Why is something as superfluous as diamonds so costly, but something as essential as water so cheap? How can the cost of the coffee beans make up only a few cents of the price of a cup of coffee? With the world’s highest minimum wage rate, can Australia ever compete with low wage countries?

The ANU Bachelor of Economics provides a framework and a way of thinking to help answer questions like these. Your coursework will span economics (both theory and applied), economic history, and econometrics while developing your analytical problem-solving and quantitative skills.

Whether working as an economist or in some other role, your Bachelor of Economics degree and training will be sought after.

Are you a leader? The Australian National University is a leader too, especially in the fields of philosophy, politics and economics. This progressive and well-regarded degree will arm you with the moral, economic and political perspectives you need to make a real impact.

You will develop exceptional problem-solving skills and critical and conceptual thinking, all while gaining a passport to some of the world’s most promising careers.

Employment Opportunities

Economics provides a foundation for careers in:

• Public policy
• International development
•  Business and management
• Government and politics 
• Law
• Finance and insurance
• Teaching and education
• Marketing and tourism 
• Examples of job titles in economics are listed below.

Government Departments
Australian and overseas governments provide many career paths for economists.  Departments like Finance, Treasury, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Productivity Commission and the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics recruit heavily from the ANU.  Economists are also much in demand in other government departments dealing with issues such as Trade, Education, Employment and Social Security.  

Business and Management
Firms recruit economists because their advice is vital to businesses in understanding their business environment, how competitors react, and how changes in things such as interest rates, oil prices, exchange rates and consumer demand are likely to affect the business.  Consultancy and accounting firms employ economists to advise their clients which include both private firms and governments.

International Agencies
International agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Oxfam recruit economists to advise them on the effects of policy changes, financial crises and conflicts in one part of the global economy on another, as they are transmitted through trade and financial flows.  Economists advise on trade policy and macroeconomic policy coordination.

Resource and Environmental Economist
Economists are employed to study natural resource use and environmental problems and their relationship to economic behaviour.  Employers include mining firms and regulatory agencies.  Economists contribute to the better management of natural resources and improving the global environment.

Schools and Universities
There is a thriving national and international market for academic economists in High Schools / Colleges and Universities. 

Finance and Banking
Financial institutions including Banks, and in particular the Reserve Bank of Australia, actively recruit economists to advise them on the state of the economy and on risks from factors such as interest rate changes and exchange rate movements.

Economics provides a foundation for careers in:

• Public policy
• International development
•  Business and management
• Government and politics 
• Law
• Finance and insurance
• Teaching and education
• Marketing and tourism 
• Examples of job titles in economics are listed below.

Government Departments
Australian and overseas governments provide many career paths for economists.  Departments like Finance, Treasury, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Productivity Commission and the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics recruit heavily from the ANU.  Economists are also much in demand in other government departments dealing with issues such as Trade, Education, Employment and Social Security.  

Business and Management
Firms recruit economists because their advice is vital to businesses in understanding their business environment, how competitors react, and how changes in things such as interest rates, oil prices, exchange rates and consumer demand are likely to affect the business.  Consultancy and accounting firms employ economists to advise their clients which include both private firms and governments.

International Agencies
International agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Oxfam recruit economists to advise them on the effects of policy changes, financial crises and conflicts in one part of the global economy on another, as they are transmitted through trade and financial flows.  Economists advise on trade policy and macroeconomic policy coordination.

Resource and Environmental Economist
Economists are employed to study natural resource use and environmental problems and their relationship to economic behaviour.  Employers include mining firms and regulatory agencies.  Economists contribute to the better management of natural resources and improving the global environment.

Schools and Universities
There is a thriving national and international market for academic economists in High Schools / Colleges and Universities. 

Finance and Banking
Financial institutions including Banks, and in particular the Reserve Bank of Australia, actively recruit economists to advise them on the state of the economy and on risks from factors such as interest rate changes and exchange rate movements.

Learning Outcomes

1. Solve economic problems using analytical reasoning.
2. Apply economic analysis to a wide variety of transdisciplinary issues.
3. Use basic empirical estimation techniques to test predictions pertaining to multiple disciplinary areas.
4. Provide insight into the way that households and individuals make decisions and interact, and the role of government in providing public goods and regulating the market sector.
5. Communicate effectively rigorous economic analysis in a coherent way to multidisciplinary stakeholders.

1. describe and critically evaluate the methods and theories of political analysis, and the assumptions, ‘tools’ and limitations of political economy;
2. describe and critically evaluate major philosophical theories and approaches to the evaluation of social practices and institutions;
3. describe and critically evaluate the methods and findings of economics and apply them to the study of political institutions and processes;
4. articulate and debate, both orally and in written form, arguments and positions drawn from the disciplines of politics, philosophy and economics; and
5. critically reflect and draw upon the distinct contributions of diverse disciplines, including politics, philosophy and economics, to devise innovative solutions to real-world challenges, both independently and in groups.

Further Information

Students in the Bachelor of Economics (a single or a combined degree with Economics) are not eligible to take Economic Studies major or/and minor.

Electives:  Electives can be selected from CBE or other Colleges.

Students wishing to undertake an out of college elective may contact the relevant College directly.

Student Responsibility:

It is the student's responsibility to select electives in such a way that:

• they satisfy prerequisites for the corresponding course/s.
• they conform to the rules set out in Programs and Courses or, if unsure, seek advice from the CBE office .

It is the student's responsibility to select the courses appropriate for his/her program.

Students in the Bachelor of Economics (a single or a combined degree with Economics) are not eligible to take Economic Studies major or/and minor.

Electives:  Electives can be selected from CBE or other Colleges.

Students wishing to undertake an out of college elective may contact the relevant College directly.

Student Responsibility:

It is the student's responsibility to select electives in such a way that:

• they satisfy prerequisites for the corresponding course/s.
• they conform to the rules set out in Programs and Courses or, if unsure, seek advice from the CBE office .

It is the student's responsibility to select the courses appropriate for his/her program.

Admission Requirements

Prerequisites

There are no formal program prerequisites. But assumed knowledge is:-ACT: Mathematical Methods (Major)/Further Mathematics/Specialist Mathematics (major)/ Specialist Methods or NSW: HSC Mathematics Advanced or equivalent. More information about interstate subject equivalencies can be found here.

There are no formal program prerequisites. But assumed knowledge is: ACT: Mathematical Methods (Major)/Further Mathematics/Specialist Mathematics (major)/Specialist Methods or NSW: HSC Mathematics Advanced or equivalent. More information about interstate subject equivalencies can be found here [https://www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria]

Adjustment Factors

Adjustment factors are combined with an applicant's secondary education results to determine their Selection Rank. ANU offers adjustment factors based on equity, diversity, and/or performance principles, such as for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies.

To be eligible for adjustment factors, you must have:

• achieved a Selection Rank of 70 or more before adjustment factors are applied
• if you have undertaken higher education, completed less than one year full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) of a higher education program
• applied for an eligible ANU bachelor degree program

Please visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Economics flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 48 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must consist of:

42 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

ECON1101 Microeconomics 1

ECON2101 Microeconomics 2

ECON3101 Microeconomics 3

ECON3102 Macroeconomics 3

EMET1001 Foundations of Economic and Financial Models

EMET2007 Econometrics I: Econometric Methods

STAT1008 Quantitative Research Methods

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECON1100 Economics I (H)

ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECON2016 Economics II (H)

ECON2102 Macroeconomics 2

minimum 12 units of Transdisciplinary courses:

CBEA2001 Indigenous Perspectives in Business and Economics

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present

ECHI3009 World Economy Since 1800

ECON2013 Behavioral Economics

ECON2014 Managerial Economics

ECON2108 Japanese Economy and Political Economy

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine

ECON3004 Health Economics

ECON3006 Financial Economics

ECON3127 Computational Methods in Economics

ECON3128 Resource and Environmental Economics

ECON3180 Advanced Behavioural Economics

ECON3023 Economic Policy Issues

minimum 18 units of the following courses:

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present

ECHI3009 World Economy Since 1800

ECON1100 Economics 1 (H)

ECON2009 Labour Economics and Industrial Relations Policy

ECON2013 Behavioral Economics

ECON2014 Managerial Economics

ECON2026 Money and Banking

ECON2091 The Economy, Politics and the State

ECON2108 Japanese Economy and Political Economy

ECON2125 Optimisation

ECON2131 Public Sector Economics

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine

ECON3004 Health Economics

ECON3006 Financial Economics

ECON3057 Industrial Organisation

ECON3100 Economics 3 (H)

ECON3103 International Economics

ECON3127 Computational Methods in Economics

ECON3128 Resource and Environmental Economics

ECON3152 Game Theory

ECON3180 Advanced Behavioural Economics

ECON3023 Economic Policy Issues

EMET3004 Econometrics II: Modelling

EMET3006 Applied Microeconomics

EMET3007 Business and Economic Forecasting

EMET3008 Applied Macro and Financial Economics

maximum 12 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU, which may include courses from the following course codes:

BUSI, BUSN, CBEA, COMP, ECHI, ECON, EMET, FINM, INFS, MATH, MGMT, MKTG, STAT

If your flexible double degree is within the College of Business and Economics (for example Commerce and Economics), the below study plan may show the same course twice. If this is the case, you must only do the course once and replace the other course with a University Wide Elective.

For majors and minors offered by the ANU College of Business and Economics, students may count a course towards multiple majors and minors. If a minor is a subset of all stated courses and/or prerequisites for a major, then completion of the major overrides completion of the minor, and only the major is regarded as having been completed. If all courses in a major and/or minor are compulsory courses in the degree, the major and/or minor will not be listed on the transcript.

The Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 48 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:

54 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:

ECON1101 Microeconomics 1

ECON2101 Microeconomics 2

PHIL1004 Fundamental Ideas in Philosophy: An Introduction

PHIL1005 Logic and Critical Thinking

POLS1002 Introduction to Politics

POLS1009 Introduction to Data and Methods for Political Science and International Relations

PPEI1001 PPE Integration 1

PPEI2001 PPE Integration 2

PPEI3001 PPE Integration 3

6 units from completion of one of the following courses:

ECON1100 Economics I (H)

ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1

12 units from the completion of any 2000 or 3000 level POLS course of which at least 6 units must come from one of the courses on the following list:

POLS2044 Quantitative Methods in Political Science and International Relations

POLS2094 International Political Economy

POLS2114 Australian Politics

POLS2130 Public Choice and Politics

POLS3029 Sharing Power: Federalism in Comparative Perspective

POLS3043 Pressure Groups and Political Lobbying

POLS3111 Elections, Political Behaviour and Public Opinion in Australia

POLS3125 Game Theory and Social Sciences

12 units from the completion of any 2000 or 3000 level PHIL course of which at least 6 units must come from one of the courses on the following list:

PHIL2057 Philosophy of Science

PHIL2122 Philosophy and Public Policy

PHIL2125 Rationality and Social Cooperation

PHIL2126 Science in Society: Ethics, Public Policy and Scientific Practice

PHIL2129 Normative Ethical Theory

PHIL2290 Philosophy, AI and Society

PHIL3073 Advanced Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy

PHIL3075 The Philosophy of Gender: Knowledge, Power, Bodies

6 units from the completion of any 2000 or 3000 level ECON, ECHI or EMET course, or EMET1001.

A maximum of 6 units of Experiential Courses from the following list:

ANIP3003 Australian National Internships Program A

ASIA3037 Study Tour: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Change in Asia and the Pacific

ASIA3084 Study Tour: Modern Mongolia - Challenges to the Environment, Economy and Empire

CBEA3001 College of Business and Economics Special Industry Project

ENVS2005 Island Sustainable Development: Fiji Field School

MEAS2008 Middle East and Central Asia Study Tour

PASI2030 Regional Policy Making for Pacific Development

STST2020 Study Tour: Southeast Asia's Security Choices

Minors

Bachelor of Economics Minors

Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics Minors

Study Options