ECW1101 Introductory Microeconomics Assignment 1, 2026 | Monash University
ECW1101 Assignment
Unit Name | Introductory Microeconomics |
Unit Code | ECW1101 |
Assignment Name | Assignment 1 |
Assignment Number/Reference | 1 |
Learning Outcomes
This assignment assesses the following learning outcomes:
Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
1 | Apply economic principles, concepts, tools and theories to assess individual decision-making. |
3 | Analyse and illustrate economic information in various ways, including diagrams, tables and graphs. |
Weighting
This assignment is worth 20% of your overall grade for this unit. Please see the assignment rubric for the weightings of each assessment criterion.
Requirements
This assignment has the following requirements:
Assignment Type | This is an individual assessment task. |
Response Format | Short essays. May include diagrams, graphs, or tables, to illustrate the analysis. Submit only 2 separate documents (in total): 1. Your Assignment 1 answers (final version for grading). 1. Your assessment coversheet (dated, signed). |
Response Specifications | Total word count: 1,000 + 10% maximum (no minimum). Any word count above the stated maximum will incur a penalty. |
Submission Process | Please submit online via Moodle in the allocated Assignment 1 Submission Folder (FOR GRADING). Submission by email (or any other method) will not be accepted. |
Notes: | You are expected to: 1) Submit in either MS Word or PDF format. Other formats are not acceptable. 2) Use double-spacing, font size 12, in either Arial or Times New Roman only. 3) Indicate the total word count for your answer to each question. 4) Include illustrations (e.g., diagrams, tables, equations, etc.) where applicable. You are allowed to sketch your illustrations by hand on a clean sheet of white paper and upload their images into your answers. 5) Locate your illustrations near their explanation (not in the Appendix) for easier reference by the reader. Make sure that all illustrations are properly labelled. 6) Footnotes and Appendices should not be used, unless necessary. Any material in the Appendices will not be graded. 7) You are not required to include any in-text citations or references. |
Assignment Instructions (read carefully)
There are three separate questions below. Answer each question in the form of an essay that consists of several short paragraphs of proper sentences. Brief answers in ‘point form’ or ‘bullet form’ are not acceptable. Make sure that you number your answer to each question accordingly and clearly.
Each of these questions tests the economic principles, concepts, or models from the ECW1101 syllabus of Weeks 1 to 3. By the date of submission, you should have watched the associated lecture videos and gone through the interactive e-learning modules in Moodle. Use what you have learned from these resources, together with what was discussed in your tutorial classes from Weeks 2 to 4, to answer the questions below. Recall that, at this stage in the syllabus, you should assume that all markets are free and competitive, and that there is no international trade.
Illustrate with diagrams or calculations, where appropriate, to clarify your analyses. Make sure that your diagrams are properly labelled. Marks will not be awarded for diagrams that are not correctly or completely labelled.
QUESTION 1 (5 marks)
Labour hours needed to make 1 unit of: | ||
Good x | Good y | |
Adam | 2 | 6 |
Betty | 1 | 4 |
Both Adam and Betty are the only producers in the country of Gardenia, and they are required to work 48 hours per week. Assuming that only labour is needed to produce each good, and that Adam and Betty can switch between the production of goods x and y at a constant rate without losing any time, answer the following questions:
a)Sketch the weekly PPF for the country of Gardenia (no explanation needed), with the quantity of good y represented on the vertical axis. This diagram should large enough to show the details clearly. Make sure to label the diagram completely. (1.5 marks)
b)Who has a comparative advantage in the production of good y? Briefly explain your reasoning. (1 mark)
c)Now, suppose that Adam has just completed a training course that doubled his productivity in terms of good x alone (i.e. he can now produce twice the quantity of good x per hour, ceteris paribus). Would this change your answer to part (a) and part (b) above? Explain your answer. (2.5 marks)
(Recommended word count = 350 ± 10% )
QUESTION 2 (5 marks)
A food-stall owner at a certain university cafeteria bakes kaya buns every morning in his home-kitchen before transporting them to the cafeteria to sell for RM3.50 each, from 9:00 am until 2:30 pm every day. This stall-owner does not sell day-old buns, so all unsold buns are donated to orphanages at 2:30 pm each day. The cost of producing a kaya bun is RM1.10; there are no costs associated with donating the buns. Suppose that the stall-owner has 8 buns left unsold at 2:30 pm on a particular day, and is considering two alternatives: Either (Option A) Lower the price of a kaya bun, but not below RM1.10 each, or (Option B) Lower the price of a kaya bun even if the price falls below RM1.10 each. What should the stall-owner do? Clearly explain your answer with reference to a principle of economics.
(Recommended word count = 300 ± 10%, excluding diagrams
