Assessment Task Due Date % SILOs Assessed
Assessment Task Due Date % SILOs Assessed
Economics Assignment (1,000 words) 30 1, 2 & 3
Submission Details
The Major Assignment must be your own work submitted to Turnitin via LMS
Grading Criteria and Feedback
This assignment is to use an economic principle or principles discussed in this subject to explain some pattern of events of behaviour that you have personally observed. (this is based on an assignment "The economic naturalist', by Robert Frank (2007)).
Description of Task
Choose an economic principle, or principles from the subject and using your own observations explain some pattern of events or behaviour. The assignment does not need to contain complex terminology, algebra or graphs. The best assignments are ones that would be clear to someone who has never studied economics. Further, you do not need to provide voluminous research in support of your argument, although a relevant fact or two can help in convincing others. It makes no difference whether your topic is "important", but do try to choose something interesting. A successful paper is one that begins with an interesting question and then uses an economic principle or principles to construct a plausible solution.
The aims of the assignment are to encourage students to:
Apply economic concepts and principles to analyse real-world problems or phenomena (SILO 1).
Interpret evidence and/or data for the problem analysed (SILO 2).
Utilise economic tools and approaches to make draw conclusions and make recommendations (SILO 3).
Better understand the complexities of human behaviour (SILO 4).
Some economics principles to consider:
Incentives matter: because they affect the benefits and costs of taking one action as opposed to another.
The principle of comparative advantage: Everybody does best when each concentrates on the activity for which he or she is relatively more productive.
Trade-offs: in economics we often look at the trade-offs involved in a decision.
Opportunity cost: each decision we make involves an opportunity cost, that is, the next best alternative.
The cost-benefit principle: Take no action unless its marginal benefit is at least as great as its marginal cost.
The assignment must be:
Word processed in 12 point font at 1.5 spacing
Not more than 1000 words
Additionally, as we take academic integrity seriously, it is recommended that you check the originality of your assignment by submitting to Turnitin prior to the due date.
Feedback
The assignment will be graded according to the marking rubric
Detailed feedback will be provided within 3 weeks of the due date.
