (or productive) in their work. Improvements in technology can increase the level of output given the available resources (factors of production). An increase in capital investment (firms purchasing goods and services - such as additional machinery - to increase the production of final goods and services). What is an example that you can think of?? Eg. how can we improve our land resources to increase agricultural output? Economic growth occurs when economies: Increase output due to an increase in the available factors of production; and/or Improve productivity - producing more goods and services with the available factors of production. Given the relative scarcity of factors of production, economists end to argue that improving productivity is the critical step for economic growth - it means that we are using the current factors of production in a more efficient way. That means that we can leave some factors - resources such as minerals in the ground - so that future generations can access these factors for future production So the long-run refers to the situation where there is a change (generally an increase / improvement) in at least one of the factors of production. Economies generally exhibit long-run - or structural - economic growth, even though we will experience 'up and downs' in the level of economic activity in the short-run. The Production Possibilities Curve (economic activity versus economic growth) Syllabus: Identify assumptions and use the production possibility curve to explain, by illustrating in diagrammatic form, the concepts of scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, trade -offs, underutilisation of resources, efficiency, productivity, unemployment and economic growth. Analyse and evaluate the production possibility curve to show the effects of different economic events, e.g. improvements in health, education or productivity of labour, asymmetric technology advances, war and famine. The Production Possibilities Curve (PPC) is the first economic model that you will learn in QCE Economics. In this section, I will focus on how the PPC can be used to illustrate changes in economic activity (short-run / cyclical) and economic growth (long-run / structural) - see the section above to review these concepts. This will also be important for later in Unit 1 when you learn about models for economic (business) cycles - all economic models are connected! If you want to review your calculations of changes in production possibilities, then scroll down for an interactive from our friends at econgraphs.org Image 1: Production possibilities curve Economic activity and the PPC The production decisions of goods and services in an economy falls into two camps: to produce capital (or intermediate) goods and services OR to produce consumer (or final) goods and services. Each economy will make a choice of how to distribute available factors of production to suit the needs and wants of economic stakeholders who purchase goods and services: Consumer goods and services for households Capital goods and services for firms and government The PPC represents the maximum output possible with the current amounts of the factors of production. In the short-run , factors of production are considered fixed in quantity and quality. So the maximum level of output in the short-run woould be any point along the PPC. But remember: it is a possibility! When total (aggregate) demand from economic stakeholders (household, firms and governments) is high, economic activity is expansionary, and firms will respond by increasing production, until all factors of production are fully employed. This is represented by a level of output on the PPC itself (eg point A in image 1 above). But once at full employment / production on the PPC, firms will struggle to further increase output - they are constrained by the relative scarcity of the factors of production. When an economy experiences contractionary economic activity, production levels may decrease, but the PPC doesn't change. During an economic downturn (contractionary), firms will respond by reducing output. Firms generally want to produce the amount of goods and services to meet demand, but they don't want to have unsold stock sitting in warehouses, or too many staff just standing around. So they will reduce output to meet demand, and this means that the available factors of production are not fully engaged in creating output. In image 2 , this change is demonstrated as a shift in output of consumer goods and services from a value of y to a value less than y, and same for capital goods and services (from x to <x). Total production has decreased from point A to point B. Image 2: Change in production output in a contractionary economy It is important to note that the production possibilities are unchanged. We still have the factors of production available to produce output anywhere on the PPC, but decision has been made to decrease output to suit levels of demand in the economy. Thanks to econgraphs.org for creating this open source interactive of the Production Possibilities Curve

Explainer Videos: QCE Economics External Assessment 2024 Q11 2024 Economics EA: Short Response Q12 2024 Economics EA: Short Response Q13 2024 Economics EA: Short Response Q14 2024 Economics EA: Short Response Q15 2024 Economics EA: Extended Response Multiple Choice 2024 Economics EA CLICK HERE to see all the videos for QCE Economics External Assessments from past years Welcome to Brettonomics High school economics made easy Student Resources This website contains easy to understand explanations and learning activities linked to the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) syllabus for Economics . If you are studying in another state or country, the topics covered are similar, so you should find these resources useful. Go to Student Resources to access help for each unit and the QCE External Exam. Teacher Resources The teacher resources and activities are 'classroom tested and student approved'. These resources are made available free of charge. Go to Teacher Resources for teaching activities. Any feedback is appreciated. Why study Economics? Economics is a challenging and rewarding senior high school subject that will hone your skills in analysis, decision-making, and justifying your arguments. Economics occurs in real-time, and helps us to understand the intended and unintended consequences of decisions made by ourselves, and the people, firms and governments around us. Early economists were essentially the moral philosophers of their time, and I hope that through your study of economics you begin to question the world around you, and think of how you can contribute to a better future. "I'll probably never study economics again, but at least I now understand what's happening on the news." (Will - past student, 2022) About Brett Get in Touch Send me any questions or feedback! brettonomics@gmail.com First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for your message. I'll be in touch soon.

External Exam: Video Explainers Below are video explainers unpacking the external exam for economics for Queensland Certificate of Education. Please ensure that you access all the past exam resources for economics at the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) website prior to watching these videos. Use the videos to learn the strategies and writing structures for multiple choice, short response, and extended response questions for the economics external exam in Queensland. On this page: Multiple choice explainer videos Short response explainer videos Extended response explainer videos Multiple Choice Explainers 2021 Exam 2022 Exam 2023 Exam Short Response Explainers Unpacking "Explain" short response questions Unpacking "Analyse" short response questions 2022 exam question 11 2022 exam question 12 2022 exam question 13 2023 exam question 11 2023 exam question 12 2023 exam question 13 2023 exam question 14 Extended Response Explainers Writing structure and strategies for extended response 2022 exam extended response question 14 2023 exam extended response question 15

Unit 3 Topic 2: Global Economic Issues This unit addresses the current issues in the global economy - a fast moving and very interesting area of economics. It is an area where we begin to drill into the impact of politics on economies, and question our place in the global economic landscape. You can read through the subject matter and course content below Assessment IA2 Useful data tools for your research. Here is a video explaining how to use the data visualisation tools at the International Monetary Fund website. This website has the most comprehensive range of economic data sets available. Go to https://www.imf.org/en/Data Research report structure Here is a video that provides a clear structure for a research report in economics. It can be difficult to know where to start, so the outline provided helps you to: Link your comprehension of economic theory to an economic issue in society. Understand how to analyse the issues from the perspectives of various stakeholders. Develop a logical and persuasive evaluation and balanced judgement. Internal Assessment (IA2) for this topic is a REPORT. Here is a video giving some guidance on report structure and layout. Remember: 4 of the 25 marks for this IA relates to "creating a response", so spend some time getting your report up to an excellent professional standard, and grab four easy marks. Subject matter Topic 2: Global economic issues In Topic 2, students study three major factors affecting Australia’s trade relationships with the rest of the world. Firstly, the factors that have contributed to globalisation are explored from Australia’s viewpoint. Secondly, economic ideas and models are used to examine the impacts of different barriers to trade, and the economic tensions they create. Finally, the impacts of international trading agreements are considered. Describe key concepts using economic terminology, including methods of trade protection, economic integration, economic union, globalisation and trade liberalisation. Explain, analyse and evaluate the factors that have contributed to the growth of multi-company and multinational supply chain integration, e.g. the location of natural factor endowments; digital and other innovation; infrastructure (including logistics); and government incentives factors that have contributed to globalisation and current international trade patterns, including technology; multi-national corporations; regional trading blocs; and deregulation of financial capital markets and of non-government institutions, e.g. the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank Explain the methods of protection employed by nations, and construct supply and demand diagrams to demonstrate the effect of methods of trade protection, including tariffs and non-tariff barriers (e.g. subsidies, quotas and bureaucratic requirements). Analyse and evaluate the economic arguments for and against protectionism and trade liberalisation responses from different viewpoints using economic criteria (e.g. economic efficiency, economic growth, living standards or resource allocation) to make a decision about the past, present or future regarding the relative merits of trade policy alternatives. Explain bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements that involve Australia the contemporary role of ‘free trade’ agreements and their impact on Australia’s international trade, including trade creation and trade diversion. Analyse and evaluate the economic outcomes of international trading bloc agreements (e.g. Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER), European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA)) on Australian economic growth, and decide on the net benefits using economic criteria, e.g. economic efficiency, economic growth, living standards or resource allocation. Create responses that communicate economic meaning using data, information, graphs and diagrams in paragraphs and extended responses to suit the intended purpose. Reproduced from Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, Economics 2025 v1.2 General senior syllabus October 2024, page 43

Online Tutoring I am pleased to offer online tutoring in Economics to Australian senior secondary students, and specifically to Queensland students working towards their QCE. My approach to tutoring is to challenge you to help you reflect and develop your own learning and thinking strategies and structures to help you succeed in your assessments in secondary school, and in later higher education studies. My tutoring approach is especially useful for students in year 12 for both research reports and exams. I am a registered teacher with Queensland College of Teachers. I am not currently teaching in a Queensland school as I am living in The Netherlands from 2025 to 2028. What I offer: Individual support to develop content knowledge, and application of theory to analysis of economic issues. Guidance to develop your understanding of marking guides, and strategies to align your written work to the marking requirements. Frameworks to improve research skills and writing structures. Individualised p ractise tasks. Feedback and review of your work. Good chat. What I don't offer: Exemplars of work produced by former students. Editing of drafts for syntax and grammar. Explicit instruction on the "correct answer". But remember: economics is about figuring out possible solutions to complex problems, and I can help you develop your abilities to express your ideas in a clear and concise manner, supported by academic rigour. How we do these sessions: Zoom meeting. You are welcome to record the meeting for later review. Cloud servers for access to additional resources. How much does it cost? There is an old expression that 'economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing '. Get in touch via the form below. Let me know what you would specifically like to improve in your work and we can figure out a price. And I hope that you see the value in it! Let’s Work Together Get in touch so we can start working together. First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for submitting!

I am currently on a three year sabbatical from classroom teaching in Australia, and residing in Amsterdam, Netherlands (returning to Australia early 2028). About Brettonomics I began posting Brettonomics videos on YouTube in 2023, with a primary focus on unpacking the questions from the past papers of Queensland Certificate of Education final external exam in Economics. These videos have had some very positive effects on student outcomes: students who were using past papers as practice exams an opportunity to get into the detail of the marking guide, and from there, to develop comprehensive writing structures and response strategies; students can work independently, at their own pace, and review concepts multiple times; students can pre-learn topics for lessons, which contributes to deeper engagement in class activities; students develop skills in grading their own work, and providing feedback to other students using rubrics. This website expands upon the YouTube videos to provide more content for students for students (linked to QCE Economics curriculum) as well as teaching activities (experiential learning) to engage students in lessons. Brettonomics has always been an individual project, enacted outside of my normal teaching duties. I hope that you find some useful stuff here. About Brett I am a registered secondary school teacher in Queensland, Australia, with qualifications to teach Economics, Business, and Legal Studies. I hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Western Sydney, and Master of Teaching (Secondary) from Australian Catholic University. Prior to teaching I worked in the private sector, where I successfully led a small organisation involved in design, manufacture and sales to retail customers (in-store and online), as well as government and private sector organisations. After a successful sale of that business in 2014, I spent some time on creative projects and study. I began my teaching career in 2020. Outside of teaching, I am very involved in outdoor activities (cycling, skiing, kayaking). I've had side gig playing percussion in bands for many years. I speak English and Spanish and hope to become fluent in Dutch over the next few years. Please note All resources are made available free of charge. All resources on this website remain intellectual property of the author. All third-party resources or links are open-source and freely available to access. Contact I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect. brettonomics@gmail.com

Contact This is your Contact section paragraph. Encourage your reader to reach out with any questions, comments or to take a different action specific to your site. You can also click on the contact form to customize the fields. Let's Chat Email brettonomics@gmail.com Social Media First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for submitting!

Unit 1 Topic 2 Overview

Student Resources On this page: Unit 1: Markets and Models Unit 1 Topic 1 : The basic economic problem Unit 1 Topic 2 : Economic flows Unit 1 Topic 3 : Market forces Unit 2: Modified Markets Unit 2 Topic 1: Markets and efficiency Unit 2 Topic 2: Inequality Unit 3: International Economics Unit 3 Topic 1 : International trade Unit 3 Topic 2 : Global economic issues Unit 4: Contemporary Macroeconomics Unit 4 Topic 1: Macroeconomic objectives and theory Unit 4 Topic 2: Economic Indicators and past budget stances Unit 4 Topic 3: Economic management Unit 1: Markets and models In Unit 1, students understand how the fundamental economic concepts of scarcity, choice and opportunity cost compel individuals, businesses and governments to make decisions about how best to allocate resources among competing needs. The nature of the basic economic problem is examined, and the consequences of scarcity are expressed in the production possibility curve and through the choices made by modern economic systems. Students analyse the factors that impact on the economy through the circular flow of income model and investigate the price mechanism as a model for the efficient allocation of resources. Unit 1 Topic 1: The basic economic problem In Topic 1, students understand the foundations of the subject in terms of scarcity and choices . Students learn key terminology as they consider the different stakeholders involved in the economy, and the basic economic problem of satisfying needs and wants. The first economic model presented in the course is the production possibility curve , which enables students to identify and examine relationships between resources and production. This topic allows students to consider finite resources and how these require choices to be made at an individual and at a national level. Unit 1 Topic 2: Economic Flows In Topic 2, students explore the economic idea of the economy as a system of real and monetary connections between the five key sectors, using the circular flow of income model . They analyse: the forces that affect flows to and from the household, business, financial, government and overseas sectors, the effect of government decisions on the economy, and the interrelationships between each sector. This topic enables students to see links and connections in the economic system that they experience every day. Unit 1 Topic 3: Market Forces In Topic 3, students examine the forces of demand and supply that underlie the operation of the price mechanism in the economy. Important concepts of shortages , surpluses and elasticities are scrutinised. This topic is studied through the lens of the economic problem in a specific current Australian context and market, for example: agricultural (e.g. wool, wheat and beef); other commodities (e.g. minerals and energy); community; financial; share; labour; property/housing and health. This topic develops students’ comprehension of market forces , and how they can use these to their advantage when understanding and predicting prices. Unit 2: Modified Markets Unit 2 Topic 1: Markets and efficiency In Topic 1, students understand that markets can fail when the price mechanism results in a sub-optimal allocation of resources. They examine market failure and explore traditional and innovative measures and strategies using economic criteria , for example socially optimal and/or efficient outcomes. This topic analyses how markets may not always work efficiently and effectively, and the different choices and opportunities that exist when this phenomenon occurs. Unit 2 Topic 2: Case options of market measures and strategies In Topic 2, students study a choice of two of the three case options listed below of market measures and strategies to apply the economic concepts and economic ideas developed in Topic 1. Students analyse different situations to explain the causes and effects of the market failure and the need for intervention. They evaluate strategies and/or interventions to achieve socially desirable and/or optimal outcomes. Case option A: Market Concentration Case option B: Environmental Economics Case option C: Inequality Unit 3: International Economics In Unit 3, students focus on the complex ideas and relationships underlying the international economy and the impact that these have on Australia’s domestic economy and decision-making. Students consider Australia’s engagement in international trade and the global economy, including the theories behind trade and exchange rates. They examine the balance of payments in depth, considering elements of the current and capital accounts. In Global economic issues, students explain the factors that contribute to and have an impact on globalisation. Trade barriers and trade agreements are investigated from a theoretical and contemporary viewpoint and form the basis of student-led research. Current economic events and economic measurements will be used to support and develop understanding in this unit. Longer term international trends may be considered in an analysis to see structural changes over time. However, the emphasis must be on a current situation and not on an event in the economic history of Australia. Students will understand measurements of economic data and how to calculate changes in percentages. Unit 3 Topic 1: International trade In Topic 1, students understand the dynamic nature and extent of Australia’s international trade interconnections. They examine the reasons for international trade and Australia’s place in the global economy. Current statistics are analysed to reveal relationships, patterns and trends that cause and affect Australia’s economic growth. Economic models are used to analyse movements in exchange rates over time and evaluate the consequent impacts on the domestic economy. Trends in the balance of payments are analysed to evaluate the implications for the Australian economy. Unit 3 Topic 2: Global economic issues In Topic 2, students study three major factors affecting Australia’s trade relationships with the rest of the world. Firstly, the factors that have contributed to globalisation are explored from Australia’s viewpoint. Secondly, economic ideas and models are used to examine the impacts of different barriers to trade, and the economic tensions they create. Finally, the impacts of international trading agreements are considered. Unit 4: Contemporary macroeconomics In Unit 4, students concentrate on the practical application of the Australian Government’s domestic macroeconomic objectives. They investigate the performance of the economy by focusing on the economic cycle and analysing a variety of economic indicators to evaluate economic performance and budget stances. Students examine aggregate demand and supply to model the level of output in the economy and its relationship to the government’s current macroeconomic objectives. Available policy instruments are analysed and evaluated to make decisions about the relevant policy mix with reference to the current economic climate. Current economic events and economic measurements will be used to support and develop understanding in this unit. Students will understand measurements of data, how different economic indicators are measured, and basis point or percentage point movements. Unit 4 Topic 1: Macroeconomic objectives and theory UNDER CONSTRUCTION Unit 4 Topic 2: Economic indicators and past budget stances UNDER CONSTRUCTION Unit 4 Topic 3: Economic Management UNDER CONSTRUCTION Additional resources for Unit 3 QCAA Syllabus for Economics : pages 26 - 29 Get in Touch brettonomics@gmail.com

Teaching Resources for Economics In these links you will find some of the useful resources that I have developed for teaching economics. I have a particular interest in the use of experiments and games to develop intuition in understanding, and to create 'sticky' learning. This section began construction in 2025, and is a work in progress. 1 Unit 1: Markets and Models Teaching resources for: Topic 1: Economic problem Topic 3: Market forces 2 Unit 2: Modified Markets UNDER CONSTRUCTION 3 Unit 3: International Economics UNDER CONSTRUCTION 4 Unit 4: Contemporary Macroeconomics UNDER CONSTRUCTION Useful websites Interactive games for students Marginal Revolution University : u nit plans, courses, great videos and explainers, and interactive practice games. Next Gen Personal Finance : a selection of online games and challenges International Monetary Fund EconEd : interactives and explainers. Escape from Barter Island : a fun cartoon trading interactive game. The Fiscal Ship : fiscal policy online game. Meme games : don't take these too seriously! Teaching resources Marginal Revolution University : Unit plans, courses, great videos and explainers, and interactive practice games. Reserve Bank of Australia : Explainers, chart packs, digital interactives, and teacher and student workshops. Ross Gittins : weekly articles unpacking current Australian economic issues. Core Econ : open source textbooks (undergrad level) and visualisation tools (inflation, inequality). EconEdLink : teaching resources and lesson plans. Models and data International Monetary Fund Datamapper : all the data you will need, available in downloadable spreadsheets Interactive Economics : tools to develop models and graphs to understand economic concepts. Econ Graphs : interactive economic models. Visual Capitalist : excellent infographics and data visualisations Get in Touch brettonomics@gmail.com