Business School

BUSS1040

Economics for Business Decision Making

4.4
27 verified reviews
Credit Points
6
Session
2026 Sem 1
Location
Camperdown/Darlington
Attendance
Normal
Unit Overview
Economics underlies all business decisions, from pricing to product development, to negotiations, to understanding the general economic environment. This unit provides an introduction to economic analysis with a particular focus on concepts and applications relevant to business. This unit addresses how individual consumers and firms make decisions and how they interact in markets. It also introduces a framework for understanding and analysing the broader economic and public policy environment in which a business competes. This unit provides a rigorous platform for further study and a major in economics as well as providing valuable tools of analysis that complement a student's general business training, regardless of their area of specialisation.

Requirements

Assumed Knowledge
Mathematics (equivalent of band 4 in the NSW HSC subject Advanced Mathematics or band E3 in Mathematics Extension 1 or 2) or MATH1111
Prohibitions
ECON1001 or ECON1040

Unit Reviews

A
Anonymous
2024 • Semester 1
5

Difficult towards the end of the semester but manageable.

A
Anonymous
2024 • Semester 2
1

Horrendous teaching overall. Content manageable but not at all intellectually stimulating.

A
Anonymous
2023 • Semester 1
4

Great subject, a bit difficult at times though a High Distinction is very achievable. However, a few concepts could have been explained/taught more thoroughly.

A
Anonymous
2023 • Semester 1
5

important economics concepts for all business students. the online lectures can be very boring but i found the tut questions pretty fun to do. attempt all of the tuts and ask questions when you don't understand and you'll do well in exams. the final exam is a lot harder than the mid-sem but if you do all the practice questions you can't screw up. i personally found the textbook help a lot with my understanding of the theoretical concepts but there are heaps of YT videos on every single concept as well so make use of them.

A
Anonymous
2023 • Semester 2
4

The content was quite easy to understand in the first few weeks, however towards the end of the course it became harder and the volume also increased. Mid-sem task wasn't to bad at all and not all of the online quizzes counted but the final exam was tricky. HD is definitely achievable.

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Semester Roadmap

W01
Key concepts and comparative advantageLecture
W02
Production and costsLecture
Week 1 review questionsTutorial
W03
Demand and SupplyLecture
Week 2 review questionsTutorial
W04
Elasticity, Welfare and Market EquilibriumLecture
Week 3 review questionsTutorial
W05
Perfect CompetitionLecture
Week 4 review questionsTutorial
W06
Pricing with market power 1Lecture
Week 5 review questionsTutorial
W07
Pricing with market power 2 + Monopolistic competitionLecture
Week 6 review questionsTutorial
W08
Strategic interaction and business strategy 1Lecture
Week 7 review questionsTutorial
W09
Strategic interaction and business strategy 2Lecture
Week 8 review questionsTutorial
W10
Government interventions and market failures 1Lecture
Week 9 review questionsTutorial
W11
Government interventions and market failures 2Lecture
Week 10 review questionsTutorial
W12
GDP, Unemployment, Inflation and Business CyclesLecture
Week 11 review questionsTutorial
W13
Stabilisation PoliciesLecture
Week 12 review questionsTutorial

Support

Teaching Staff

Khanh Phan
khanh.phan@sydney.edu.au
Coordinator

Assessments

Final exam
60%
Formal exam period
Written examAI prohibited
Online quizzes
12%
Multiple weeks
In-class quizAI allowed
Online Quiz
3%
Week 03
Out-of-class quizAI allowed
In-semester test
25%
19 Apr 2026 at 09:40
Written testAI prohibited