ECON 3525 - Economic Policy Analysis III
North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2023
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code ECON 3525 Course Economic Policy Analysis III Coordinating Unit Economics Term Semester 2 Level Undergraduate Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 3 Contact Up to 3 hours per week in Weeks 1-10 and up to 5 hours per week in weeks 11-12. Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y Prerequisites ECON 2507 and ECON 2506 or ECON 2514 or ECON 2516 Incompatible ECON 3523 Assumed Knowledge ECON 2504 or ECON 2515 or ECON 2517 Restrictions Available only to BEc students Assessment Typically, progress reports and a final presentation Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Paul Pezanis-Christou
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
This course is about the design and the evaluation of economic and social policies. It provides students with the theoretical tools needed to design such policies and with the empirical tools needed to evaluate them.
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:- Provide a balanced and coherent discussion of conceptual, methodological and ethical issues underlying the identification, selection, implementation and evaluation of a variety of micro and macro-economic policy proposals.
- Apply what has been learned during the first two years of their undergraduate studies in economics to the description and evaluation of specific policies, relating to a variety of social and economic issues.
- Construct effective reports aimed at briefing policy makers, both individually and in groups, of a professional standard, to communicate the results of their analysis to non-economists, including the general public.
University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.
1-3 Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving
Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.
1-3 Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills
Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.
1-3 Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness
Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.
1-3 Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency
Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.
1-3 Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.
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Learning Resources
Required Resources
The book for the course is Real-World Economic Policy: Insights from leading Australian economists, by Jan Libich.
This book is essential for the course, since it is used in the tutorial sessions.
It is available for purchase online at https://au.cengage.com/c/isbn/9780170364386. It is strongly recommended that you should buy it. Its 10% discount code is WOW10, and it can be used for both print and eBook versions, with 2-weeks free access to the eBook while print orders ship.
Other readings and other resources will be provided on the MyUni site.Online Learning
MyUni - http://www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au
A variety of online Resources will be provided via the above site, during the course. -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
The course will comprise of lectures, guest lectures, tutorial sessions and assigned tasks for self study. See description below for details.
Lectures will be delivered face-to-face, with livecast available to the students who are attending online, and guest lectures will be delivered online. All lectures will be recorded.
As of now, the Tutorials are delivered in both Online and face-to-face mode.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Lectures: 2 Hours per week (face-to-face, with online livecast; except guest lectures, which may be online)
Tutorials: 1 Hour per week (face-to-face and online)
Research and writing expectation: 6 Hours per week.Learning Activities Summary
Lectures: The lectures will summarise and review important economic concepts and principles relating to the design of economic and social policies as well as fundamental quantitative tools for the evaluation of such policies. Case studies and empirical examples will be discussed, and will offer a model for the issues which students are required to research and write about.
Guest Lectures: There will be six eight to ten guest lectures in which researchers, policy makers as well as policy analysts will talk about their experiences related to the process of econom polcy making. These lectures will be conducted in the form of interactive discussions with the course co-ordinator, with further Q&A with students.
Tutorials:
Tutorials will be based on presentation and discussion of case studies assigned out of the Economics of Public Issues book. Students in each tutorial group will be further divided into sub-groups. Each sub-group will work together on presentation of case studies assigned to them. When not prresenting, studetns will participate in the discussion of the case studies being presented.
Self-study: The course will make extensive use of various blogs, podcasts and other material available fo social media to discuss topics of the days pertaining to economic policy making. Students will be expected to have done their background reading/listening prior to the lecture in which the relevant topics will be discussed. -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
*Newspaper article: The idea behind this is to have you put on the hat of an economic journalist. You can submit the newspaper article anytime during the first 8 weeks of course (i.e. before the Friday of Week 8). The article should be on a current topic in the news, i.e., it should be related to a current event (for instance, the government announces a new job protection scheme, or US imposes trade restrictions on China) that occured within the last two weeks prior to the date of submission.Assessment Task Task Type Length Due Weighting Learning Outcome Reflection Essay Individual Approx 3 pages (12 pt, 1.5 spaces) Due mid Week 9 (before end of the day) 20% 1 Newspaper Article Individual Approx 2 pages (12 pt, 1.5 spaces) Due Friday of Week 8 (see instructions below*) 15% 3 Final Policy Evaluation Report Individual Approx 8 pages (12 pt, 1.5 spaces), excluding figures and references Due on the Friday of Week 13 35% 1, 2 and 3 Tutorial Participation Group and Individual N/A Throughout Semester 30%** 1, 2
**Each tutorial will have five groups. In any tutorial session, two groups will make presentations on the assigned cases. Members of the non-presenting groups will participate in the discussion. Each presentation is worth 5 points, making the presentation grade 20%. Participation grade is worth 10%.Assessment Related Requirements
To pass this course, students need to secure an overall mark of at least 50%.
There is no final examination.Assessment Detail
To be discussed in class.
Submission
All assessments are to be submitted electronically on the MyUni site, by the dates listed in the Assessment Summary above.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Student Support
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Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Elder Conservatorium of Music Noise Management Plan
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
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