Table A - Economics

The information below details the unit of study descriptions for the units listed in Table A for the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master of Commerce.

Unit outlines will be available through Find a unit outline two weeks before the first day of teaching for 1000-level and 5000-level units, or one week before the first day of teaching for all other units.
 

Economics

Achievement of a specialisation in Economics requires 30 credit points from this table comprising:
(i) 6 credit points in Table A - Foundational units of study*
(ii) 6 credit points of Table A - Economics core units of study; and
(iii) 18 credit points of Table A - Economics selective units of study.
Students completing this specialisation to meet the requirements for the Master of Commerce or as their compulsory specialisation for the Master of Commerce (Extension) must complete a 6 credit point capstone unit related to the specialisation from Table A - Capstone units of study section in Table A for the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master of Commerce OR Table A for the Master of Commerce (Extension).
Students completing this specialisation as an optional second specialisation for the Master of Commerce (Extension) do not need to complete a capstone unit.

Units of study

The units of study are listed below.

Table A - Foundational unit of study

* Note. Foundational units count to both the Foundational units of study for the course and the specialisation
ECON5040 Foundation in Economics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week Prohibitions: ECON5001 Assessment: 1x1.5hr mid-semester exam (35%), 5x online quizzes (1000wd equivalent) (10%), 1x2hr final exam (55%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
This unit focuses on microeconomics, the study of choice under scarcity. All businesses, consumers and even countries and their governments have limited resources. This unit provides an introduction to microeconomic analysis focusing on concepts and applications relevant to business. It addresses how individual consumers and firms make decisions and how they interact in markets. Tools are introduced for analysing government policies that address market failures. The unit provides a rigorous platform for further study and a specialisation in business economics as well as providing valuable analytical tools that complement a general business training, regardless of area of study.

Table A - Economics

Core units of study
ECON5002 Macroeconomic Theory

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Intensive February,Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week, 1x1hr non-compulsory online tutorial/week Prohibitions: ECON5003 Assessment: online quizzes equivalent to 1500wd (20%), 1x1hr mid-semester test (30%), 1x2hr final exam (50%),. Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
This unit presumes no prior exposure to economics and aims, by the end of the unit, to bring a proficiency equivalent to that of students with an intermediate level macroeconomics unit in an Honours degree program. Many economic principles developed in this unit are routinely used in several other units in the program. Macroeconomics studies aggregate economic behaviour. The unit covers theories of the engines of long-run economic growth, of unemployment, of money, inflation, the interest rate and the exchange rate, as well as consumption, saving and investment behaviour. The unit also studies a number of applications of the theory and addresses contemporary macroeconomic problems and policy.
Selective units of study
ECON5006 Economics of Law and Public Policy

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 Assessment: in class participation (15%), 1x10 min presentation (15%), 1x1500wd policy evaluation report (30%), 1x2hr final exam (40%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON5007 The Economics of Financial Markets

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 or ECON6701 Assessment: 1x1.5hr mid-semester exam (30%), 1x1000wd assignment (20%), 1x2hr final exam (50%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON5008 Behavioural Economics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Intensive September Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (ECON5001 or ECON5040 or ECON6701) and (ECMT5001 or ECMT6702 or QBUS5001) Assessment: 1x2500wd assignment (50%), 1x10mins in-class presentation (20%), 1x1.5hr mid semester test (30%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
This unit builds on prior studies of microeconomics by introducing key concepts in Behavioural Economics. The implications of these departures from neoclassical economics will be explored for a range of topics, which may include financial decision-making, wage and incentive contracts, public policy, and charitable giving.
ECON5026 Strategic Business Relationships

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 Assessment: 1x1500wd assignment (25%); 1x1hr mid-semester test (25%); 1x2hr final exam (50%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON5050 Communicating Economics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ECON5040 Prohibitions: ECON5004 Assessment: 1x750wd written assignment (20%), 2x500wd written assignments (30%), 1x5min presentation 1 (10%), 1x15min presentation 2 (30%), participation (10%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
The unit of study aims to enhance students ability to communicate persuasively in oral and written form about business economics, including in professional contexts and with the general public. In this context it will focus on developing skills in the translation of economic ideas, and synthesis. Motivated by the fact that in many practical contexts preparation times are limited and ones audience has a short attention span, the unit will particularly focus on succinct and concise communication. These skills will be developed through practice.
ECON6008 International Money and Finance

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (ECON5001 or ECON5040 or ECON6001 or ECON6701) and (ECON5002 or ECON6002 or ECON6702) and (ECMT5001 or QBUS5001 or QBUS5002 or ECMT6002 or ECMT6702) Assessment: 1x2hr final exam (50%),1x1hr mid-semester exam (25%), 2x750wd written assignments (25%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
This unit of study provides analytical and theoretical frameworks for understanding various problems and current issues in macroeconomics in the global economy. The unit builds on ECON5001 and ECON5002 at a more advanced and specialised level with a focus on international/open-economy aspects of macroeconomics. The first part of the unit deals with economic foundations, following this there is a focus on qualitative, empirical or quantitative analysis using contemporary models. Topics to be covered include foreign exchange markets, interest parity, exchange rate determination and intervention, goods market and money market, the international monetary system and the role of central banks.
ECON6016 Trade and Development

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5002 or ECON5040 or ECON6701 or ECON6702 Assessment: 1x1hr mid-semester test (20%), 1x1500wd equivalent seminar paper and presentation (20%), 1x2hr final exam (60%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON6018 Environmental Economics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 or ECON6701 Assessment: 1x1000wd equivalent seminar paper and presentation (25%), 1x1.5hr mid-semester test (25%), 1x2hr final exam (50%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON6024 Private Equity

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 or ECON5002 or ECON6701 or ECON6702 Assessment: 2500wd written assignments (50%), 1x2hr final exam (50%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON6029 Health Economics and Policy Evaluation

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (ECON5001 or ECON5040 or ECON6701) and (ECMT5001 or ECMT6702 or QBUS5001) Assessment: 1x1500wd assignment (20%); 1x1hr mid-semester test (20%); 1x2hr final exam (60%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
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.
ECON6035 Global Economic History for Business

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week Prohibitions: ECON6034 Assessment: 1x1000wd equivalent mid-semester test (25%), 1x1500wd written assignment (25%), 1x2000wd equivalent final exam (50%). Please refer to the unit of study outline for individual sessions https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
This unit provides students with an overview of global economic development over the past 1000 years with the objective of helping to understand today's global economy and business environment and what the future might hold. The motivating question throughout is: how did we get here and where are we going? This is addressed through an examination of both the global east and the global west. Conventional analysis is tested through the prism of history and long-run data. The unit of study examines global themes and then proceeds to consider geographies, building on the global theme lectures.