代写assignment BSB113 Economics Semester 2 2016

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BSB113 Economics Semester 2 2016

Assessment 2: Research essay

Maximum word count 1400 words

Submission date

Monday 26th September 12 noon/mid-day (when the sun is out!!)

THROUGH SafeAssign VIA THE BSB113 BLACKBOARD WEBSITE

SEE BB ASSESSMENT 2 FOLDER FOR DETAIL

Please note that you are only required to submit an e-copy of your work through SafeAssign via the BSB113

Blackboard website.

This document contains important information about your assessment. You will need to read it carefully to

understand what is required. In addition to reading this document you are strongly advised to read the

“Frequently asked Questions about Assessment 2” document (refer to the Assessment 2 folder on

Blackboard).

Work that has been submitted for assessment in BSB113 in previous semesters cannot be resubmitted for

assessment. If identified, re-submitted work from previous semesters will be treated as plagiarism.

Table of Contents

Background ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

References .................................................................................................................................................... 3

Research task .................................................................................................................................................... 4

Instructions for research essay .......................................................................................................................... 5

Your audience’s background knowledge in economics ................................................................................. 5

Informed critical content................................................................................................................................. 5

Maximum word length .................................................................................................................................... 5

Presentation and submission ........................................................................................................................ 5

Researching for your research essay ............................................................................................................ 6

Reading hints and tips ................................................................................................................................... 7

Helpful advice on writing your research essay .............................................................................................. 7

Further support for Assessment 2 ................................................................................................................. 8

Criterion Reference Assessment for Assessment Item 2: research essay ................................................... 9

Background

You are on work experience at the farm lobby group Canegrowers. Over a morning tea break a discussion

begins about how the UK celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, is credited with successfully lobbying the UK

Government to introduce a tax on sugary drinks (Bourke, March 17 2016). There are a few comments about

the merits of “celebrities” throwing their weight behind “politics”. However, the conversation takes a different

turn when someone pulls up statistics on their smart phone on obesity. The statistics are scary. For example,

in 2011–12, 62.8% of Australians aged 18 years and over were overweight or obese (ABS, 2013).

An argument ensues that body weight issues are not the business of policy makers. However, you say that it

is a bit more complicated than that (remembering something that the lecturer said in a BSB113 lecture) and

that obesity is associated with increased risk of disease, poor quality of life and imposes a high financial,

economic and social cost on society (Obesity: a national epidemic and its impact on Australia, 2014).

Attention in the room now focuses on you. You recall that your lecturer in BSB113 had spoken about how, in

some markets, where the negative effects are not captured in the price of the good, it can lead to over

consumption of the good and an inefficient equilibrium. The lecturer had then demonstrated how a tax on the

good can move the market back to a socially efficient level of consumption. Confident of your understanding

of the economics you say (to the now captivated tea room audience – talking about economics always has

that effect on people) that a sugar tax may be a potential solution to the obesity problem. You note that some

of the recent research for a sugar tax of 20% in Australia has the potential to realise up to 170,000 healthy life

years over the lifetime of the 2010 Australian adult population (Veermand et al., 2016) 1 .

However, someone argues that a sugar tax is not the best policy to reduce sugar consumption and that there

are much better initiatives. You acknowledge that there are indeed other policy initiatives that could reduce

sugar consumption. Hawkes et al (2015) provides a good summary of alternative policy solutions and a quick

search on The Conversation reveals how behavioural economics (touched on in lecture 2) can also be used

as a policy tool in the prevention of obesity (see Marteau (2016)).

Desperate to draw the conversation to a close (there is a Tim Tam on the side with your name on it) you say

without a proper economic analysis it would not be appropriate to draw any further conclusion on the topic

(nice save!).

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Australian Health Survey: Updated results, 2011-2012. 2013.

Retrieved from:

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/33C64022ABB5ECD5CA257B8200179437?opendocu

ment

Bourke, L. (March 17 2016). UK introduces sugar tax on soft drinks, Jamie Oliver urges Australia to follow.

Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/uk-introduces-

sugar-tax-on-soft-drinks-that-jamie-oliver-says-will-travel-to-australia-20160316-gnkxoz.html

Hawkes, C., Smith, T.G., Jewell, J., Wardle, J., Hammond, R.A., Friel,S., Thow, A. M. and, Kain, J. (2015).

Smart food policies for obesity prevention. The Lancet, 385(9985):2410-2421. DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61745-1. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673614617451

Obesity: a national epidemic and its impact on Australia. (2014) (1st ed.). Retrieved from

http://www.Obesityaustralia.org

Marteau, T. (2016). When it comes to sugary drinks, people prefer a nudge than a tax. The Conversation.

Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-sugary-drinks-people-prefer-a-nudge-than-

a-tax-58617

Veerman J.L., Sacks G., Antonopoulos N. and Martin J (2016) The Impact of a Tax on Sugar-Sweetened

Beverages on Health and Health Care Costs: A Modelling Study. PLoS ONE, 11(4):e0151460. doi:

10.1371/journal.pone.0151460. Retrieved from

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0151460

1 How good is Google Scholar when you find yourself in a tight corner?

Research task

Your contribution to the tea room discussion was overheard by the CEO. The CEO was impressed by your

insights and has asked that you write a critical overview of the introduction of a sugar tax in Australia from an

economics perspective.

You email your Unit Coordinator for Economics desperate for some help. Louisa suggests breaking your report

down as follows:

1. An overview of the obesity epidemic globally and in Australia. This should include the size of the problem

(no pun intended) and the estimated cost of obesity to the nation.

Hint: As an economist, we generally start by framing the problem. We also refer to this as setting the

context. In this part of your essay, you need to clearly articulate what the issue is from a societal

perspective. This is not simply a case of stating “I think it is a problem because …”. You need to present

and information (including data) on the impact of obesity etc. and the proposed changes to policy.

2. A description of the relevant economic model to show how a sugar tax would reduce consumption of

“unhealthy foods” (e.g. sugary drinks).

Hint: So what is the economic theory that underpins your economic analysis? We have been pretty focused

on developing one key theory so far this semester. Remember that “X” marks the spot! In this case it is

over consumption of a good that is potentially leading to a socially inefficient outcome. To correct for that,

you can use an economic theory to demonstrate how decreasing sugar consumption will move the market

to a socially efficient level of consumption. And yes — you will be expected to include a relevant graph of

the economic theory!

3. A critical analysis as to whether a sugar tax will be effective in practice in correcting the market failure.

Your critical analysis should be informed by the academic literature.

Hint: You are working with a word limit so you will need to be selective and concise with your arguments.

Again, your analysis needs to be objective, we expect you to draw on appropriate academic literature

and/or present empirical evidence to support your arguments about either the limitation of the proposed

policy and suggest alternative policies that may be more effective or appropriate. To keep it manageable,

Louisa has suggested your critical analysis should include:

a) a brief discussion of TWO potential limitations of the sugar tax.

HINT: There is a long list of potential limitations including how the elasticity properties of the good

being taxed may affect the effectiveness of the tax. Other issues include government failure rent

seeking behaviour, the private interest view of government regulation and the potential equity

implication of the tax (though as always Louisa points out this list is not exhaustive).

b) ONE policy alternative

HINT: Keep it simple. Give an overview of how the policy will work and a summary of the potential

strengths and weaknesses of that policy. Note, you are not required to say that the alternative policy

is better, simply that it addresses the problem in a different way.

Recommended readings

Note that there is a list of references provided in the “Background” section to this document. These are also

the recommended readings for this assessment. However, this is not an exhaustive list of references.

You are also expected to research the literature yourself (refer to the Criterion Reference Assessment (CRA))

table at the end of this document).

Instructions for research essay

You are reminded that this is an academic piece of work. It is expected that:

 you will write an unbiased informed critical economic essay and not a political document

 your essay is academically rigorous with references to relevant data and academic literature

 you will not get drawn into reporting emotive arguments (interesting as they are).

Your audience’s background knowledge in economics

Whilst the CEO of Canegrowers does not have any formal economics training, he has picked up an

understanding of economic theory and terminology. He is regularly exposed to documents drafted by

economists and follows contemporary economic analysis in the media. For example, he is a regular reader of

publications such as The Economist and takes a keen interest in economic articles published by economists

for a wider audience in The Conversation (online) and Australian Policy Online.

Informed critical content

You are required to include a range of relevant scholarly sources that supports the flow and critical content of

the discussion. All sources cited must be referenced using APA style. For further information refer to Cite|Write

http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/

If in doubt about how to cite and reference a source please seek help from the subject librarian.

Maximum word length

Your research essay has a MAXIMUM WORD limit of 1400 words (excluding your reference list – but inclusive

of in-text citations). A suggested word count breakdown (to get you started) is presented below for the

breakdown of the research essay task (you may deviate from this is practice):

1. introduction .... 150 words

2. setting the context ... 250 words.

3. a description of the relevant economic model... 450 words

4. a critical analysis of the key arguments ... 450 words

5. conclusion ...100 words

Note that your report should also include both an introduction and conclusion and should be in proportion to

the length of the narrative being written (in other words don’t overdo it in the intro or conclusion as that means

less words for the important bits).

The above word count is a starting point. Your actual word count for each section will be specific to your

individual essay (informed by the weighting in the criteria reference assessment table at the end of this

document).

Presentation and submission

It is expected that you will present your document in the form of a short essay.

No appendices are allowed. If appendices are submitted they will be disregarded by the marker.

You are advised of the following stylistic requirements:

 use font type Arial, font size 10 (minimum)

 line spacing should be single or no greater than1.25

 margins should be set at 2.3cm

 all diagrams should be reproduced either by hand or imbedded in your document using a draw tool. For

example, Paint or the draw tool in Word, 2 or Excel. If you draw the diagrams by hand you will need to scan

2 See http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/word-help/draw-a-curve-or-circle-shape-HA010208316.aspx?CTT=3#BM14. There are also a lot of good

instructions on the internet (including Youtube) on how to construct diagrams using the Draw tool in Word.

them so they can be incorporated in your SafeAssign submission. Cutting and pasting of diagrams from

other documents is not acceptable and will be marked as copying (refer to CRA).

 all pages should be numbered (bottom footer right hand side) and include your student number (top

header, right hand side)

 include a title page. This should include your name, student number and tutor’s name.

Final submission of your work is through SafeAssign via the BSB113 Blackboard website. You should also

keep a copy of your work for your own records.

Assessment submitted after the due date without an approved extension will not be marked and will receive a

grade of 1 or 0%. If special circumstances prevent you from meeting the assessment due date, you can apply

for an extension. If you don’t have an approved extension you should submit the work you have completed by

the due date and it will be marked against the assessment criteria.

Researching for your research essay

Your work should be informed and supported by appropriate literature. Your research (or reading) of this

literature informs your analysis, arguments, critique, conclusions etc. Therefore, the quality of your research

will directly influence the quality of your work. In academia “appropriate literature” means that you should be

principally researching scholarly sources.

Examples of scholarly sources include:

 Academic journals

 University working papers/publications

 Government and related departments/organisations reports (e.g. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS))

 International economic organisations articles and reports (e.g. OECD, United Nations and World Bank)

 Central Bank articles and reports (e.g. Reserve Bank of Australia)

Examples of high quality sources of relevant data would include ABS, OECD, World Bank, Government reports

etc.
代写assignment BSB113 Economics Semester 2 2016

A common theme of all of the above published literature is that it is peer reviewed. Peer review is a process

that is used to ensure that published work represents the best scholarship currently available (and is also

technically correct, not misleading etc.). In contrast, non-peer reviewed literature represents the opinion of the

authors with only their guarantee that it is the best work possible.

Reliance on non-scholarly sources as part of your research is to be avoided. Examples of non-scholarly

sources include:

 newspaper reports

 magazines articles

 non-peer reviewed articles and reports (be careful of private consultation reports, political papers etc.)

 subject-based dictionaries and/or glossaries (including Wikipedia)

 personal blogs/websites

Non-scholarly sources do have a role. As a matter of course you should be informing yourself about

contemporary issues by reading a range of non-scholarly sources (e.g. by reading the newspaper). Within non-

scholarly sources there is a hierarchy of more acceptable publications that you should engage with. These

include good quality newspapers (e.g. The Australian and The Financial Review) and specialist magazines

(e.g. The Economist, The Conversation (online)).

Similarly, Wikipedia is a great starting point for looking up definitions or getting an overview of a subject.

However, using Wikipedia as a key source in your work simply demonstrates that you have failed to engage

in the challenging, but rewarding, academic exercise of researching high-quality scholarly resources.

Reading hints and tips

Is there a “trick” for working your way through the reading. Fortunately there is.

 scanning the documents and locating specific words or phrases that are of interest. Focus on headings

and subheadings, the contents page itself and the index for specific words (Top tip: it is easy to search

PDF documents for keywords).

 when reading, be strategic. Some papers may be useful to support your arguments, other may not.

 get some help on how to read research papers. Studywell (http://www.studywell.library.qut.edu.au/) has

some excellent advice on how to read (fast) and digest research papers.

Helpful advice on writing your research essay

Your writing style needs to be clear and efficient (after all you only have 1400 words). Some key advice would

be:

 remember structure in writing - introduce, discuss and conclude.

 use short sentences - long sentences lose the reader.

 one argument/idea per paragraph.

This assessment is a formal academic piece of writing. The words and language style you use will convey this.

Language used should be appropriate. Things to avoid include informal language, shorthand or colloquialisms.

A short check list of advice would include:

 use “do not” instead “don’t”

 use “cannot” instead of “can’t”

 write in the third person – avoid using personal pronouns. For example: “Research shows that ….”

rather than “I think that …”.

Descriptions should be quantified and/or relative to a comparable benchmark. For example:

 instead of saying “there was a massive increase in China’s economic growth” you would phrase it as

“China’s economic growth, as measured by GDP, increased by X% over the period (include citation of

where your evidence came from)”.

 instead of saying “GDP in China was better than everyone else’s” you would phrase it “GDP in China

increased by X%. In comparison it fell by X% in USA and X% in the UK (include citation of where your

evidence came from).”

Tables and figures in themselves do nothing to enhance an argument unless they are clear AND explained

AND interpreted by you for the reader.

When inserting a table or figure into your work it is good practice to give each a number (e.g. Figure 1, Table

1) and title it (the title should describe what the table or figure is presenting) and refer to the table or figure

number explicitly in the text.

Place the table or figure as near to the paragraph that you are going to discuss it in (either directly above or

below). An example is given below in Figure 1.

If you have hand drawn your tables and figures attach them to the end of your document.

Figure 1. How to present diagrams and tables

In your reading, you will come across tables and figures that may be useful in explaining or supporting a point

that you want to make in your own work. Try to avoid cutting and pasting from articles and the text book.

Relevant tables and figures should be adapted to support your work and referenced. Figures (especially those

relating to theory) can be redrawn in Paint or Word (using the draw tool). Similarly, tables of data can be

created in Excel and imported into Word (or created in Word using the table tool).

Further support for Assessment 2

Support for this assessment item includes:

 Lecture 2/ tutorial 2

 Lecture 4/ tutorial 4

 Lecture 7/ tutorial 7

 Consultations with tutors

 Supporting documentation (including this document)

Please note tutors will be prepared to discuss your approach but will not read drafts.

In addition to the above, generic skills support and help can be sought from a range of sources:

 4S workshops

o See Blackboard and https://www.library.qut.edu.au/events/

 Student Learning Advisors

o http://www.student.qut.edu.au/about/faculties-institutes-and-

divisions/faculties/business/study-support/student-learning-advisers

 Study smart

o http://studysmart.library.qut.edu.au/

Vessel ownership was also a significant factor affecting efficiency. In general, vessels belonging to

larger companies were more efficient than those belonging to smaller companies, which in turn

were more efficient than owner-operators. This may reflect the greater level of information sharing

that can occur within a larger company fleet, but may also reflect fleet management skills, with the

larger companies having better fleet managers. Alternatively, the larger companies may be able to

attract and keep the better skippers and crew.

Figure 1. Among-vessel distribution of technical efficiency scores

Although the decline in boat numbers between 1995 and 2007 may have had a negative impact on

technical efficiency, the removal of older vessels through buyback and consolidation, and

replacement of some older vessels by newer vessels resulted in a net increase in average technical

efficiency in the fishery. The mean technical efficiency in 2007 was 0.793, compared to a mean

technical efficiency score of 0.736 over the period 1995-2000. Although the mean efficiency scores

appear to differ only marginally, the distribution of scores shifted to the right (Figure 1), with a

higher proportion of vessels having high technical efficiency scores (i.e. ≥ 0.8).

Source

Pascoe, S., Punt, A., Coglan, L. and Dichmont, C. (forthcoming 2012). Impacts of vessel capacity

reduction programs on efficiency in fisheries: The case of Australia’s multispecies northern prawn

fishery. Journal of Agriculture Economics.

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

<0.6 0.60-0.65 0.65-0.70 0.70-0.75 0.75-0.80 0.80-0.85 0.85-0.90

Technical efficiency

Frequency

1995-2000

2007

Criterion Reference Assessment for Assessment Item 2: research essay

Assessme

nt task #

GRADE

7 6 5 4 <4

Weight 100%  85% 84%  75% 74%  65% 65%  50% 49%  0%

Set the context with

reference to appropriate

data sources and policy.

Data has been

appropriately presented

and explained.

(KS 1.2)

15% A clear and complete

account is given which is

well-informed by

supporting data and

policy. Data are

appropriately presented

(e.g. in tables or graphs)

and their relevance and

meaning have been

clearly and concisely

explained.

A complete outline is

given which is informed

by supporting data and

policy. Data are

appropriately presented

(e.g. in tables or graphs)

and their relevance and

meaning have been

explained.

An outline is given which is

informed by supporting data

and policy. Data are presented

appropriately (e.g. in tables,

graphs etc) but their relevance

and meaning are not always

clear and/or they are causally

referred to.

The outline is given. The

policy context is incomplete.

The relevant supporting data

are incomplete. Data that are

presented is relevant but

presentation could be

improved. Data are only

occasionally referred to.

Either there is NO outline

AND/OR the policy and

relevant supporting data

are incorrect or omitted.

Data are poorly

presented. Data are not

referred to.
代写assignment BSB113 Economics Semester 2 2016

Presented and described

the appropriate economic

theory, model and/or

framework.

(KS 1.1)

25% There is a clear, concise

and accurate description

of the relevant economic

theories and/or models.

There is a description of

the relevant economic

theories and/or models.

The relevant economic

theories and/or models are

identified. There may be some

minor errors.

The relevant economic

theories and/or models are

incomplete There are a few

errors.

The relevant economic

theories and/or models

are incorrect or omitted.

There is a large number of

errors/inconsistencies.

Presented an analysis of

the potential economic

issues.

(HO 2.1)

40% An excellent critical

analysis of a range of

economic issues which

is underpinned by

economic theory and/or

appropriate supporting

evidence

An analysis of a range of

economic issues under

pinned by economic

theory and/or appropriate

supporting evidence

An analysis of some of the

economic issues with evidence

of some reference to theory

and/or appropriate supporting

evidence.

An overview of a limited set

of potential economic issues

Limited reference to theory

and/or appropriate

supporting evidence.

There is a very limited OR

no identification of any

potential economic issues

AND/OR there is very

limited or no reference to

theory AND/OR relevant

supporting evidence

1,2,3

Used a range of relevant

scholarly sources to

support content and

arguments.

(PC 3.1)

10% Incorporated relevant