Australia · ACARA Content Descriptions
Year 11 Economics & Business
This course explores how individuals and societies manage scarcity and make choices in a globalized world. Students analyze market forces, government intervention, and the complexities of managing a national economy through various policy lenses.
01The Economic Problem and Scarcity
An introduction to the fundamental problem of scarcity and how different systems allocate resources.
Exploring the fundamental concept of scarcity and why it necessitates choices in all societies.
Investigating how limited resources necessitate choice and the trade-offs involved in every decision.
Examining how individuals and firms make decisions by weighing marginal benefits against marginal costs.
Using visual models to demonstrate efficiency, growth, and the cost of shifting production.
Investigating factors that cause the PPF to shift outwards, representing economic growth or decline.
Introducing the fundamental questions every society must answer: What, How, and For Whom to produce.
Examining the characteristics of market economies, focusing on private ownership and consumer sovereignty.
Comparing how planned economies allocate resources through central government control.
Comparing how market, planned, and mixed economies answer the three basic economic questions.
Analyzing the various functions of government in modern mixed economies, beyond resource allocation.
Applying knowledge of economic systems to real-world examples and historical contexts.
Understanding the purpose and limitations of economic models in simplifying complex realities.
02The Price Mechanism
Analyzing how supply and demand interact to determine prices and allocate resources in a market.
Examining the relationship between price and quantity demanded from a consumer perspective.
Investigating non-price determinants that cause the entire demand curve to shift.
Examining the relationship between price and quantity supplied from a producer perspective.
Investigating non-price determinants that cause the entire supply curve to shift.
Identifying the point where supply meets demand and the consequences of surpluses and shortages.
Analyzing how shifts in the demand curve impact equilibrium price and quantity.
Analyzing how shifts in the supply curve impact equilibrium price and quantity.
Investigating scenarios where both supply and demand curves shift simultaneously.
Measuring how responsive consumers are to changes in price.
Exploring determinants of PED and its relationship with a firm's total revenue.
Measuring how responsive producers are to changes in price.
Examining how demand responds to changes in income and the prices of related goods.
03Market Failures and Government Intervention
Exploring why markets sometimes fail to achieve efficient outcomes and how governments respond.
Defining market failure and identifying situations where free markets lead to inefficient outcomes.
Analyzing the spillover costs of production on third parties, such as pollution.
Examining the spillover benefits of consumption on third parties, such as education or vaccination.
Distinguishing between goods that the market under-provides and those it cannot provide at all.
Analyzing goods that society deems beneficial (merit) or harmful (demerit) and their market provision.
Exploring how unequal access to information between buyers and sellers leads to market inefficiencies.
Investigating how a lack of competition can lead to higher prices and reduced output.
Analyzing how governments use fiscal tools to correct market failures.
Evaluating the impact of government-imposed maximum prices on market outcomes.
Evaluating the impact of government-imposed minimum prices on market outcomes.
Exploring non-price based government interventions to correct market failures.
Analyzing situations where government intervention itself leads to inefficient outcomes.
04Macroeconomic Objectives
Focusing on the broad goals of an economy, including growth, employment, and price stability.
Distinguishing between microeconomics and macroeconomics and introducing key macroeconomic indicators.
Measuring the total value of goods and services and its limitations as a measure of wellbeing.
Critically evaluating GDP as a measure of welfare and exploring alternative indicators.
Understanding the cyclical fluctuations in economic activity: booms, recessions, troughs, and recoveries.
Investigating the causes and effects of rising prices on purchasing power and investment.
Analyzing the economic and social costs of both sustained inflation and deflation.
Analyzing the types of unemployment and the social and economic costs of joblessness.
Understanding how unemployment is measured and its economic and social consequences.
Introducing the concept of total spending in an economy and its components.
Introducing the concept of total output supplied by firms at different price levels.
Using the AD-AS model to analyze macroeconomic equilibrium and the impact of economic shocks.
Exploring the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment.
05Managing the Economy
An analysis of the tools used by authorities to influence economic activity and achieve objectives.
Overview of the main policy tools governments and central banks use to manage the economy.
The use of government spending to influence the level of aggregate demand.
The use of taxation to influence the level of aggregate demand and income distribution.
Understanding the implications of different government budget positions.
The role of the central bank in managing interest rates and the money supply.
Exploring unconventional monetary policy tools used by central banks.
Comparing the effectiveness and limitations of demand-side policies.
Strategies aimed at increasing the productive capacity and efficiency of the economy.
Exploring policies that encourage investment in infrastructure, education, and technology.
Analyzing how achieving one macroeconomic objective might hinder or help another.
Understanding how an initial change in spending can lead to a larger change in national income.
Examining how certain government policies automatically dampen economic fluctuations.
06Personal Finance and Global Markets
Connecting individual financial literacy with the broader trends of international trade and finance.
Understanding personal income, expenses, and the importance of creating a budget.
Understanding the relationship between risk and return in various asset classes.
Exploring different investment vehicles and their characteristics.
Understanding the benefits and risks associated with using credit and managing debt.
Examining why nations trade and the concepts of absolute and comparative advantage.
Analyzing the various forms of trade protection and their economic consequences.
Examining the interconnectedness of global economies and the impact of international trade.
Understanding a country's record of all economic transactions with the rest of the world.
Analyzing how the value of a currency is determined in a floating exchange rate system.
Examining the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on trade, investment, and inflation.
Exploring the role of institutions like the WTO, IMF, and World Bank in global economics.
Understanding the formation and impact of free trade agreements and economic blocs.