ATAR Notes: Forum
Archived Discussion => Business Studies => 2013 => Exam Discussion => Victoria => Economics => Topic started by: jwcjwc on October 31, 2013, 05:44:05 pm
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how'd everyone go??
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yeh, I thought it was pretty fair.
Can anyone remember the last multi?
I wasn't sure about it
(http://i40.tinypic.com/eiuhyx.jpg)
(the great man)
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I dont know I feel kinda blahh about it... it wasnt too hard but nearly ran out of time and I feel like some questions I didnt answer as fully as I could :((
What was the last mc again?
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Could someone please tell me why Multiple Choice Questions are worth 2 marks each for Economics? How can you earn 1 Mark? ???
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i think it was about the conditions of purely competitive markets and monopolistic competition markets....you had to choose which condition was not the same for both types of market...
if that makes sense..........
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Didn't finish, lost a guaranteed 11 and rushed a few. Not happy
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i think it was about the conditions of purely competitive markets and monopolistic competition markets....you had to choose which condition was not the same for both types of market...
if that makes sense..........
yeh that's the one, I said the large number of sellers was the difference, but I think the answer would be differentiated products...
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:(
i left the whole 2 last pages blank. It wasn't hard but it was waaay too long what the hell?
And they were really repetitive in their questions. I'm on the verge of tears because i knew the answers i just wasn't physically able to write it in time urg. So bad. So bad.
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I thought it was okay, but the question about the two-speed economy was unexpected lol.. :o
And what was the answer for the MC that asked "which isn't an automatic stabiliser"? Was it "wages for public servants" or "social welfare payments"? :-\ (please don't tell me it was one of the others haha)
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how did everyone go with q2 MC? it was something like what would happen to the demand curve if the carbon tax did something
and Q12 MC) it was about the imported goods in australia decreasing would be affected least likely by...
anyone have any ideas?
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I thought it was okay, but the question about the two-speed economy was unexpected lol.. :o
And what was the answer for the MC that asked "which isn't an automatic stabiliser"? Was it "wages for public servants" or "social welfare payments"? :-\ (please don't tell me it was one of the others haha)
it was public servants!!
the others all change automatically in differing economic conditions
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Thought the exam was quite fair. Majority of it was fairly straightforward.. 2 speed economy was a curve ball ><
Last MC I did differentiated products and for carbon tax I did shift supply curve to the left causing a contraction in demand and oh public servants for the auto stabilisers
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Holy shit first off, I was writing frantically for 2 hours, my mind didn't wander off like it did during english.
I did all the short answers first so I could guess multiple choice if I ran out of time. I was too rushed to think rationally and logically to do the multiple choice so I ended up guessing alot.
I think this years exam was mainly focusing on the bigger picture of the economy.
I'm hoping for a 33+
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Holy shit first off, I was writing frantically for 2 hours, my mind didn't wander off like it did during english.
I did all the short answers first so I could guess multiple choice if I ran out of time. I was too rushed to think rationally and logically to do the multiple choice so I ended up guessing alot.
I think this years exam was mainly focusing on the bigger picture of the economy.
I'm hoping for a 33+
yeh I was pretty strapped for time as well,
quick question why is economics not in your signature?!?!?
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Lets just not talk about it......... so sad right now :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
it was public servants!!
the others all change automatically in differing economic conditions
^^ Got the same, but may have guessed ;)
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it was public servants!!
the others all change automatically in differing economic conditions
Thought the exam was quite fair. Majority of it was fairly straightforward.. 2 speed economy was a curve ball ><
Last MC I did differentiated products and for carbon tax I did shift supply curve to the left causing a contraction in demand and oh public servants for the auto stabilisers
Omg noooo, I changed it at the last minute. :'(
Are you sure? But wouldn't the wages of public services rise/fall in response to changes in demand? Causing more/less tax revenue? Or do they not pay taxes at all because they work for the government? And also, they had "unemployment payments" and "social welfare payments" as different things. :/ Would "social welfare payments" imply that it's more for things like long term disabilities/pensions etc. that aren't affected by AD compared to unemployment? HAHA I'm so confused and I guess it doesn't matter now but it's really bugging me.
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Was much easier than I thought it would be. 2012 and 11 seemed significantly hard. I think I racked up enough marks to pull off a scaled 30. Let's see what VCAA does to me.
I ended up only providing definitions for the 6-marker about policy mix (aggregate demand + monetary to affect unemployment). Had enough time to finish the rest though.
On another note, wonder how chasej did! He's been of great help on the Eco thread all year, and has a great Economical knowledge in his explanations. Expecting big things :)
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for the two speed did people do minerals resource rent tax? thats what i did and what was q11 mc: it was about the net capital inflow and whether the $A would appreciate/depreciate
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I thought it was okay, but the question about the two-speed economy was unexpected lol.. :o
And what was the answer for the MC that asked "which isn't an automatic stabiliser"? Was it "wages for public servants" or "social welfare payments"? :-\ (please don't tell me it was one of the others haha)
I picked public servants (but only because i think the other 3 were autos) :X
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Does anyone know what the answers to the Multiple Choice are?
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Omg noooo, I changed it at the last minute. :'(
Are you sure? But wouldn't the wages of public services rise/fall in response to changes in demand? Causing more/less tax revenue? Or do they not pay taxes at all because they work for the government? And also, they had "unemployment payments" and "social welfare payments" as different things. :/ Would "social welfare payments" imply that it's more for things like long term disabilities/pensions etc. that aren't affected by AD compared to unemployment? HAHA I'm so confused and I guess it doesn't matter now but it's really bugging me.
Pretty sure its public servants.. *fingers crossed*
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yeh I was pretty strapped for time as well,
quick question why is economics not in your signature?!?!?
Changed it to Bus man because I had this kid identify who I was on atar notes lol
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Aw crap I hope not.. and it's even worse when you change your mind lol :(
for the two speed did people do minerals resource rent tax? thats what i did and what was q11 mc: it was about the net capital inflow and whether the $A would appreciate/depreciate
Well I wrote about the 'mining tax' which I'm guessing is the same thing..? :P
But anyway, I'm just glad to get a subject out of the way.
And regardless of what happens, I'm so happy I took economics.
It's been my favourite subject this year. <3
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yup I wrote about MRRT as well
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Pretty sure its public servants.. *fingers crossed*
No doubt in my mind that it was public servants.
Will be back later. Celebrating now :D
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Celebrating now :D
Well somebody did well ;)
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Definately had trouble with time aswell! For the two tiered could you also say monetary helping depreciate dollar helping with manufacturing sector?
Also I think the difference between the two market structures was the diffrent products
And does anyone know the answer to the one policy that was different than the others for aggregate supply policy either increase in pension age, childcare subsidies, increasing school leaving age or reducing criteria for general Skilled?
Sorry guys!!! Just a little post exam stress hahaha :s at least its done!
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would the 457 visa scheme have been alright to do for the two-speed one......saying that it created more problems by increasing the extent of the mining boom by filling the skills shortages, and hence making the speed difference between mining and other industries such as manufacturing larger??
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If anyone is thinking they had a bad example for the two-speed economy question, read mine.
I wrote that the budget move to take spending on tertiary education out and push it into lower education (primary/high) would help reduce it, as a lot of uni students are demanding courses, particularly engineering, which is helping further boost the Mining sector. If we inject money into the lower education system, we foster a generation of children who would aspire into various other sectors, helping to boost them along to the level of the Mining sector.
LOL I don't even know, I had a mental blank and thats the best I could think of.
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It was far easier than I had anticipated, literally couldn't stop smiling during reading time. Very lucky that we did some reading on the two-speed economy earlier in the year in class.
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was underutilisation rate 12%?
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Yep
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Yep
yay :D
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Compared to the past papers that I've done, I found the short answer a little more challenging, however I found the multiple choice pretty straightforward.
Bit bummed that I ran out of time, lost some marks.
Hopefully it turns out for the best.
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Anyone want to be a legend and upload a copy of the exam?
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Did most people finish?
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Did most people finish?
Unfortunately not, I spent too much time on a few lower mark questions which meant I had to race through some of the higher marked ones at the end.
I;ve got really neat handwriting though, maybe seeing I'm a guy the examiners will give me bonus marks for that? ;)
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I finished just in time with a couple of minutes to spare, but I basically made up a few policies :'( because I couldn't think of any proper ones LOL
hopefully the examiners will give me theory or pity marks or something
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For the question regarding an immigration and budgetary policy did people talk about how they could slacken the laws regarding skilled immigration and they could cut taxes to migrant workers as an immigration policy and budgetary policy respectively?
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I finished just in time with a couple of minutes to spare, but I basically made up a few policies :'( because I couldn't think of any proper ones LOL
hopefully the examiners will give me theory or pity marks or something
The classic 'I'll just invent a policy and gave it a vague title and not write a year' trick. Got me through a few SACs.
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congratulations everyone!! (so happy I have 12 days off now until I need to start studying for unit 2 exams :)
Well somebody did well ;)
I would celebrate regardless. Everyone here just completed one of the hardest economics exams VCAA has written in years, particularly the MC section. Most people wouldn't know 20% (that's probably a generous number tbh) of what we have all learnt this year. We've all come so far this year, it's worth celebrating regardless of how many marks you did or didn't get.
On another note, wonder how chasej did! He's been of great help on the Eco thread all year, and has a great Economical knowledge in his explanations. Expecting big things :)
Thanks mate. It's good to know my input is appreciated. I'd like to take this oppurtunity to thank all the others who have helped me out on the economics forum. There are certainly a fair few people including but not limited to Sam.utute and abcdqdxD that helped me out a fair bit earlier in the year and in the lead up to the exams with both knowledge and motivation whether directly or indirectly. I know I haven't named everyone so I hope no one takes offence, know your assistance is greatly appreciated by me. I certainly intend to keep a presence on the economics forums into the future also, so I'm not going anywhere soon :D . Thanks again all!!
Also I think the difference between the two market structures was the diffrent products
And does anyone know the answer to the one policy that was different than the others for aggregate supply policy either increase in pension age, childcare subsidies, increasing school leaving age or reducing criteria for general Skilled?
Yes. The difference on the market structure questions was that monopolistic competition has product differentiation (not identical) while a perfectly competitive market has homogenous (all identical) products.
Also increasing school leaving age was different as increasing it means labour force participation rate would fall/not rise. All the others mean labour force participation rate would rise/not fall. Labour force participation effects business unit costs by (in theory) causing the labour supply curve to shift to the left/right and participation also effects quantity of available resources and hence productive capacity which ultimately acts as a limit as to how many goods and services suppliers can produce with finite resources.
Did most people finish?
It was certainly a long paper. Most prac exams I finished with 15-30 minutes left. This exam I was really getting nervous with how time was marching on (only had about 25 mins for Q.4) and finished just 5 minutes before the end. I wouldn't have finished in time if I didn't manage to complete the multiple choice in reading time. I actually sacrificed 1 or 2 marks just by rushing I think. Hopefully the assessors that mark my paper are also willing to read some sentences below the designated writing lines-I didn't have time to keep on flicking back and forth to extra space.
General comments:
I actually found the exam fairly challenging to be honest. In fact there were some questions on there that had the potential to be really soul crushing. I'm expecting an A+ cutoff of around 82-84%-could work in many people's favour.
VCAA knew the two speed economy question was going to be really hard which is why the included a really long pre-amble about the issue-if I remember correctly there were a good 4 or 5 quotes there. My teacher who is an assessor said he's expecting to be giving out a fair few 1/4 and 2/4 marks for that question-so it's probably not worth worrying about as everyone is in the same position with the difficulty. I wrote about the Tasmanian Forests Agreement 2013 for it BTW-a policy I didn't really know much about TBH *fingers crossed*.
Also does anyone know the answer to MC Q.8. The one about monetary policy loosening affecting consumer spending and household savings ratio. I initially said increase spending, decrease savings. But changed it to increase spending, increase savings. (Using the logic that in many situations consumers use MP loosening to save money/pay back loans faster as MP can be weak at increasing confidence levels e.g. 2008-09 while at the same time spending would still of course increase).
I wish those that still have exams to sit all the best for them and ATAR/course selection.
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I said increase spending, decrease savings (if savings increased, spending wouldnt increase)
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In regards to the multi with the school leaving age thing, wouldn't increasing the leaving age actually improve Aggregate Supply as individuals improve their factor endowment/long term employability? So wouldn't the answer be D, since reducing the quality of skilled immigrants will lessen their ability to fill skill shortages?
Also, I'm hoping that loose monetary policy actually lead to increased consumption and decreased households savings, as the opportunity cost of saving increases
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With the question asking for ONE environmental policy that increases living standards and long term economic prosperity, i did the solar rebate. As less pollutants and sustainable consumption of things like coal. Is this incorrect?
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In regards to the multi with the school leaving age thing, wouldn't increasing the leaving age actually improve Aggregate Supply as individuals improve their factor endowment/long term employability? So wouldn't the answer be D, since reducing the quality of skilled immigrants will lessen their ability to fill skill shortages?
Also, I'm hoping that loose monetary policy actually lead to increased consumption and decreased households savings, as the opportunity cost of saving increases
Man i have the same thinking as you. However, in saying that, the school leaving age answer now seems a little more valid considering it has an immediate effect.
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Yeah that's true I can see the short term effect of people entering the work force instead of staying in school. But for that to be the right answer, you'd have to accept that the skilled migration answer was correct-and I don't see how reducing the quality of skilled migration improves AS?
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Can you type out the whole question regarding increasing the minimum school age?
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I said increase spending, decrease savings (if savings increased, spending wouldnt increase)
Yeh. I probably got the question wrong. Quite annoying as I had the right answer up until the last 2 minutes. Anyway, hopefully the rest of the exam is OK.
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Yeah that's true I can see the short term effect of people entering the work force instead of staying in school. But for that to be the right answer, you'd have to accept that the skilled migration answer was correct-and I don't see how reducing the quality of skilled migration improves AS?
I don't think the question said anything about the quality of skilled labour.
Does anyone have a copy of the paper they could upload. I was planning to ask for a copy but forgot in the end.
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Anyone got an idea for question 12 in the multis? it was something about which of the following was least likely to result in a decrease in import prices..
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increase employment in domestic industries (if I'm thinking of the right question)
EDIT: don't think we're talking about the same question.. can't remember the question on import replacement exactly
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I don't think the question said anything about the quality of skilled labour.
Does anyone have a copy of the paper they could upload. I was planning to ask for a copy but forgot in the end.
The answer to the q was increasing the minimum school leaving age if I recall correctly (which would decrease AS, the others all increased AS)
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Yeah that's true I can see the short term effect of people entering the work force instead of staying in school. But for that to be the right answer, you'd have to accept that the skilled migration answer was correct-and I don't see how reducing the quality of skilled migration improves AS?
It said reduced leniency, so perhaps it means they are simply allowing more immigrant inflow, increasing labour supply and therefore increasing AS.
I don't like the question though, then again, that's probably cause i got it wrong! sigh...
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Did anyone have a favourite question? I loved the ones about coffee prices and demand shifts in the market (think it was question 3 extended response). Micro is so much more fun than macro simply because you can see it every day in real life. Was really nice for VCAA to include a real life application type question.
What microeconomic demand factor did people use also? I did an increase in price of a substitute (used energy drinks as an example substitute).
VCAA's demand/supply graph was also so neat <3
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Hated every question in the ER section :(
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VCAA's demand/supply graph was also so neat <3
Agreed! The graph was quite beautiful! Actually nade me finally get the theory while I was sitting there!
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What did you say for the second question on coffee? One about the equilibrium market price moving from E1 to E2.
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How was the underutilsation rate 12% :(?
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What did you say for the second question on coffee? One about the equilibrium market price moving from E1 to E2.
The second question was the effect of the shift wasn't it?
I just said the shift to right means consumers value the product more and thus are willing to pay more for it thus suppliers driven by their profit motive would increase supply due to the fact consumers are willing to pay higher prices thus supply would expand.
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7 + 5/100
=12/100
forgot what the headings for the percentages were tho :-\
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How was the underutilsation rate 12% :(?
Unemployed 5 million+ underemployed 7 million=12
Labour force participation=100 million
Therefore underutilisation= 12/100=12%
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The second question was the effect of the shift wasn't it?
I just said the shift to right means consumers value the product more and thus are willing to pay more for it thus suppliers driven by their profit motive would increase supply due to the fact consumers are willing to pay higher prices thus supply would expand.
If i remember correctly (for Q3 part ii.) it asked to explain how E1 adjusted to E2 - something like that.
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If i remember correctly (for Q3 part ii.) it asked to explain how E1 adjusted to E2 - something like that.
Isn't that what I said? It adjusted because supply expands due to the higher price consumers are willing to pay.
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i thought it was due to the expansion of supply as a result of larger demand by consumers, and as a result consumers are paying higher (1$ more if i remember)
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increase in demand results in an undersupply of coffee.. suppliers increase price to return to market equilibrium (so equilibrium price has increased). more resources are allocated towards this market as an increase in its relative price compared to other beverages acts as price signals for greater production of this good and firms are inclined to respond due to their desire to maximise profit.. increasing equilibrium q
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Hope you guys all went well!! Does anyone have a photo/copy of the exam they could post? Also, was immigration policy (recent intake of skilled immigrants) a suitable policy for the two-speed question?
Thanks!
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Someone please email me the exam! ([email protected])
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Someone please email me the exam! ([email protected])
oh no not the dreaded solutions :(
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I should probably not read this thread anymore. Every post makes me more and more nervous hahahaha.
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I should probably not read this thread anymore. Every post makes me more and more nervous hahahaha.
Every additional 10 minutes I think about my eco exam I think I've lost an extra mark
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Did anyone have a favourite question? I loved the ones about coffee prices and demand shifts in the market (think it was question 3 extended response). Micro is so much more fun than macro simply because you can see it every day in real life. Was really nice for VCAA to include a real life application type question.
What microeconomic demand factor did people use also? I did an increase in price of a substitute (used energy drinks as an example substitute).
VCAA's demand/supply graph was also so neat <3
I said it could have been a cold day and people would be craving a nice hot coffee!
(http://i39.tinypic.com/2z4y6pl.jpg)
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increase in demand results in an undersupply of coffee.. suppliers increase price to return to market equilibrium (so equilibrium price has increased). more resources are allocated towards this market as an increase in its relative price compared to other beverages acts as price signals for greater production of this good and firms are inclined to respond due to their desire to maximise profit.. increasing equilibrium q
Yeah, I was really confused with what to include in my answer because the next question was about relative prices and resource allocation.
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Did everyone else find the 2 speed economy question extremely difficult? I wasn't even sure what the question was asking for it was all so confusing
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Did everyone else find the 2 speed economy question extremely difficult? I wasn't even sure what the question was asking for it was all so confusing
Yes. The general consensus is that it was the hardest question on the paper as you can see earlier in this thread.
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Could someone please tell me why Multiple Choice Questions are worth 2 marks each for Economics? How can you earn 1 Mark? ???
A right answer=2 marks. A wrong answer=0 marks.
There are no 1 marks. Multichoice question are just double marked in economics.
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Why are people asking for copies of the exam? Isn't it only the set amount of students sitting the exam (who have to hand it in) plus the teacher who get a copy?
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Couldn't agree more though with the fact that the coffee question was a great one. I always do better at questions that I can actually comprehend occurring to me in day-to-day life.
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What are people's prediction for the A+ cutoff? I think it will be around 79/90 at the highest 77/90 at the lowest.
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I think it will be around 75/90. I found this paper much more difficult than the 2012 paper, and the cutoff there was 77.5/90 so I'd say just below that.
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Why are people asking for copies of the exam? Isn't it only the set amount of students sitting the exam (who have to hand it in) plus the teacher who get a copy?
There are usually spare copies. Once the exam is done, they don't mind giving those copies out. I'm getting my old Eco teacher to email me through the answers. I'll hopefully write up a set of solutions over the weekend :)
I'm really surprised they asked a question on the two-speed economy. It meant you were essentially forced to give real life examples.
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R Salla thinks A+ cutoff will be 80-81/90
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R Salla thinks A+ cutoff will be 80-81/90
Wow, that's really high given all the feedback everyone has posted on this thread. Now I desperately want to see the exam :(
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Questions were easy. Problem was time management.. there were heaps of 2 and 3 markers which were really 3 or 4 markers... i remember them giving some 2 mark questions with like 8 lines which was just crazy..
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Spent 3 minutes a mark on first half of written, 1 minute a mark on second half. Lined space and timing were insane. Didn't even have time to breathe
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Best question was the possible cause for the demand shift i mean you could say whatever you wanted.
personally said a recent health report stating that drinking coffee improves long term mental health lol
:D
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Questions were easy. Problem was time management.. there were heaps of 2 and 3 markers which were really 3 or 4 markers... i remember them giving some 2 mark questions with like 8 lines which was just crazy..
That was the case for me.
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There are usually spare copies. Once the exam is done, they don't mind giving those copies out. I'm getting my old Eco teacher to email me through the answers. I'll hopefully write up a set of solutions over the weekend :)
I'm really surprised they asked a question on the two-speed economy. It meant you were essentially forced to give real life examples.
Oh, fair enough! Didn't realise that's how it worked. Would definitely like to see some ideas on solutions from a past Eco student :)
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Everyone is worried about this 2 speed economy. I didnt have time to answer 3 questions, i looked at that one and said no way. Grats on even attempting it
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R Salla thinks A+ cutoff will be 80-81/90
Doubt it. Well I sure hope not.
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Everyone is worried about this 2 speed economy. I didnt have time to answer 3 questions, i looked at that one and said no way. Grats on even attempting it
Your school typically has a very strong eco cohort top end. How did they do?
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I thought it was relatively short compared to the 2012 exam, As I attempted the 2012 exam 3 times in practice and didn't finish it once in the allocated time, whereas this exam I finished with 10 minutes to go, could just be the pressure and nerves.
The questions weren't too hard as well, some of the question however weren't well specified by VCAA as there is a big difference between the impact of a policy in the short term and the long term, and some questions did not give enough marks for you to provide the whole answer.
Overall the multiple choice was probably the hardest, in terms of in class teaching, as there were a few questions that could only be answered if you were aware of the ideas presented, but I still think there will be a significant amount of 15/15's. As a number of the answers could be ruled out, the biggest challenge will have been identifying what the question was asking as some asked for 'not' or 'least likely'.
I believe it was still easier than the 2012 exam, but defiantly harder than the many others before that. And the A+ cut off may be around 77-78/90, depending on what the markers are looking for in the extended response.
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If you've got a copy/photocopy of the exam, please email through to [email protected], and we can get solutions up on our website!
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damn it thought underutilization rate was 7% , should know VCAA better and guess something which wouldnt be so easy to guess haha
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Suggested solutions for MC about to be posted on the Connect FB page :)
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Apologies for the double post:
Answers to MC:
https://www.facebook.com/connecteducationAU/app_192229990808929
Scan of exam:
http://www.mediafire.com/view/9908zoeiid2rr9e/VCAA_Economics_Exam_2013_MC.pdf
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Apologies for the double post:
Answers to MC:
https://www.facebook.com/connecteducationAU/app_192229990808929
Scan of exam:
http://www.mediafire.com/view/9908zoeiid2rr9e/VCAA_Economics_Exam_2013_MC.pdf
Thanks! Interesting answers. I disagree with a couple from my post on the fb connect page. Going to be interesting to see what VCAA says. Was the hardest MC section in ages-was almost as difficult as the MC from the CPAP textbook.
Hopefully I'm right for the sake of my marks D:
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Thanks! Interesting answers. I disagree with a couple from my post on the fb connect page. Going to be interesting to see what VCAA says. Was the hardest MC section in ages-was almost as difficult as the MC from the CPAP textbook.
Hopefully I'm right for the sake of my marks D:
Which ones do you disagree with
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13/15 here.. screwed up on 1 question quite easily, pretty annoyed :-[ :-[
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Which ones do you disagree with
These are my comments on FB:
" I would argue that D was the correct answer to Q.8. Household savings ratio is defined by the ABS as savings as a percentage of disposable income. If monetary policy is loosened undoubtedly spending would increase but at the same time many households are likely to use the extra savings to either pay back loans faster or save. There is room for spending as a result of increases in discretionary income to increase while savings as a percentage of disposable income to increase alongside the increase in spending.
The increase in savings is evidenced by what happened to savings over 2008-09 alongside monetary policy loosening. I would also not be surprised to see that savings ratios would be increasing now alongside our record low cash rate in Australia. I agonised over whether the answer was B or D in the exam room but decided the D in the end was the only answer that could stand up to contemporary evidence.
What is the argument for B being the correct answer?
Also I think you're wrong for question 3. Although the criteria for skilled immigration will be decreased-the migrants would still be "skilled"-which VCAA clearly states. Going to be interesting what VCAA says the answer is-I interpreted relaxation of skills criteria being that more already trained individuals would be in the labour force-a clear benefit for AS.
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13/15 here.. screwed up on 1 question quite easily, pretty annoyed :-[ :-[
Same for me if the connect answers are the VCAA answers >:(
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99% sure the answer to q3 is C
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99% sure the answer to q3 is C
agreed, seems logical
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A relaxation of the criteria that need to be met does not mean an increase in the quantity of immigrants: it only means that those immigrants that do gain entry have less skills to contribute to the production process, decreasing AS
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A relaxation of the criteria that need to be met does not mean an increase in the quantity of immigrants: it only means that those immigrants that do gain entry have less skills to contribute to the production process, decreasing AS
It's such a ambiguous question. The arguments are hurting my brain :P
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It's such a ambiguous question. The arguments are hurting my brain :P
Exactly, I wouldnt be surprised if they gave both c and d correct
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A relaxation of the criteria that need to be met does not mean an increase in the quantity of immigrants: it only means that those immigrants that do gain entry have less skills to contribute to the production process, decreasing AS
We debated over Q3 for like an hour. And we're still not 100% set on the answer. I've emailed the former Chief Examiner - hopefully he gets back to me with his thoughts soon.
I should mention, I went with C for Q3 as well, but the majority at Connect felt that D was more appropriate. It helps justify it if you think of it along these lines:
Obviously, A and B are good for AS. So we either need to identify an option that is unfavourable, or an option that is favourable.
Now, C talks about keeping people at school for longer; I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that VCAA would present this as a favourable option for AS - that is, if people stay at school for longer, they're more skilled and able to contribute more to AS. That seems to send a great message to students. If we follow this logic, then D must be the answer. And this can be justified based on the assumption that increases in unskilled migrants would not add to overall levels of AS.
Hope that made sense. I'll post up the comments from the former Examiner as soon as he replies.
Thanks for the feedback so far guys.
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" I would argue that D was the correct answer to Q.8. Household savings ratio is defined by the ABS as savings as a percentage of disposable income. If monetary policy is loosened undoubtedly spending would increase but at the same time many households are likely to use the extra savings to either pay back loans faster or save. There is room for spending as a result of increases in discretionary income to increase while savings as a percentage of disposable income to increase alongside the increase in spending.
The increase in savings is evidenced by what happened to savings over 2008-09 alongside monetary policy loosening. I would also not be surprised to see that savings ratios would be increasing now alongside our record low cash rate in Australia. I agonised over whether the answer was B or D in the exam room but decided the D in the end was the only answer that could stand up to contemporary evidence.
What is the argument for B being the correct answer?
I think this is way too convoluted, although it may be true, but the *better* answer is B.
Simply put, increased spending means that one saves less money.
Also I think you're wrong for question 3. Although the criteria for skilled immigration will be decreased-the migrants would still be "skilled"-which VCAA clearly states. Going to be interesting what VCAA says the answer is-I interpreted relaxation of skills criteria being that more already trained individuals would be in the labour force-a clear benefit for AS.
Relaxation of skills criteria means that more immigrants will be able to enter Australia and join the labour force. Increasing the school leaving-age means that less teenagers will be able to enter the labour force.
Quantitatively, more people (despite how skilled they may/may not be), will increase AS. Once again, C is the *better* answer.
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Relaxation of skills criteria means that more immigrants will be able to enter Australia and join the labour force. Increasing the school leaving-age means that less teenagers will be able to enter the labour force.
Quantitatively, more people (despite how skilled they may/may not be), will increase AS. Once again, C is the *better* answer.
This was my reasoning as well. But again, we're still operating under the assumption that we're a democracy over at Connect.
If I had sat the exam, I would have selected C as the best answer for Q3. Will be interesting to see how the Examiner justifies his answer. Again, a much too ambiguous question for my liking. The conflict between "quantity" and "quality" of labour seems unnecessary.
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This was my reasoning as well. But again, we're still operating under the assumption that we're a democracy over at Connect.
If I had sat the exam, I would have selected C as the best answer for Q3. Will be interesting to see how the Examiner justifies his answer. Again, a much too ambiguous question for my liking. The conflict between "quantity" and "quality" of labour seems unnecessary.
I personally would have answered C, too, especially since the other two options (pension age, childcare subsidies) seem to be hinting more towards the quantity of labour.
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Omg noooo, I changed it at the last minute. :'(
Are you sure? But wouldn't the wages of public services rise/fall in response to changes in demand? Causing more/less tax revenue? Or do they not pay taxes at all because they work for the government? And also, they had "unemployment payments" and "social welfare payments" as different things. :/ Would "social welfare payments" imply that it's more for things like long term disabilities/pensions etc. that aren't affected by AD compared to unemployment? HAHA I'm so confused and I guess it doesn't matter now but it's really bugging me.
Did the same as you. Its because even though you may consider the change in the business cycle to create and eliminate a certain amount of jobs the change is NOT COUNTER CYCLICAL and this is a key factor of an automatic stabilizer. For example poor demand side conditions would reduce the amount of jobs.
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Did the same as you. Its because even though you may consider the change in the business cycle to create and eliminate a certain amount of jobs the change is NOT COUNTER CYCLICAL and this is a key factor of an automatic stabilizer. For example poor demand side conditions would reduce the amount of jobs.
Also it said "wages of people servants" which I interpret meaning the wages each worker receives-wages tend to be sticky and not change at all at least not downwards. Not the aggregate amount the government pays in wages to public servants.
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Relaxation of skills criteria means that more immigrants will be able to enter Australia and join the labour force. Increasing the school leaving-age means that less teenagers will be able to enter the labour force.
Quantitatively, more people (despite how skilled they may/may not be), will increase AS. Once again, C is the *better* answer.
Okay, so the response:
Q3 relates to the size of the workforce and A, B & D would all lead to an increase in AS, but C in keeping students at school longer would decrease AS. D is wrong because a relaxation of the criteria would possibly see more immigrant workers arrive not just those to satisfy skill shortages.
Q8 relates to what normally happens to consumer spending and savings with a fall in interest rates. Normally spending rises and savings falls, so B. The recent complication involves not only consumer confidence but also alternative investments, shares become more attractive due to their returns. Lower interest rates also encourage some households to pay same amount and thus pay loan off faster. Economic theory v recent history? I still think B
I'm updating our solutions to reflect this.
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Okay, so the response:
I'm updating our solutions to reflect this.
Having done all VCAA 2002-2012 MC, I can comfortably say that for AS questions the focus has always been on quantity. I think this is because something quantitative is more absolute so to speak, qualitative is more of a matter of judgement. I know that VCAA is eager to stay away from ambiguity. I don't think VCAA themselves thought about the quality aspect of the question given what they've dished up in the past.
I think that C is correct hands down (what are the arguments for C being incorrect?), but D *may* be correct.
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Having done all VCAA 2002-2012 MC, I can comfortably say that for AS questions the focus has always been on quantity. I think this is because something quantitative is more absolute so to speak, qualitative is more of a matter of judgement. I know that VCAA is eager to stay away from ambiguity. I don't think VCAA themselves thought about the quality aspect of the question given what they've dished up in the past.
Yay! I'm so happy :) I thought I stuffed it up, but I'm glad my Eco streak continues!
That said, who knows how Anita will interpret the question.
See our FB for arguments against. Basically, having people in school longer = better skilled workforce.
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Yay! I'm so happy :) I thought I stuffed it up, but I'm glad my Eco streak continues!
That said, who knows how Anita will interpret the question.
See our FB for arguments against. Basically, having people in school longer = better skilled workforce.
I had a brief look last night look then closed it out of fear :P
I think when they decide on the solutions they have a meeting where all the assessors have equal input. Pretty sure what the chief assessor says isn't absolute.
To be honest, when I did the question I only saw C as a valid response. I've been so conditioned for looking for changes in quantity by past exams. If they select D, then they're really not consistent with how they've marked in the past. I doubt VCAA will mark both C and D correct, I think this is about the only question that may separate the top end.
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Okay, so the response:
I'm updating our solutions to reflect this.
Yeh. I suppose in regards to q8 I'm just trying to justify my own silly mistake (changing answer in last minute) really.
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Yeh. I suppose in regards to q8 I'm just trying to justify my own silly mistake (changing answer in last minute) really.
In theory, your response is incorrect. In the real world, your response is correct. But since we live in VCE world, not everything obeys the circumstances of the real world :P
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Yeh. I suppose in regards to q8 I'm just trying to justify my own silly mistake (changing answer in last minute) really.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :( :( :( :'( :'(
That's my one of my GOLDEN RULES FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS! Never change an answer at the last minute!*
*unless you've misread the question.
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :( :( :( :'( :'(
That's my one of my GOLDEN RULES FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS! Never change an answer at the last minute!*
*unless you've misread the question.
I know :( I remember thinking in the exam, as I was debating the question, "but it said in the connect notes not to change them". So annoying as it's the 3rd or 4th time a similar thing has happened to me this year, was annoying after doing it in SACs but devo for an exam.
Anyway, hopefully I smashed Section B to make up for it :D . At least none of my subjects next year have MC sections AFAIK :P
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It's not THAT bad to change your response is it?
If I'm over 75% sure in my new answer then I'll change it :P
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It's not THAT bad to change your response is it?
If I'm over 75% sure in my new answer then I'll change it :P
I think it's moreso not to change it in the last second when you are going through your answers at the end of writing time. As in those situations (I've found) there's a tendency to get nervous as time is running out etc. and lose confidence in your original decision and then make a bad decision.
Going through and changing what you think is the correct answer as long as you are still in the original process of thinking about the question is alright
Anyway, I think that's the logic behind it.
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These are my comments on FB:
The answer is definitely B mate. It's assumed that households allocate their income to either consumption or savings, and that there's an inverse relationship between spending and savings. If you spend more, you save less. You can't spend more and save more, it's illogical.
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The answer is definitely B mate. It's assumed that households allocate their income to either consumption or savings, and that there's an inverse relationship between spending and savings. If you spend more, you save less. You can't spend more and save more, it's illogical.
Yeh. I have now accepted my fate :P
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Yeh. I have now accepted my fate :P
Ha. Sorry if I came across as being a bit blunt there. I'm sure you still did well for the rest of the exam. :)