Economics

Course summary

The study of Economics is about dealing with scarcity, choice, efficiency, equity, economic well-being, sustainability, change, interdependence and intervention. The integrated subtopics of Economics of the environment and Economics of inequality and poverty help to bring to light the main global challenges facing the planet today and how these can be addressed. Students explicitly learn thinking and research skills such as comprehension, text analysis, transfer and use of primary sources. Teachers emphasise the importance of inquiry, concepts, content and contexts and their interrelationships with each other to allow for a deeper and more integrated understanding of Economics as a discipline. The Economics course emphasises the economic theories of microeconomics, which deal with economic variables affecting individuals, firms and markets, and the economic theories of macroeconomics, which deal with economic variables affecting countries, governments and societies. These economic theories are applied to real-world issues. Some of the profoundly important questions students will be asked include: Does China threaten or improve our standard of living? Will India’s style of growth reduce poverty quickly enough? Is the discovery of oil a good thing? Why is Zimbabwe economically shrinking? Do the World Bank and the WTO represent the global community?