Unit 1
Unit 4
Unit 4
In Unit 4 you will study the economic policy options that are available to the Australian government. The policies that you will need to understand are:
- Monetary Policy
- Budgetary Policy
- Microeconomic Reforms
These broad policy headings actually cover a selection of policies that the Federal Government can use in order to assist them in achieving the economic goals that they have set.
Students should be aware that they will certainly need to have an understanding of the current “policy mix”. This simply refers to the way in which policies are combined to achieve a set of goals which, at times, “compete”. It is possible for the examiners to ask about policy changes that were announced during the year in which the exam is being completed. For example, in 2009 the examiners chose to ask this question (section B, question 2 part c):
"Discuss two examples of budgetary policy that have been used over the past year to support economic growth and jobs."
The following question asked students to explain how monetary policy had been used in the same period to support budgetary policy in achieving these goals. As a result, it is vital that your study of economic policy moves from an understanding of the way in which the policy works, to a recognition of the way in which each policy has been used in Australia in recent years.
It is a good idea to review the websites for the Federal Budget, the Reserve Bank of Australia and also some of the key microeconomic reform bodies while you are completing this Unit of study. Links to all of these sites can be found by clicking on the "Links" page that is available through this site.