Course Title: Macroeconomics 1

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Macroeconomics 1

Credit Points: 12.00

Important Information:

Please note that this course may have compulsory in-person attendance requirements for some teaching activities.  

To participate in any RMIT course in-person activities or assessment, you will need to comply with RMIT vaccination requirements which are applicable during the duration of the course. This RMIT requirement includes being vaccinated against COVID-19 or holding a valid medical exemption.  

Please read this RMIT Enrolment Procedure as it has important information regarding COVID vaccination and your study at RMIT: https://policies.rmit.edu.au/document/view.php?id=209.  

Please read the Student website for additional requirements of in-person attendance: https://www.rmit.edu.au/covid/coming-to-campus  

  

Please check your Canvas course shell closer to when the course starts to see if this course requires mandatory in-person attendance. The delivery method of the course might have to change quickly in response to changes in the local state/national directive regarding in-person course attendance.


Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

ECON1246

City Campus

Undergraduate

525T Business & Enterprise

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2022,
Sem 2 2022,
Sem 1 2023,
Sem 2 2023,
Sem 1 2024

ECON1246

City Campus

Undergraduate

650T Vocational Business Education

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2010,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 1 2011,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 1 2014,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 1 2015,
Sem 2 2015,
Sem 1 2016,
Sem 2 2016,
Sem 1 2017,
Sem 2 2017,
Sem 1 2018,
Sem 2 2018,
Sem 1 2019,
Sem 1 2020,
Sem 2 2020,
Sem 1 2021,
Sem 2 2021

ECON1261

South China Univ - Nanhai

Undergraduate

650T Vocational Business Education

Face-to-Face

Offsh 1 10

Course Coordinator: Clem Simonetto

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5426

Course Coordinator Email: clem.simonetto@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: City Campus, Building 80 Level 5

Course Coordinator Availability: By email or appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

Macroeconomic events and policies affect the daily lives of almost everyone, especially business managers. Whether your company in the future offers financial services, produces consumer goods, or is at the cutting edge of fast-breaking technology, it is not immune to events that unfold in the economy as a whole. As various measures are implemented to improve economic performance by the government, business managers must alter their own business strategies. A study of macroeconomics can provide useful answers to these challenges. More specifically, this course provides an introduction to the economic analysis of key macroeconomic variables such as output, employment, inflation, interest rates and exchange rates. It first builds a foundation to understand how the labour, money, and goods and services markets are interacted, interconnected and are influenced by changes in prices, inflation rates and interest rates. The basic framework is then used to examine how the policies set by the central bank and the government affect the economy in the short-run and long-run time horizon.
At the end of the course, you will be able to critically evaluate the government policy responses to manage the macro economy. This forms the essential knowledge base as business managers to survive in the changing business environment.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

-


On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

  1. Describe the operation of the Australian economy to apply in various contemporary macroeconomic issues.
  2. Read and critically evaluate current economic news articles as they relate to the Macroeconomy.
  3. Assess how government policies and changing macroeconomic conditions affect societal welfare.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of recent economic events and their impact on current policy initiatives on the Australian economy.
  5. Interpret charts, graphs, and tables and use the information to make informed judgments.
  6. Work and learn independently and work as a team.
  7. Communicate macroeconomics concepts and issues effective in a variety of business contexts.
  8. Evaluate business outcomes based on the costs and benefits involved.


Overview of Learning Activities

Lectures:
The purpose of lectures is to provide a logical structure for the topics that make up the course; to emphasize the important concepts, models and methods of each topic, and to provide relevant examples to which the concepts and methods are applied. The organization of the course parallels the text, and consequently each lecture will explicate the key concept covered in the corresponding chapter of the text.

Tutorials:
Tutorials are an important component of your learning in this course. The purpose of tutorials is to provide an opportunity for small group discussion of the issues to which economic concepts and methods developed in the lectures can be applied. The Tutorial Program contains problems and questions that review and build on the lecture material. The tutorial questions provide a means for discussion of applications and examples of economic concepts and models introduced in lectures. Students should attempt the set of weekly exercises before each tutorial and be prepared to contribute to tutorial discussion. The communication and presentation skills developed in tutorials by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most important in the real business world and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies. Tutorials require students to analyse the ideas covered in lectures and then apply them to specific contemporary macroeconomic issues. The summative component of tutorials will relate to current macroeconomic policy in a way that will encourage independent and critical styles of thinking.

Assignment:
In the assignment students are expected to apply the theoretical framework of economics covered in the course to the analysis of current macroeconomic policy in Australia. The aim is to develop students’ literacy and problem-solving skills especially as these apply to economics and business as well as problem-solving skills.


Overview of Learning Resources

Various learning resources are available online through myRMIT/Canvas. In addition to topic notes; assessment details and a study schedule you may also be provided with links to relevant online information; readings; audio and video clips and communication tools to facilitate collaboration with your peers and to share information.

Resources are also available online through RMIT Library databases and other facilities. Visit the RMIT library website for further details. Assistance is available online via our chat and email services, face to face at our campus libraries or via the telephone on (03) 9925 2020.

Additional resources and/or sources to assist your learning will be identified by your course coordinator will be made available to you as required during the teaching period.


Overview of Assessment

The assessment tasks, their weighting and the course learning outcomes to which they are aligned are as follows:

Assessment Task 1: 10%
Linked CLOs: 1, 5, 6

Assessment Task 2: 40%
Linked CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Final Examination: 50%
Linked CLOs: 3, 5, 6

Feedback will be provided throughout the semester in class and/or in online forums through individual and group feedback on practical exercises and by individual consultation.