ECON20024  The Economics of the Asia Pacific

The study course is designed so that students, through undertaking case studies on particular countries within the selected group of fourteen will provide an update of the economic performance of that particular country and any changes in its economic relationships with other countries or grouping of countries in the Asia Pacific Region.

This study course was designed to service the following objectives:

• To explain the nature of the key macroeconomic variables, the principles of the determination of national income or output, and, the measurement of economic growth and development emphasising the role of international trace in that process;
• To identify cultural, social, institutional and political factors that account for differences in economic performance between nations and through time with particular emphasis on a selection of nations in the Asia Pacific Region;
• Using the most recent, authoritatively sourced, economic performance statistics, to compare the performance of this group of economies, and to classify them into sub-groups exhibiting similarities in terms of stage of development and the adoption of strategic planning approaches;
• To examine the roles of strategic trade alliances, savings, domestic investment, deregulation, national planning and policy, foreign investment and international aid in facilitating the economic development process in each of these economies with a view to isolating key success or retarding factors;
• To document unique aspects common to the Northeast Asian (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, Vietnam) recent rapid growth achievements and to explore the relationship between (i) the investment in human resources and (ii) technological innovation/advancement and economic growth and productivity improvement;
• To explain the concepts of regionalism, globalisation or international economic pluralism, economic integration, multi-lateralism, economic unions, trading blocks and the free trade areas;
• To analyse Australia’s future economic prospects in the Asia Pacific Region and explain the meaning of ‘getting the economic fundamentals right’ in this dynamic economic development environment;
• To explore the advantages and drawbacks of Australia in terms of its ability to become accepted as a partner within this emerging economic superpower grouping of nations.