HSC Economics Question Thread

[birdwing341]

Simple question here:
'Compare and contrast international and regional business cycles'  (3 lines given)

Yup although compare and contrast seems a little extravagant for 3 lines (lol) - would imagine that being at least a 2-3 marker. Anyway, given it's a one marker, I'd probably answer it in one sentence, something that follows on from below (hopefully a little better worded).

The international business cycle refers to the increase in coordination of and cooperation between economies across the globe, whereas the regional business cycle refers to the integration of local economies within the same geographical area.

[Iminschool]

Yup although compare and contrast seems a little extravagant for 3 lines (lol) - would imagine that being at least a 2-3 marker. Anyway, given it's a one marker, I'd probably answer it in one sentence, something that follows on from below (hopefully a little better worded).

The international business cycle refers to the increase in coordination of and cooperation between economies across the globe, whereas the regional business cycle refers to the integration of local economies within the same geographical area.

Thanks for your reply,
FYI this question was from the 'Dotpoint Economics' WorkBook.
I must add though that in your answer i see that there was no comparison made. I am by no means experienced or great at answering questions but in an exam i'm guessing it'd be a 2 marker as you are both comparing and contrasting international and regional business cycles, but what would i know anyways... lol

[birdwing341]

Thanks for your reply,
FYI this question was from the 'Dotpoint Economics' WorkBook.
I must add though that in your answer i see that there was no comparison made. I am by no means experienced or great at answering questions but in an exam i'm guessing it'd be a 2 marker as you are both comparing and contrasting international and regional business cycles, but what would i know anyways... lol

Mm well I personally think it's a stupid question - but tbh I'm not sure what there is to compare. Maybe you could add in a sentence about volumes? And the only similarity here that I can see is the increased integration of economies (arisen from the process of globalisation) which I have kind of mentioned. It's probably not as clear as it should be, and I've already lost much of the specific vocab for each question, but does that kind of make sense?

Also, please don't say you don't know anything - trust me, even though you might feel like you know nothing you'll always be able to provide a new perspective on something (and you've probably got the vocab down more than me anyway). And asking questions is the right thing so keep it up I'm sure whoever's on the forum will be down to help out!

[tissue]

Hi guys, just needed some clarification on a dotpoint in the syllabus about inflation(Topic 3: Economic Issues)

•    positive and negative effects

Are the positive and negative effects of inflation talking about high/low inflation? I'm not sure if i make much sense here, I think what I mean is would positive effects of inflation be talking about low inflation while negative effects be talking about high inflation? If someone could provide another perspective(and maybe some points on positive effects of inflation?) that would be great, thank you!

[Spencerr]

Hey there

Simple question here:
'Compare and contrast international and regional business cycles'  (3 lines given)

To answer such a question. You'd need to post a similarity and a difference. What Birdwing mentioned "The international business cycle refers to the increase in coordination of and cooperation between economies across the globe, whereas the regional business cycle refers to the integration of local economies within the same geographical area." was a contrast statement highlighting the fact that all nations in the global economy are involved in the IBC whereas only nations within a geographic region are affected by the RBC.
Some similarities between the two include:
- Both involve fluctuations of economic activity (upswing, downswing, recovery etc)
- Both cycles can be strengthened by trade, investment, financial flows etc.
- Both can be weakened by use of different gov. policy, interest rates, structural differences between economies
- Both capture the performance of more than one economy, reflecting the fact that economies are becoming increasingly interdependent amongst each other.

 

Hi guys, just needed some clarification on a dotpoint in the syllabus about inflation(Topic 3: Economic Issues)

•    positive and negative effects

Are the positive and negative effects of inflation talking about high/low inflation? I'm not sure if i make much sense here, I think what I mean is would positive effects of inflation be talking about low inflation while negative effects be talking about high inflation? If someone could provide another perspective(and maybe some points on positive effects of inflation?) that would be great, thank you!

Hey there, you would be able to talk about the positive and negative effects of both high and low inflation. Here are some pointers to guide you:

High inflation

Positives
- Allows assets to increase in value and so will improve the wealth of individuals holding those assets e.g. House prices will increase due to high inflation
- Acts as a cushion for nominal wage decreaes and wage cuts in times of slow economic growth. Real = Nominal - Inflation. Hence if inflation is high, real wages are already decreasing and so the real costs to firms and producers are decreasing. This means that employers don't have to cut the nominal wages of workers which is a really hard thing to do.
- Prevents deflation from happening

Negatives
- Distorts the reallocation of resources from productive assets to speculative assets
- Creates an unstable business environment which deters further investment and also consumption as producers are uncertain about future economic costs and will withhold investment projects until costs are certain.
- Reduces the purchasing power of consumers as their money is worth less resulting in less material consumption and happiness!
- To contain high inflation, the RBA may use contractionary monetary policy which will dampen the overall level of economic activity resulting in higher unemployment levels.

Low inflation
- Swap the positives and negatives of high inflation.

I hope this helps!

[Aaron12038488]

Wow Spencer, 1st in Economics, that is unreal. I know I shouldn't post here, but I'm going to Yr 11 this year, could you give me some tips in how to tackle English, I've seen you've came 8th in Adv Eng. How can i achieve a band 6 in Eng.
Thanks,

[sophiegmaher]

Hey guys! I read the information that was posted in how to get a band 6, and it was mentioned that we should keep up to date with the news at a weekly minimum. Are there any phone/news apps that can be downloaded that give specific regular economic updates and notifications?

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey guys! I read the information that was posted in how to get a band 6, and it was mentioned that we should keep up to date with the news at a weekly minimum. Are there any phone/news apps that can be downloaded that give specific regular economic updates and notifications?

Hey Sophie, welcome to the forums!! the ones I know of for iOS (probably on Android too) are Bloomberg (though it's got 1 star reviews at the moment, must have gone bad, lol) and CNBC no personal experience, but perhaps give them a go!

[maddier288]

In terms of memorising statistics- what should they have to do with exactly?
Should we memorise a few for important dot points or?

[Spencerr]

Hey guys! I read the information that was posted in how to get a band 6, and it was mentioned that we should keep up to date with the news at a weekly minimum. Are there any phone/news apps that can be downloaded that give specific regular economic updates and notifications?

Hey there, I only used facebook (mostly) to keep updated with the news. You can go on Facebook and LIKE all the major news sites including "bloomberg, wall street journal, financial times, reuters, sydney morning herad, BBC, financial times, Harvard Business Review". Easiest way to have fun whilst keeping updated on contemporary issues!

[chloe9756]

Discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of the WTO in promoting global free trade.

How would you answer this question? More specifically what would your evaluation be, and how would this defer for different organisations such as IMF, World Bank, etc.

[QC]

Discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of the WTO in promoting global free trade.

How would you answer this question? More specifically what would your evaluation be, and how would this defer for different organisations such as IMF, World Bank, etc.

The effectiveness of the WTO is contingent on two things, firstly, what their impact and ability is in promoting free trade and secondly how free trade would work had the WTO not existed.
On the first thing, talk about the actual uses and roles of the WTO and how it goes about doing these things such as dispute resolution and the implementation of new free trade agreements. However, mention its ineffectiveness in multiple ways as it allows many countries to use "anti dumping" as a loophole for many countries. Also, rich countries are able to maintain high import duties and quotas in certain products, blocking imports from developing countries and the maintenance of high protection of agriculture in developed countries while developing ones are pressed to open their markets.
You can then say however, if the GATT and WTO hadn't existed then the consequences would be...

[Spencerr]

Discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of the WTO in promoting global free trade.

How would you answer this question? More specifically what would your evaluation be, and how would this defer for different organisations such as IMF, World Bank, etc.

On Top of what aroon mentioned (which is really good theoretical stuff), to really impress your markers, draw upon examples that have happened. The WTO holds negotiation rounds where member countries come together to negotiate the creation of multilateral trade agreements which unlike preferential free trade agreements create trade instead of diverting it. These multilateral agreements are very useful in promoting global free trade. The WTO was effective at negotiating the Uruguay round which brought about one of the largest reforms to multilateral trade since the WTO was founded. (research a bit on Uruguay). more recently, the WTO has declined in significance due to breakdown in negotiations regarding the Doha Round (also known as the development round). This is because advanced economies are refusing to compromise with low income countries and reduce their protectionist barriers on agricultural goods. As such, more countries have resorted to preferential free trade agreements which further divert global trade and complicate the negotiation process of multilateral trade agreements.

[tissue]

Hey guys,

Discuss the effects of economic growth on unemployment and inflation in Australia

For an essay question like this, how would you structure your essay? How many paragraphs does a 'good' economics essay have? Also, regarding the actual question, what actual content would be included in the essay? For example, would I just write about the effects of economic growth on unemployment and inflation or would I go more in-depth and actually say what the effects of unemployment and inflation are?
Thanks in advance!

[QC]

Hey guys,

Discuss the effects of economic growth on unemployment and inflation in Australia

For an essay question like this, how would you structure your essay? How many paragraphs does a 'good' economics essay have? Also, regarding the actual question, what actual content would be included in the essay? For example, would I just write about the effects of economic growth on unemployment and inflation or would I go more in-depth and actually say what the effects of unemployment and inflation are?
Thanks in advance!

Did your school do topic 3 first? Or are you just ahead cos I don't think that is in the first two chapters?