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
2022 • Semester 2
1

100 slides per lecture where the lecturer doesn't even address half of them correctly. Not difficult content, but the way in which lectures are structured is horrendous.

A
Anonymous
2019 • Semester 1
5

Essential content for all business, economics and law students.

A
Anonymous
2017 • Semester 1
5

Really good and structured, may be difficult at first, lectures really try to make it easy but may be too fast to understand, towards the end topics get rushed other than that it's a great subject even if you don't like Economics or haven't done it priorly

A
Anonymous
2017 • Semester 1
5

BUSS1040 was the best core Commerce unit I've sat. It provides a vital introduction to economic concepts such as different market structures and market interventions, both of which are integral to a student's understanding of future Commerce content. Despite the fact that it is no longer a core Commerce unit, I would still highly recommend it.

A
Anonymous
2017 • Semester 1
3

Microeconomics focussed. The quizzes are a bit tricky but they are similar to the final exam so study hard. The final is not easy at all so you do need to study really hard.

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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