Level 3 Economics

This course is to enable students to gain a level of economic literacy which will enable them to develop a continuing interest in current economic issues in New Zealand and the world. The many and varied influences on the New Zealand economy, their outcomes and successes are discussed as New Zealand competes to establish its place in the global economy.

Content involves:

• The allocation of resources within the market system through pricing and profit strategies that firms use, how supply and demand curves are derived, elasticities derived from supply and demand schedules
• How markets in New Zealand respond to change. The effects of the government on markets and how they try to achieve economic efficiency
• How markets fail: strategies that the government puts into place to compensate for market failure, subsidies, taxes, public goods, inequity of income distribution
• Aggregate economic activity and policy: how the economy works as a whole and what the major influences on it are, the effects of government policies on issues like unemployment, inflation and trade. Concepts covered include: monetary and fiscal policies, balance of payments, business cycle. The macro concepts greatly assist scholarship students.
• Discussion on a wide range of issues that are affecting the New Zealand economy at present, the effects on society, how society deals with the issues and the major influences of government on the economy

Future Areas of interest and study: BCom, BA University degrees. Careers in commerce, marketing, business administration, banking, research, town planning, policy making, teaching, financial services.