HSC Economics Question Thread

[Luke799]

Explain the causes of recent trends in the distribution of income and wealth in Australia

can anyone please help outline what i should be aiming to write for this essay question, i have no idea where to even start

Well first I would identify some trends. One being an increase in household income. Then you explain why. Some reasons are: Increased growth in labour force earnings, arising from employment growth, more hours worked (by part-time workers) and increased hourly wages.

[kiwiberry]

Examine the effects of changes in trade and financial flows on Australia’s economic performance
I would appreciate a few pointers on what I could write about for this essay, I'm very lost atm

[strawberriesarekewl]

Hey guys

On this list here: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=166305.msg934197#new which essay questions require you to know your stats and which dont?

[iStudent]

Examine the effects of changes in trade and financial flows on Australia’s economic performance
I would appreciate a few pointers on what I could write about for this essay, I'm very lost atm

A good idea is to look at the syllabus and find the relevant dot point the essay is trying to refer to.
In this case, it is under "trends in Value, composition and direction of Australia’s trade and financial flows
- trends in Australia’s trade pattern
- trends in financial flows – debt and equity"

There should be information on it if you check out the textbooks

Then you need to link it to "Australia's economic performance", which broadly speaking includes Australia's trades (exports/imports), financial flows, exchange rate, eco growth, unemployment, inflation rate, external stability and *maybe* distribution of income and wealth/environment.

This is a curveball essay - that part of the syllabus is rarely tested and probably won't be asked again but hopefully that gives an idea of what to write

Also, make sure you explain clearly the causative effects since this question asks you to "examine".
e.g.
floating of exchange rate in 1970s -> opened Australia's financial markets by shifting finance easier. Allowed FDI to double by 1980s. Then talk about how increased investment led to:
- increased eco growth (AD = C + G + I + X - M)
- increased employment
- inflation
- comment on borrowing/overseas loans
- explain how it changed exchange rates
etc
You should also focus on BOTH trade and financial flows so try to balance it out.

Oh just to sum it up - in case you're still struggling, the relevant information includes (but not limited to)
- directions of trade (UK -> Japan -> ASEAN etc)
- composition of trade (export less agriculture more minerals; in the future more services). Could comment on changing employment (e.g. less farmers, more people in the mining industry). I think Dutch Disease could be relevant (read more of it from Dixon's textbook)
- technology changes, floating of exchange rates, dereg of financial markets, increase in TNCs, globalisation - these all increased financial flows

[iStudent]

Hey guys

On this list here: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=166305.msg934197#new which essay questions require you to know your stats and which dont?

You need to know stats for all of them. However, some stats are more relevant to some questions than the others.
Stats are like the backbone of your argument - without stats, you can't really backup what you are saying.

[kiwiberry]

A good idea is to look at the syllabus and find the relevant dot point the essay is trying to refer to.
In this case, it is under "trends in Value, composition and direction of Australia’s trade and financial flows
- trends in Australia’s trade pattern
- trends in financial flows – debt and equity"

There should be information on it if you check out the textbooks

Then you need to link it to "Australia's economic performance", which broadly speaking includes Australia's trades (exports/imports), financial flows, exchange rate, eco growth, unemployment, inflation rate, external stability and *maybe* distribution of income and wealth/environment.

This is a curveball essay - that part of the syllabus is rarely tested and probably won't be asked again but hopefully that gives an idea of what to write

Also, make sure you explain clearly the causative effects since this question asks you to "examine".
e.g.
floating of exchange rate in 1970s -> opened Australia's financial markets by shifting finance easier. Allowed FDI to double by 1980s. Then talk about how increased investment led to:
- increased eco growth (AD = C + G + I + X - M)
- increased employment
- inflation
- comment on borrowing/overseas loans
- explain how it changed exchange rates
etc
You should also focus on BOTH trade and financial flows so try to balance it out.

Oh just to sum it up - in case you're still struggling, the relevant information includes (but not limited to)
- directions of trade (UK -> Japan -> ASEAN etc)
- composition of trade (export less agriculture more minerals; in the future more services). Could comment on changing employment (e.g. less farmers, more people in the mining industry). I think Dutch Disease could be relevant (read more of it from Dixon's textbook)
- technology changes, floating of exchange rates, dereg of financial markets, increase in TNCs, globalisation - these all increased financial flows

You're amazing, thank you so much!!

[dradford]

Hey, was wondering if someone could explain monetary policy (as simply as can be said), ever since preliminary I've been totally confused with this 

[isaacdelatorre]

Hey, was wondering if someone could explain monetary policy (as simply as can be said), ever since preliminary I've been totally confused with this 

Hey Dradford,

So for the stage of where you are at, monetary policy is just a macroeconomic policy by which the RBA changes the cash rate (the rate that the RBA lends to banks) which is passed onto consumers and businesses in order to increase or decrease consumption/investment.

I.e. if the RBA increases the cash rate, banks will increase their interest rates to customers (because they have to pay more to borrow from the RBA so they don't want to lose any money), if interest rates are higher, people are less likely to take out loans to buy new things, i.e. consumption falls. Likewise, businesses are less likely to take out loans to invest into research and development or expansion, i.e. investment falls --> thus Aggregate demand will fall and economic growth decreases. The process is the same for decreasing the cash rate.

That's a basic explanation of how monetary policy works - in topic 4 you will learn how the RBA changes the cash rate, but the principle still stands. Let me know if you need further explanation!

Good luck

[chloe9756]

Hey, so in doing research for recent trends of balance of payments, the current account deficit has been at its lowest ($-3.9bn) since 2001. How does this work in conjunction with the recent fallings of commodity prices? Don't they contradict each other? I want to use recent stats in my long responses, but I can't seem to make this fit.

[sophiegmaher]

Tips on extended responses, particularly in regards to structure?

[chloe9756]

What are the effects of a depreciation/appreciation on the Australian government?

[sjzorilla7]

Hi, so I have to write an essay on protection's effect on economic development and growth, but I'm not sure what the most effective way to structure it would be. I was thinking of structuring based on methods of protection and discussing its effects, but I'm a bit skeptical. Anybody know what the most effective structure would be?

Thanks in advance. 

[12070]

I have been given four possible essay questions for the upcoming mid-course (Two of which, the teacher selects for the actual exam). How would you suggest remembering all four?

[Iminschool]

How exactly do you calculate this?

[tissue]

Is making notes suggested or is understanding the textbook enough in studying for an exam?