Choose one of two questions and write about 800 words. Evaluate or assess means a judgement: policies or effects weighed with reasons, not only described.
Marks
20, one of two questions
Length
About 800 words
Content
Theory, Australian context and policy
Key words
Evaluate, assess, analyse, discuss
A plan for 20 marks
An introduction that defines the key terms, gives the context and states your judgement in one sentence.
A paragraph for each policy or effect: what it is, how it works through the economy, its strengths and its limits, with evidence.
Links between topics where they help: how a change in interest rates moves the exchange rate, or how a policy aimed at growth affects inflation.
Analyse the chain of effects
A list of policies, however long, stays in the middle of the range. Follow each one through the economy, step by step, to its effect on growth, unemployment, inflation or external stability, and finish with a judgement you justify.
Try 2 questions
Question 1
A hypothetical government's budget (invented, billions of dollars)
Year
Budget balance
Cyclical component
1
−20
−15
2
−28
−30
3
−18
−8
The table gives invented budget figures for a hypothetical government, in billions of dollars; negative figures are deficits. The cyclical component is the part of the budget balance caused by the economy operating above or below its potential; the rest of the balance is the structural component, which reflects the government's discretionary policy settings. Which statement is supported by the data?
Question 2
How is the cash rate determined in Australia's system of monetary policy?