ECON1001 – Semester 2 – Written Assignment
This assignment requires you to examine ‘real-world’ applications of economics. Detailed
instructions are provided below. When responding to the questions, use relevant economic
models and concepts discussed in the course as they relate to the specified topic. Discussion
outside the topics listed will be considered irrelevant.
State any assumptions you make. It is
critical that you set up a clear and logical discussion.
Read the following three articles (click on the link):
1. “Why you might be paying more for your airfare than the person sitting next
to you” (Oct 2018)
2. “Algorithms and antitrust; Free exchange” (May 2017, available on Canvas)
3. “Ford EVs will use Tesla charging tech in surprise partnership between rival
automakers” (May 2023)
Question 1 (Monopoly):
a. The first article is about price discrimination. Assume Qantas is a monopolist in the
Australian domestic airline market between Sydney and Adelaide. Ideally, Qantas would
want to completely personalise prices to match the highest price consumers are willing
to pay, allowing them to extract all consumer surplus. However, without perfect
information, Qantas charges $300 for the flight at 11 am and $120 for the flight at 5 am.
Use of a numerical example with economic reasoning, explain how this strategy can
maximise Qantas’s profit? What conditions are required for this pricing strategy to be
implementable? (5 marks)
b. Let’s assume that because of public outrage, Qantas decided to charge the same price
for all flights. With the aid of a diagram, illustrate and explain what price Qantas will
charge. Compared to part (a), are the consumers better off or worse, and why? (3
marks)
Question 2 (Oligopoly, Game Theory):
c. The second article discusses the app giving up-to-date information, saving consumers
from driving around, and helping the consumers to be more informative. With the aid of
a numerical example, explain how the app may backfire. (5 marks)
d. The third article discusses the collaboration between Ford Motor and Tesla on charging
initiatives for its current and future electric vehicles in an unusual tie-up between the
two rivals. Explain whether companies should adopt to a single charging protocol or
develop their own charging ports. What factors they should take into account? (5 marks)
The following criteria relate to the entire assignment:
• 2 marks - Clarity of expression (including grammar and spelling), presentation (including,
but not limited to, formatting, numbering and clarity of graphs, tables, charts or figures
if used), communication (including appropriate vocabulary) and structure (including use
of paragraphs and headings)
Assignment Guidelines
1. The written assignment is a maximum of 700 words long (for the whole assignment, not
individual questions, +10% lenient allowed), not including a reference list, diagrams, and
game matrix. Headings and subheadings (e.g., based on the questions posed) are
allowed to structure the assignment. Students need to indicate the word count on the
assignment itself.
2. You are NOT allowed to use Chatbots or content creation (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini,
CoPilot… etc.) to help with your work. Using those AI tools violates academic integrity,
and you will receive zero for the whole assignment.
3. When responding to these questions, you should use relevant economic models and
concepts covered in the topic specified to answer the question. Discussion outside the
scope of the topics listed will be considered irrelevant. State any assumptions you make.
It is critical that you set up a clear and logical discussion.
4. You must back up your statements with logical reasoning and supporting evidence if
possible.
5. You need to use appropriate language and submit a professional piece of work. Avoid
slang or colloquial terms, check spelling and grammar.
Submission instructions
The essay is due on Friday, 11 Oct 2024, at 11:59 pm and should be submitted through the
essay upload link on Canvas. Your work will be submitted to the similarity-detecting
software Turnitin for analysis. An essay submitted 1 second late is automatically marked as
late by the software so do not wait until the last minute to submit your essay. Essays will
receive a 5% reduction of the total marks for every 24 hours they are late.
The closing date for the essay is 18 Oct 2024 at 11:59 pm with a late penalty; essays
submitted after this date will not be marked and will receive a zero. Extensions are only
available through the formal Special Consideration System.
https://sydney.edu.au/students/special-consideration-and-arrangements.html
Make sure you take a screenshot of the submission as proof you have submitted your
assignment. Should submission problems occur, please contact the unit coordinator (Huy
Vu, [email protected]).
File Format:
The system only accepts doc, docx, pdf files.
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