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
2017 • Semester 2
5

Really well taught!

A
Anonymous
2016 • Semester 1
5

Can be hard at first especially if you have no economics background however quickly becomes one of the most enjoyable compulsories. Assessments are difficult however fairly marked. Through the weekly tutorial questions, there is an opportunity for regular practice with the concepts and their application. Final exam is quite difficult however definitely doable if you study hard! The main perk over many of the other compulsories is the skill of the lecturers- lectures are focused, engaging and well-paced with plenty of examples given so that students can easily appreciate the relevance of the subject to real life.

A
Anonymous
2016 • Semester 1
5
A
Anonymous
2015 • Semester 2
5

fantastic subject, really well run, and the teachers were helpful. Pay attention to the 5 quizzes, they are similar to the exams and are good revision

A
Anonymous
2015 • Semester 2
5

I LOVE this subject. We even have transcripts for our lectures! The concepts are cool and interesting once you grasp them. The text book "Essentials for Microeconomics" was invaluable, I read it from page to page and some pages over and over -it has highlights and my summary notes all over it. Another useful thing is all those tutorial questions and practice questions for the final exam. Give yourself 2 weeks and just do them over again, mark them and improve yourself. It will give you a D or HD for sure. :D

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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