[Deakin University] Competition and Industry (MAE201)

This unit builds upon the microeconomics topics introduced in MAE101 to develop a deeper understanding of how consumers make choices to maximise their well-being and how firms make choices about inputs to minimise their production costs. The unit examines business competition in the marketplace and how competition affects the economic gains of consumers and businesses. The unit also explores the fundamentals of strategic decision making by introducing game theory, which has broad applications in real-world situations including pricing decisions of airline companies and policy proposals of rival political parties competing in elections. In the unit’s assessment, students get an opportunity to analyse and reflect on topical contemporary issues and policy challenges. Some past examples include (i) the impact of changing cost of living pressures on household choices and their well-being, and the role of policy in addressing these challenges (ii) impact of urbanisation and female labour-force participation on family food choices across the world and the implications for climate change (iii) economic logic behind a tendency towards outsourcing and off-shoring of production by businesses in USA and Western Europe.

✔ At the completion of this unit, successful students can:

• Analyse individual decision making by consumers and firms and how various market structures affect economic efficiency.
• Apply relevant microeconomic theories to evaluate real-world managerial and policy issues.
• Analyse economic issues using geometric and quantitative tools.
• Communicate microeconomic issues effectively through written English.