Assignment:
Question 1
(a) Explain, with the aid of diagrams, how an outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East might be expected to impact the Australian markets for petrol and passenger cars with large engines that run on petrol.
(b) The latest electric car is expected to be released in Australia shortly at a very affordable price.
What impact might this have on the market for cars which run on petrol? Justify your answer.
Question 2
(a) Australian government is encouraging young people to attend universities with a view to increase the proportion of educated youth workforce. While this policy certainly reduces the number of people available for work today it will increase their skills when they eventually
complete their university degrees and enter the workforce. Use the production frontier model and graph to show the effects of such a policy on Australian output.
(b) What are the long-term determinants of economic growth and how can government influence economic growth.
Question 3
(a) Suppose the government is thinking of imposing a sales tax on all brands of cigarettes. What will be the likely impact of thistax on the price of cigarettes and who will bear the major burden of the tax? How will your answer change if the tax was imposed on the consumption of coffee instead? Explain with the help of appropriate diagrams.
(b) Coles and Woolworths dominate the Australian supermarket/grocery sector. Which type of market structure does this sector resemble? Provide a brief explanation. Based on the concepts learnt in this unit explain the likely reasons for the prevalence of this market structure in the Australian supermarket sector.