791-211 Agricultural Economics & Policy

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Financial Management I.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The objective of this subject is to:

• introduce students to basic micro-economics and provide them with a framework for assessing the implications of changes in the economic environment;

• provide students with an understanding of the importance of the agricultural sector in the Australian economy; in particular, considering the impact of Government policies on the agricultural sector;

• provide students with an understanding of the importance of international trade to the agricultural sector and consider the impact of the world trade and economic policies on overseas trade; and

• provide students with an understanding of the concepts of marketing that are applicable to the management of an agricultural business.

The content includes the economic problem and the concept of scarcity and marginal analysis; the analysis of the nature of the determinants of supply and demand for agricultural products and their impact of price and consumption levels; the theory of international trade and an analysis of the importance of international markets to agriculture and implication of exchange rates changes; the concept of free trade and the various barriers to free trade and their implications on Australian agriculture; and agricultural policy issues particularly relating to the influence of Government intervention in agriculture and the Australian economy as a whole.

Assessment

3 hour examination (60%), an assignment equivalent to 2000 words (20%) and 2 class tests (10% ea.).