This unit covers topics in applied microeconomics for public policy. It will focus on a small number of major applied micro and behavioural economic theories such as incentives, discrimination and gift exchange, and apply these theories to examine empirical and experimental evidence in a large range of potential contexts from education and health to labour markets, volunteerism, charitable behaviour, finance and government policy. For each topic, students will be introduced to the traditional theoretical approach, followed by empirical and experimental evidence, and alternative academic perspectives. Students are challenged to develop their own perspectives towards policy implications.

This unit of study aims to provide students with advanced theoretical knowledge and skill sets for analysing macroeconomic policy issues and practice in Australia and internationally from both a historical and contemporary perspective. This unit introduces a set of modern macroeconomic models that provide insights into policy debates and can also be used for analysing contemporary government policies. Examples will be drawn from various policies not just within Australia, but also from countries and regions such as the US, Asia, South America and Europe.

This unit aims to equip the student with skills to evaluate economic aspects of corporate finance and corporate governance. It will emphasize the role of informational asymmetries in the underlying interactions. The unit will allow the students to explore cutting-edge topics in microeconomics and the theory of incentives. The themes covered will include the structure of the firm, the models of credit rationing and determinants of firm's borrowing capacity. We will further turn to corporate financing under asymmetric information and contract design, explore monitoring in corporate finance and design of securities, control rights and corporate governance.

This unit of study develops the knowledge and skills required for the economic evaluation of government programs. Across a range of policy domains including health, education, crime and the environment, governments are increasingly seeking advice on the economic evaluation of policy proposals. In this unit the economic tools and skills used to evaluate policies across a range of domains are introduced and critically examined. Emphasis will be placed on the empirical approaches used to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of government programs through the use of real world data.

This unit deals with the nature and practice of research and inquiry in applied economics. Topics covered will include: the scientific method; inductive thought and deductive logic; research as an orderly process of inquiry; preparation of research proposals; sources of data for economists; quantitative methods used to work with data, writing skills, ethics in research and other relevant topics. Examples of research in theoretical economics, empirical/applied research and wider debates in scientific disciplines will be used to illustrate topics.

In this unit students will be presented with a research question in economics based on a real-world problem or issue. Initially, the research problem will be presented by the instructor or a guest lecturer. Supporting lectures will be delivered on appropriate theoretical concepts and quantitative methods required to conduct the research. Students will interact with the instructor to define the detail of the research problem, the approach for analysis and feedback on their work. Following this, students will construct a detailed literature review, collect and analyse data, and present the research results in written form.