University of Sydney Handbooks - 2019 Archive

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Business Economics

Table of postgraduate units of study: Commerce

The information below details the unit of study descriptions for the units listed in the Table of postgraduate units of study: Commerce.

Business Economics

Achievement of a specialisation in Business Economics requires 30 credit points from this table comprising:
(i) 6 credit points in foundational units of study
(ii) 6 credit points in compulsory units of study
(iii) 18 credit points in elective units of study.

Units of study for the specialisation

Foundational unit of study

ECON5040 Microeconomics for Business

Credit points: 6 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%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
Microeconomics is the study of choice under scarcity. Its importance is underlined by the fact that all businesses, consumers and even countries and their governments have limited resources. This unit provides an introduction to microeconomic analysis with a particular focus on concepts and applications relevant to business. It addresses how individual consumers and firms make decisions and how they interact in markets. We also introduce economic tools for analysing public policies a government might introduce to address market failures. It provides a rigorous platform for further study and a specialisation in business economics as well as providing valuable tools of analysis that complement a student's general business training, regardless of their area of study.

Compulsory units of study

ECON5002 Macroeconomic Theory

Credit points: 6 Session: Intensive January,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%), Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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.

Elective units of study

ECON5004 Communication in Economics

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week, 1x1hr non-compulsory online tutorial/week Assessment: 2x1500wd assignments (35% each), 1x10min (1500wd equivalent) oral presentation (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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.
ECON5006 Economics of Law and Public Policy

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: in class participation (15%), 1x10 min presentation (15%), 1x1500wd policy evaluation report (30%), 1x2hr final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 Assessment: 1x1.5hr mid-semester exam (30%), 1x1000wd assignment (20%), 1x2hr final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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.
ECON5026 Strategic Business Relationships

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x1500wd assignment (25%); 1x1hr mid-semester test (25%); 1x2hr final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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.
ECON6008 International Money and Finance

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5002 Assessment: 1x1hr Mid-semester test (30%), 1x1000wd Essay (15%), 1x2.5hr Final exam (55%), Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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.
ECON6016 Trade and Development

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5002 or ECON5040 Assessment: 1x1hr Mid-semester test (20%), 1x1500wd equivalent Seminar paper and presentation (20%), 1x2hr Final exam (60%), Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 Assessment: 1xSeminar paper and presentation equivalent to 1000wd (25%), 1x1.5hr Mid-semester test (25%), 1x2hr Final exam (50%), Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week Prerequisites: ECON5001 or ECON5040 Assessment: 2500wd written assignments (50%), 1x2hr final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: (ECON5001 or ECON5040) and ECMT5001 Assessment: 1x1500wd assignment (20%); 1x1hr mid-semester test (20%); 1x2hr final exam (60%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
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.
ECMT5001 Principles of Econometrics

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x3hr lecture/week, 1x1hr non-compulsory online tutorial/week Assessment: Online quizzes equivalent to 500wd (10%), 1xGroup assignment equivalent to 1000wd (15%), 1x1hr Mid-semester test (20%), 1x2hr Final exam (55%), Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
The unit develops the basic principles of data description and analysis, the idea of using the concept of probability to model data generation, and the statistical concepts of estimation and statistical inference, including hypothesis testing. It then develops these concepts and techniques in the context of the linear regression model to show how econometric models can be used to analyse data in a wide range of potential areas of application in economics, business and the social sciences. The unit combines theory and application. The emphasis is upon the interpretation of econometric estimation results and requires software for hands-on experience.