This unit is an introduction to modern microeconomic theory and as such has three purposes: (i) to introduce students to the major ideas of modern microeconomics and to develop their understanding of these ideas; (ii) to develop students' facility with analytic economic models; and (iii) to develop students' ability to solve economic problems with the ideas, techniques, and models available to professional economists. Topics covered include (i) individual decision-making by economic agents, (ii) the determination of prices and resource allocation in competitive general equilibrium models, (iii) strategic behaviour by firms under imperfect competition, and (iv) contracting with imperfect information.

This unit is aimed at providing students with a sound and comprehensive knowledge of modern macroeconomic theory, an ability to formulate and solve problems analytically, and a general appreciation of how policymakers can use the analysis in practice. Topics covered include (i) micro-foundations of macroeconomics, focusing on consumption, investment, money demand, and credit rationing; (ii) equilibrium macroeconomics, focusing on the conventional prototype as well as on recent stochastic macroeconomic models; and (iii) dis-equilibrium macroeconomics, concepts, issues, and models.

This unit is an introduction to mathematical economics. It has three purposes. First, to introduce students to the mathematical concepts and methods that are central to modern economics. Second, to give a set of economic applications of the mathematical methods. Third, to develop the students' ability to formulate logical arguments with the degree of precision and rigour demanded in modern economics. The mathematical topics covered include introductory analysis and topology, convex analysis, linear algebra, calculus of functions of several variables, optimisation, and introduction to dynamic programming and dynamical systems. The particular economic applications presented may vary from year to year, but usually include demand theory, production theory, and growth theory.

This unit illustrates how econometric methods can be applied to economic data to solve problems that arise in economics and business. Econometric theory provides the techniques needed to quantify the strength and form of relationships between variables. Applied econometrics is concerned with the strategies that need to be employed to use these techniques effectively; to determine which model to specify and whether the data are appropriate. Guidelines for undertaking applied work are discussed. Case studies drawn from economics, marketing, finance, and accounting are also discussed. The unit includes a major econometric modelling project.

This unit is designed to provide an understanding of selected topics at the frontier of academic research in the area of advanced macroeconomics, focusing on business cycles and monetary policy. We will spend the first half of the course developing essential tools used in macroeconomics and studying canonical micro-founded rational expectations general equilibrium models, originated from the real business cycles literature. The rest of the course will focus on nominal frictions within a New Keynesian/New Neoclassical framework and their implications for monetary policy. We will also discuss the merits and the shortcomings of these models and examine how these failings have been addressed in the literature. A central aim of this unit of study is to enable students to undertake further theoretical or empirical research in the area of business cycles and monetary policy.

This unit of study surveys contemporary research in labour economics. The field of labour economics is very broad, dealing with fundamental issues ranging from resource allocation to distributional equity and social welfare. The subject matter covers the determinants of wages, employment and unemployment; insurance and incentive mechanisms; and the behavioural effects and welfare impacts of institutions and public policies. In this unit students will have the opportunity to analyse theoretical models and their empirical applications.

This unit of study is designed to provide an understanding of some of the current developments in the field of industrial organisation. The focus is both on theoretical understanding and practical application. A central aim of this unit of study is to enable students to undertake further theoretical or empirical research in the area of industrial organisation.

This unit of study is designed to provide an understanding of some of the current developments in the field of development economics. The focus is both on theoretical understanding and practical application. A central aim of this unit of study is to enable students to undertake further theoretical or empirical research in the area of development economics.

This unit of study revolves around the intensive study of key elements of selected classic works in the development of economic thought. This course of lectures and seminars is not intended to be of purely historical or antiquarian interest; it is animated by the belief that such classic works remain highly relevant, in a fundamental way, for contemporary theoretical and policy debates. In particular, the aim is to: (i) demonstrate the evolutionary and temporal nature of current economic theory, (ii) indicate the attitudes which have developed in the field of policy, and how these are related to past theory, environment, and action; and (iii) make the student aware of the literary, philosophical and cultural elements underlying economic knowledge and practice. Another aim of this unit of study is to enable students to achieve a critical command of conceptual machineries of thought and analysis.

This unit of study is designed to provide an understanding of some of the current developments in the field of microeconomics. The focus is both on theoretical understanding and practical application. A central aim of this unit of study is to enable students to undertake further theoretical or empirical research in the area of microeconomics.

This unit of study is designed to provide an understanding of the latest theoretical and empirical policy-relevant developments in the field of advanced macroeconomics. The focus is on both theoretical understanding and the practical application of state-of-the-art modelling techniques. A central aim of this unit of study is to enable students to undertake further theoretical or empirical research in the area of macroeconomics.

The course is designed to provide an understanding of selected topics of current academic research in the area of advanced empirical macroeconomics. The course consists of two parts. We will develop tools and reviewing basic macro models and apply these tools and models to actual macro data.

The unit studies selected topics in economic history, with an emphasis on the history of economic development over the last 300 years since the advent of capitalism. Topics may include the commercial revolution and expansion of international trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; the role of the slave trade; the industrial revolution; the evolution of international economic relations in the 19th and 20th centuries; the Great Depression; post-World War II recovery and the growth 'Golden Age' of 1950-1973.

Study of an advanced topic in Economics. Topic may vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. If taught in both semesters, the topic in Semester 2 may be different to that in Semester 1. Students must seek written permission from the School of Economics Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator to enrol in this unit.

Study of an advanced topic in Econometrics. Topic may vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. If taught in both semesters, the topic in Semester 2 may be different to that in Semester 1. Students must seek written permission from the School of Economics Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator to enrol in this unit.

This unit aims to provide an introduction to the practice of forecasting in business. Forecasting requires both practical experience in model building and some statistical theory. To blend the theory and practice, many business forecasting examples are discussed. Excel is used to do useful preliminary calculations and plotting. At the end of this unit, students should be able to understand the major techniques of forecasting and be able to intelligently forecast actual business time series using Excel and its extensions. Topics covered include: the aims of forecasting and relation to time series analysis; types of time series; plotting and charting time series; practical examples of forecasting and forecasting issues; growth curve methods; least squares (what you need to know for forecasting); decomposition of time series; elementary exponential smoothing with Excel; serial correlation (and Durbin Watson statistic); applied ARIMA modelling and identifying seasonality and "hidden" periodicities.

This unit provides an introduction to some of the widely used econometric models designed for the analysis of financial data, and the procedures used to estimate them. Special emphasis is placed upon empirical work and applied analysis of real market data. The unit deals with topics such as: the statistical nature of financial data; the specification, estimation and testing of assets pricing models; the analysis of high frequency financial data; and the modelling of volatility in financial returns. Throughout the unit, students are encouraged (especially in assignments) to familiarise themselves with financial data and learn how to apply the models to these data.

Recently, empirical research in economics, finance, marketing and accounting has been enriched by the increasing availability of new sources of data, known as panel data. A 'panel' refers to the pooling of observations on a cross section of households, countries, firms etc. over several time periods. Panel data sets possess several major advantages over conventional cross-sectional or time series data sets. This unit aims to offer a comprehensive treatment of the analysis of panel data, which will allow students to deal in a pragmatic way with fundamental issues, such as controlling for individual heterogeneity, reducing collinearity among regressors, addressing statistical hypotheses and identifying effects that are simply not detectable in pure cross-section or time series data.

This unit of study aims to enhance oral and written communication skills and improve understanding of how to engage with academic economics. A series of tasks will consider economics academic texts in context and require learners to understand, analyse and produce appropriate spoken and written texts. Concepts in critical analysis will provide the basis for improved persuasive communication, including the difference between convention, fact, opinion and preference; deductive and inductive proof; validity and truth; evidence; and the ethics of persuasion.

This unit of study introduces tools to study the impact of laws and public policy on individual behaviours. We will critically evaluate empirical research produced by economists, sociologists, criminologists, and legal scholars. Topics will focus on criminal justice policy but will also cover other areas of law such as labour and social policy.

Financial markets play a fundamental role in a modern economy. In this unit of study we analyse how financial markets function, with a particular focus on: the factors underlying demand and supply; risk and uncertainty; incomplete contracts and renegotiation; and asymmetric information and its implications. In doing so, we identify the key features of markets for financial assets. The unit also examines the development of financial institutions and current issues in financial markets.

A firm's success depends on both its internal and external strategic relationships. This unit of study analyses how a firm can manage these relationships. We examine agency problems within the firm, outlining ways that firms try to mitigate these issues. Strategic relationships with input suppliers examined. We discuss how firms can establish a strong bargaining position in these relationships. The optimal boundaries of the firm are also analysed. We also study how a firm's product-market strategy affects its relationship with its rivals in the output market.

The purpose of this unit is to examine the nature of inter-firm rivalry in industries with market power. The unit begins with an exploration of the various ways in which firms can increase their market power by extracting more surplus from consumers by colluding with rivals or by excluding entrants. The topics for this part of the unit include price discrimination, product differentiation, advertising, research and development, predation and mergers. The unit also attempts to explain the various contractual and ownership linkages that exist between various stages of production. The latter involves a discussion of exclusive territories agreements, resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing, franchising and divisionalisation.

This unit covers the following topics: overview of the International Monetary System; foreign exchange markets, spot and future markets; swaps and options; arbitrage; covered and uncovered interest parity; exchange rate determination; forecasting exchange rate movements; exchange rate intervention; and the role of central banks.

The purpose of this unit is to study some of the major issues in modern labour markets. Trends such as the increase in part-time work, the growing inequality in income and earnings, changes in the returns to education, and the simultaneous increase in hours of work and unemployment are addressed. The material consists of both empirical facts relating to the labour markets and the theories which are used to understand these facts. Part of the unit is devoted to the study of wage and employment contracts in the presence of uncertainty and other information problems. Imperfect information will have implications for the level of employment and unemployment, the structure of wages, and the use of particular forms of compensation such as bonuses, trust funds, and performance bonds.

Recent innovations in public economics have overturned previously accepted policy rules. This unit focuses on the modern treatment of public policies relating to taxation, pricing of public sector outputs and public investment. Emphasis is placed on how different informational capabilities and jurisdictions of the government impact on the design of policy. The areas of application in taxation include the design of efficient and equitable consumption taxes, the structure of income taxation and the appropriate mix of income and consumption taxes. In response to market failures, pricing and investment rules for public enterprises, the provision and pricing of public goods, and policy responses to externalities and information problems are covered.

This unit is designed to highlight the relation between trade and development from an institutional and structural perspective, with appropriate modifications of received general economic principles, theories and policies. It closely studies the integration process of traditional segment of a developing society into its modern counterpart in countries selected from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific regions. It examines role of the state and international institutions (like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization), rationale for trade, planning and market mechanisms in developing economies, and also socio-cultural preconditions and economic requirements for a market economy. It focuses on a wide range of developmental problems and issues (such as foreign aid, debt, investment, technology transfer) from both national and international points of view.

In this unit of study emphasis is exclusively concerned with market failures that impact on the natural environment. Attention is given to why these market failures occur and what role there is for regulation and government policy. Topics covered include efficiency and markets, market failure, externalities (e.g. pollution), various methods of regulating pollution, and measuring the demand for environmental quality.

This unit provides students with an understanding of the economic foundations of financial theory and the economic framework upon which that theory is based. Much of the work covered is an application of both microeconomic and macroeconomic theory to the special problems encountered in the study of the financial side of an economy. The relevance of these foundations is illustrated with empirical research using Australian and international data.

This unit develops the modern theory of international trade and commercial policy and examines some empirical applications. Topics covered include competitive trade theory; comparative advantage and theories of international trade patterns; the gains from trade; empirical evidence and methodology; imperfectly competitive trade theory and economies of scale, differentiated products, and technology; analysis of the effects of tariffs and trade quotas upon trade under competitive and imperfectly competitive market structures; the formation and design of regional trade agreements and the strategic behaviour of multinational enterprises. It will be suitable for those with an interest in international trade and business issues as well as those who may wish to pursue PhD research in these areas. It will be taught at a graduate level and so presumes knowledge of advanced undergraduate microeconomics.

Private equity (PE) is crucial in developing new business ventures and promoting innovation. This unit investigates how PE firms operate, analysing the key strategic issues they face during the fundraising, investing and exit stages of the PE cycle. Topics covered include: the determinants and types of PE fundraising, the organisational structure of PE firms, the PE firm's investment decision, the PE firm-investee company relationship and the design of exit strategies. The role of PE in the broader economy is also discussed. Finally, we introduce some of the ethical issues PE firms face.

Decision makers face two types of uncertainty: uncertainty about the state of nature (how much oil is in an oilfield) and uncertainty about the strategic behaviour of other decision makers (how many oil wells they will drill). This unit of study focuses on strategic uncertainty and the uses decision makers can make of the concepts of game theory to guide their decisions. Game theory studies situations where a) agents have conflicts of interests and b) agents can take actions that directly affect their payoffs and the payoffs of others. A very broad range of applications from business and economics fit the above description and therefore can be studied by the methods of game theory. Applications include, firm pricing and output decisions, market entry and exit, hold-up, collusion, bargaining, auctions, and signalling.

In this unit, students will engage in discussing major health care issues and applying econometric tools to assess the (cost)-effectiveness of health care policy reforms. The following topics are likely to be covered: (1) international health care systems and finance, (2) determinants of the demand and supply of health care and behaviours, (3) inequalities in health and access to care, and (4) current policy reforms such as the introduction of provider incentives and co-payments. Each topic will be accompanied by an empirical application and replication assignment.

Study of a special topic in postgraduate Economics. Topics will vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. If taught in both semesters, the topic in Semester 2 will be different to that in Semester 1.

Study of a special topic in postgraduate Economics. Topics will vary from semester to semester according to staff availability and the presence of visitors. If taught in both semesters, the topic in Semester 2 will be different to that in Semester 1.

This is the first capstone unit in the MEcAnalysis. Students develop a detailed research proposal for a dissertation, which will be developed throughout Economics Research Dissertation B. Students are expected to take part in a research methods seminar series while receiving individual assistance from a specialist supervisor. This unit is assessed through the research and writing towards a 12,000 word dissertation, to be completed in Economics Research Dissertation B.

This is the second of two capstone units in the MEcAnalysis. This unit involves the writing and completion of a 12,000 word dissertation, the proposal for which was developed in Economics Research Dissertation A. The emphasis is on students acquiring skills in implementing a research proposal and disseminating the results while under the guidance of a specialist supervisor.