§-Economics syllabus
SA · SACE Board← Economics
Economics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the SA Economics syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Topic 1: The Economic Problem
Module overview →How do different economic systems decide what, how and for whom to produce?
Compare market, planned and mixed economic systems and how each answers the three basic economic questions.
Why must every society make choices about how to use its resources?
Explain scarcity as the basic economic problem and analyse how choice and opportunity cost follow from it.
How can a model show the trade-offs an economy faces with limited resources?
Construct and interpret a production possibility frontier to illustrate scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, efficiency and growth.
Topic 2: Microeconomics
Module overview →How do the decisions of buyers and sellers set prices in a market?
Use demand and supply to explain how market equilibrium is determined and how it changes.
How responsive are buyers and sellers to price changes?
Define and calculate price elasticity of demand and supply and explain the factors affecting them.
When and why do markets fail to allocate resources well?
Explain the main types of market failure and evaluate government policies used to correct them.
How does competition shape firm behaviour?
Compare market structures from perfect competition to monopoly and explain their effects on price, output and efficiency.
Topic 3: Macroeconomics
Module overview →What determines the total output and price level of an economy?
Explain aggregate demand and aggregate supply and how their interaction determines output and the price level.
How do we measure the health of an economy?
Define and measure economic growth, unemployment and inflation and explain their causes and effects.
How does government budgeting steer the economy?
Explain fiscal policy and how changes in government spending and taxation affect economic activity.
How does the Reserve Bank influence the economy?
Explain monetary policy and how the Reserve Bank uses interest rates to influence economic activity.
Topic 4: Globalisation
Module overview →Who gains and who loses from a more connected world?
Evaluate the economic, social and environmental effects of globalisation on Australia and developing economies.
How are currency values and trade flows recorded?
Explain how exchange rates are determined and how transactions are recorded in the balance of payments.
Why do countries trade with one another?
Explain the gains from international trade using the theory of comparative advantage.