This course presents a systematic way of thinking about economic principles and the role of government. The course will ensure participants understand the nature and role of markets. Governments interact with the economy in general and markets at all levels, ranging from market design to hybrid public-private programs, from policies designed to provide incentives or disincentives to market and other behaviours, to incorporating behavioural and economic principles in government itself. The course will identify the economy and how we measure it. It will frame public budgeting for the financing of government through taxation, borrowing and other means and will introduce concepts of deficit and government debt, fiscal austerity, economic stimulus and other fiscal policy approaches.
The course will provide a framework for understanding the strengths and limits of markets as a form of social organization and for identifying the precise nature of market failure, the objectives of public policy and forms of government intervention, for example by regulation, expenditures, service provision, redistribution and taxation. Participants will examine the efficiency of resource allocation in the economy as a whole and at the micro level in decision making by individuals, firms and government actors. The idea of the efficiency of resource allocation will be emphasised and developed by providing concrete examples and applications.

 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

• Demonstrate deep knowledge and understanding of the role of governments and markets and economic principles including the key debates in Australia and a global context
• Evaluate key concepts of the economy including measurement, national income, growth
• Critically analyse core monetary institutions, the concept of money and monetary policy
• Describe the budget and government fiscal framework and to evaluate fiscal policy settings in complex economic environments including fiscal policy instruments and constraints
• Demonstrate understanding of an introduction to tax and welfare policy and public goods

Research-Led Teaching

Always.

Field Trips

None.

Examination Material or equipment

To be provided.

Required Resources

Principles of Economics

Author: Gans, J., S. King, R. Stonecash, M. Byford, J. Libich and N. G. Mankiw

Publisher: Cengage Learning

Edition: Seventh

ISBN: 9780170382656

Availability: Coop Book Store

Notes: Some weekly assignment questions will be assigned out of this textbook. It is the student's responsibility to obtain and answer the correct question from the seventh edition of the textbook.

Hybrid Public Policy Innovations: Contemporary Policy Beyond Ideology

Author: Mark Fabian and Robert Breunig

Publisher: Routledge

ISBN: 9781351245944

Recommended Resources

Microeconomics: Case studies and applications

Author: Jeffrey Borland

Publisher: Wildfire

Edition: Second

ISBN: 9780170225441

Economics

Author: Daron Acemoglu, David Laibson and John List

Publisher: Pearson

Edition: Second

ISBN: 9780134492063

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Week 1: Review of Economic Way of Thinking & Quiz One	Chapters 1-2, 4-6 of PoE* *PoE: Principles of Economics, 7th Asia-Pacific Edition
2	Week 2: Review	Chapters 7-8, 10-11 of PoE*
3	Week 3: Introduction to impact evaluation	Cobb-Clark and Crossley (2003); Chapter 7 of Hybrids^ & TBD ^Hybrids: Hybrid Public Policy Innovations: Contemporary Policy Beyond Ideology
4	Week 4a: Evidence: correlation, causation and the hierarchy of evidence Week 4b: Introduction to social policy and the role of government; What do markets do well? What does government do well? How can they be blended?	Chapters 1 and 5 of Hybrids^ & Barr (1992)
5	Week 5: Education	Chapters 8 of Hybrids and Jacob and Ludwig (2009)
6	Week 6: Labour markets	Chapters 19, 20 and 28 of PoE and Chapter 9 of Hybrids
7	Week 7: Income Support Policy	Barr (1992) & TBD
8	Week 8: Health	Chapter 12 of Hybrids^ and TBD
9	Week 9: Gender equality	Chapter 20 of PoE* & Eswaran (2014)
10	Week 10: Topic TBA	TBA
11	Week 11: Case study presentations
12	Week 12: Case study presentations

Tutorial Registration

After the first lecture.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment
Weekly study questions	10 %	31/07/2019	05/08/2019
Quizzes	10 %	24/07/2019	05/08/2019
Public policy and economics case study	25 %	16/10/2019	28/11/2019
Evaluation assignment	15 %	14/10/2019	28/11/2019
Final examination	40 %	31/10/2019	28/11/2019

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Examination(s)

There is a final examination.

Assessment Task 1

Weekly study questions

Due every Wednesday, 12:00 noon from 31 July.

Further instructions to be provided in lecture and on Wattle.

Feedback will be provided by noon the following Monday.

Assessment Task 2

Quizzes

Two quizzes to be given during the semester, the first quiz will be given in week one and the second quiz will be given sometime in weeks 5 through 12. The timing of the second quiz will be announced in lecture at least one week in advance.

Quiz one: 24/07/2019

Quiz two: TBD - feedback will be provided within 2 weeks.

Assessment Task 3

Public policy and economics case study

Due in two stages: Group presentations on Wednesday 16 October and Wednesday 23 October.

Personal reflection due Monday 4 November, 11:55 pm.

Detailed assessment instructions will be provided on Wattle.

Assessment Task 4

Evaluation assignment

Instructions to be given in first week of semester.

Assessment Task 5

Final examination

More information to be provided during lectures.

Final examination will be held during the examination period with the specific date to be confirmed by the ANU examination office

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. No extensions will be given.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students