Tough Economics Essays

[Conkerclub1]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what people think of Economics essay questions that are fairly specific;
eg. "Analyse the effectiveness of fiscal policy on unemployment in the Australian economy"

Is it best to write all you know about the topic and go through cause and effects + policy management, or will that only give you similar marks to answering the question directly, but using limited knowledge, information and stats etc. Since it is a 20 mark question, I feel that this will not yield very favourable results?

Thanks 

[Bells_123]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what people think of Economics essay questions that are fairly specific;
eg. "Analyse the effectiveness of fiscal policy on unemployment in the Australian economy"

Is it best to write all you know about the topic and go through cause and effects + policy management, or will that only give you similar marks to answering the question directly, but using limited knowledge, information and stats etc. Since it is a 20 mark question, I feel that this will not yield very favourable results?

Thanks 

I think it's good to give a general knowledge about fiscal policy initially (what influences the policies and the types of policies), but with that example it's best to try and specifically answer the question regarding 'unemployment'. Try not to put too much information that may be unnecessary as it can take up more time and the examiners may think that you're not addressing the exact question (remembering to include relevant graphs like the Phillips curve when necessary). I would probably directly answer the question in the introduction (outlining definitions, main points etc.) and then have a brief description about the nature of fiscal policy in Australia. The rest of the essay should be targetting unemployment mainly (if you have time and are a quick writer, you may add a bit more extra info). Make sure to include some recent statistics as well!