Economics What can Economics give you Economics helps

Economics

What can Economics give you? • Economics helps students to understand the principles and forces that affect people in their everyday lives, in particular their roles as consumers and producers. • Giving students a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary issues facing Hong Kong and the mainland, as well as of the interdependence among regions and countries. • The study of economics is highly relevant and applicable to real-life situations.

Curriculum Microeconomics Basic Economic Concepts Firms and Production Market and Price Competition and Market Structure Efficiency, Equity and the Role of Government Monopoly Pricing, Anti-competitive Behaviours and Competition Policy Macroeconomics Measurement of Economic Performance National Income Determination and Price Level Money and Banking Macroeconomic Problems and Policies International Trade and Finance

Skills (a) interpret economic information presented in verbal, numerical or graphical form; (b) apply their economic knowledge to a variety of problems and issues in a range of economic contexts; (c) analyse information through the use of economic concepts and theories;

(d) evaluate information, arguments, proposals and policies from different economic perspectives and make informed judgements; (e) communicate economic ideas and informed judgements, in a clear, logical and appropriate form.

In early 2015, the Council on Smoking and Health urged the government to raise the tobacco tax by 100% from $38 to $76 per pack of cigarettes in the next fiscal year. However, some owners of newsstands strongly oppose this suggestion as selling cigarettes is their main source of income. (a) With the aid of a diagram, explain under what condition the total revenue of newsstands on cigarettes (including tax) will decrease because of the rise in tobacco tax. (7 marks) me (b) may encourage the selling of duty-not-paid cigarettes (未完稅 香煙). WITHOUT the aid of a diagram, explain how this will affect the price and quantity transacted of duty-not-paid cigarettes. (3 marks)

The following are some relief measures that were proposed in the 2014 -15 budget: - Increase the allowance for maintaining a dependent parent or grandparent - Reduce salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for 2013 -14 by 75%, subject to a ceiling of $10, 000 Do you think the above measures can improve equity in the Hong Kong society? Explain. (4 marks)

Although most of the cinemas increase the price of movie tickets during weekends, it is observed that there are long queues waiting outside the cinemas for buying tickets. On the other hand, empty seats are commonly found in cinemas during weekdays. “Cinemas should further raise the price of movie tickets during weekends in order to clear the long queues. ” Evaluate this proposal. (4 marks)

Assessment Part Weighting Duration Paper 1: MC Paper 2: Conventional paper 30% 70% 1 hour 2 hours and 15 minutes