ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS

MPE781/981
T3.2014 Assignment

Nature: Individual assignment.
Assignment Overview: This assignment is partly based on the attached article, “Gov’t
moves to sell Medibank Private,” by Jim McIlroy, April 9, 2014.
Please read this article carefully before attempting the questions.
You will be required to demonstrate your understanding of economic
concepts taught in the unit and relate them to the cases in the
article.
Learning Objectives: This assignment is designed to encourage you to think about the
applications of economic concepts learned in this unit to real world
scenarios.
Assessment: Based on the attached Rubric, your assignment will be graded on
your use of appropriate economic theory and concepts, clarity of
exposition and overall quality of your answers. Your answers
should follow “Guide to assignment writing and referencing”,
available at this link: http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/assets/resources/study-support/study-skills/assign-ref.pdf.
Questions: Answer all questions. Limit the total word count of your
assignment to less than 3,000 words. Depth is encouraged over
breadth: that is, it is more important that you demonstrate you
understand a concept fully, rather than talk about 3 related
concepts only cursorily. You are encouraged to provide
necessary graphs, figures and data wherever possible. Please
be careful in implementing referencing styles.
Total mark: 40 marks. Allocation as indicated next to the question. Your score
on this assignment contributes towards 40% of your final score for
this unit.
Submission: This assignment must be submitted electronically on D2L (DSO)
Dropbox area by all students by 11:59pm on the due date. No
hard copy is required. Print your name and student ID clearly on
the first page of your answers. Please check the Academic
Honesty and Misconduct section in the Unit Guide. Submitting
your answers automatically implies that you have read and
accepted the Plagiarism and Collusion Declaration, and that the
submitted answers are entirely your own work.
1
Question 1: (8 marks)
In your own words, summarize the article, “Gov’t moves to sell Medibank Private,” by Jim McIlroy, April 9, 2014.
In particular, what are the main messages of the article?
Question 2: (8 marks)
Suppose a firm, like Medibank, is government-owned.
(a) If the government’s objective is to maximize welfare, what would be the price charged by this firm?
What would be the consumer surplus, producer surplus and total surplus?
(b) If the government imposes a buyer’s tax (a specific tax), what would be the changes in
consumer surplus, producer surplus and total surplus?
Question 3: (8 marks)
After privatization, the firm becomes private-owned. Suppose this firm has a monopoly power.
(a) If the firm’s objective is to maximize profits, what would be the price charged?
(b) If the firm’s objective is to maximize revenue, what would be price charged?
Question 4: (8 marks)
Why did the Australian Government like to privatize Medibank?
Is the market-based healthcare system superior to the government-provided healthcare system? Why or why not?
Question 5: (8 marks)
Find healthcare policies for at least two countries or economies, and do an in-depth comparative review on their policies.
Provide your views or suggestions on the best healthcare policies that could be considered or used in Australia

By admin in Essays on October 30, 2015