Ekonomie 144 (Economics 144) Study Guide

Ekonomie 144 (Economics 144) typically builds the bridge between intermediate economic theory and applied economic reasoning: you learn to interpret data and policy, connect models to real-world markets, and communicate economic arguments with technical clarity. This study guide is designed for students in South Africa and focuses on how Economics 144–type topics are often assessed in local universities and similar qualification pathways (including TVET articulation where relevant). It also emphasizes exam readiness: understanding definitions, mastering diagrams and calculations, and practicing common question styles.

Throughout, the guide supports Stellenbosch University (SU) Economics Course Notes style of preparation—clear structure, rigorous logic, and repeated practice of core skills (graphing, explaining causal mechanisms, and interpreting results).

1) Ekonomie 144: Course Orientation, Core Skills, and Exam-Style Preparation

What “Economics 144” Usually Tests

Although course titles can differ slightly across South African institutions, a typical Ekonomie 144 / Economics 144 module assessment focuses on several recurring competencies:

• Microeconomic foundations and market outcomes
  • Demand and supply analysis
  • Elasticity and welfare effects
  • Market structures (often at a conceptual level)
• Macroeconomic reasoning with policy implications
  • Inflation, unemployment, growth (sometimes via aggregate demand/supply)
  • Monetary and fiscal policy trade-offs
• Applied interpretation
  • Using economic models to explain outcomes in contexts like labour markets, taxation, inflation dynamics, and trade
• Quantitative work
  • Graphs and diagrams with correct reasoning
  • Computations involving elasticity, tax incidence, multipliers, or model parameters (depending on your curriculum)

In an exam, you’re usually rewarded for the following:

1. Correct set-up (state assumptions, identify what is being asked)
2. Correct method (diagram, calculation, or economic argument)
3. Correct interpretation (tie results back to welfare, efficiency, or policy implications)
4. Clear communication (economics uses precise language—don’t say “because it looks right”)

Exam Skill: Translating Questions Into Models

A major part of success in Ekonomie 144 is learning to “translate” what the examiner wants into a model. For example:

• If a question asks: “Explain the effect of a VAT increase on consumer prices.”
  • You translate it into tax incidence and price transmission, using supply/demand and possibly elasticity.
• If a question asks: “Discuss the welfare effects of a price ceiling.”
  • You translate it into a shortage, deadweight loss, and redistribution across consumers/producers.
• If a question asks: “Evaluate whether expansionary fiscal policy will raise inflation.”
  • You translate it into aggregate demand, capacity constraints, and the credibility/response of monetary policy.

A key rule for exam performance: write the mechanism. Even when the direction of the effect is obvious, marks often depend on the mechanism (e.g., elasticity determines how burdens split between consumers and firms).

South African Context: Interpreting Data and Policy

South African students often encounter policy scenarios linked to:

• tax policy (VAT, excise duties, corporate tax)
• labour market institutions and unemployment
• energy constraints (affecting production costs and supply)
• exchange rate volatility (affecting imported inflation and trade competitiveness)
• structural constraints and inequality (affecting welfare analysis)

In exam answers, it helps to mention the economic channel without over-claiming. For instance:

• “Higher energy costs reduce firms’ supply, shifting supply left and raising prices” is a mechanism-focused statement.
• “South Africa’s inflation is entirely due to energy” is usually too absolute unless the course explicitly supports it with evidence.

Core Graphing Checklist (High-Impact Marks)

Many students lose marks due to graph errors, even when the economic idea is right. Use this checklist:

• Axes labeled (e.g., Price P and Quantity Q)
• Correct curve shapes (downward sloping demand, upward sloping supply)
• Correct direction of shifts (increased supply → right shift; increased demand → right shift)
• Label equilibrium points with clear notation
• For welfare questions:
  • Mark consumer surplus and producer surplus properly
  • Show deadweight loss triangle clearly
  • Identify redistribution (who gains, who loses)

Quantitative Preparation: Common Calculation Types

Depending on your exact Ekonomie 144 curriculum, you might practice:

• Elasticity
  • Point elasticity vs. arc elasticity
  • Percentage-change logic
• Tax incidence
  • How tax changes price for buyers and sellers
• Welfare
  • Changes in surplus due to tariffs/taxes/quotas
• Macroeconomic policy
  • Simple multipliers (if taught)
  • Aggregate demand shifts and output effects
  • Inflation/unemployment relationships (if your module includes them)

If you’re unsure what to prioritize, focus on learning the most reusable calculation frameworks: elasticity, tax incidence, and surplus computation—because these underpin many later questions.

Studying Like an Economics 144 Exam Candidate

An effective routine for a 2–4 week exam block:

1. Concept pass (days 1–5)
   • Write definitions from memory: elasticity, surplus, incidence, welfare loss, etc.
2. Diagram pass (days 6–10)
   • Redraw typical diagrams 30–50 times (not kidding—speed matters)
3. Problem pass (days 11–15)
   • Solve at least 3–5 full quantitative questions
4. Answer-writing pass (days 16–20)
   • Practice full exam responses under time pressure
5. Error log (ongoing)
   • Each time you lose a mark, record why:
     • missing label
     • wrong direction of shift
     • confusion between incidence and incidence magnitude
     • unclear explanation

The payoff is dramatic: you start seeing your repeated errors and removing them.

2) Microeconomics Deep Dive: Demand, Supply, Elasticity, and Welfare in Ekonomie 144

Demand and Supply: More Than Curves

In many Ekonomie 144 exams, students treat supply/demand as mere curves. The course expectation is deeper: you must understand what a curve represents and what causes movement vs. shifting.

Movements Along Curves vs Shifts of Curves

• A movement along the demand curve occurs due to a change in price of the good.
• A shift of the demand curve occurs due to a change in determinants other than price:
  • income
  • tastes/preferences
  • prices of substitutes/complements
  • expectations
  • number of buyers

Similarly for supply:

• Movement along supply: caused by a change in price.
• Shift of supply: caused by:
  • input costs
  • technology
  • taxes/subsidies on producers
  • expectations
  • number of sellers
  • productivity/constraints

Exam tip: When a question mentions something like “due to rising input costs” or “due to lower unemployment benefits,” you must identify shift vs movement.

Elasticity: The Mechanism Behind Tax and Welfare Outcomes

Elasticity measures responsiveness. It often determines:

• how much prices change after taxes/subsidies
• how welfare changes (deadweight loss size)
• how total spending changes when prices change

Price Elasticity of Demand (PED)

PED concept:

• Elastic demand: consumers react strongly to price changes.
• Inelastic demand: consumers react weakly.

Common exam interpretations:

• If demand is inelastic, a tax burden falls more on consumers (buyers).
• If demand is elastic, consumers can avoid the tax via substitutes, so the tax burden shifts toward producers.

Mathematically (if your course includes formula):

• Point elasticity: [
  E_d = \frac{dQ}{dP}\cdot\frac{P}{Q}
  ]
• Arc elasticity (between two points): [
  E_d = \frac{\Delta Q/Q_{avg}}{\Delta P/P_{avg}}
  ]

Worked Mini-Example (Elasticity Logic)

Suppose price rises from 100 to 110 (10% increase), quantity demanded falls from 20 to 18 (10% decrease).

• Elasticity magnitude:
  • [
    E_d = \frac{-10%}{10%} = -1
    ]
• Demand is unit elastic (|E| = 1).

In an exam answer, even if you don’t compute exact elasticity, you must state the direction and consequence: unit elastic implies welfare losses and incidence are “balanced” relative to extreme elasticities.

Consumer Surplus, Producer Surplus, and Deadweight Loss

A large share of Economics 144-type questions revolve around welfare.

Definitions

• Consumer surplus (CS): the difference between what consumers are willing to pay (demand curve) and what they actually pay (market price).
• Producer surplus (PS): the difference between what producers receive (market price) and the minimum they are willing to accept (supply curve).
• Deadweight loss (DWL): efficiency loss from the reduction in mutually beneficial transactions (often due to taxes, quotas, price ceilings/floors).

Why Taxes Create Deadweight Loss

A tax increases the wedge between price buyers pay and price sellers receive:

• buyers pay P_b
• sellers receive P_s
• tax is T = P_b − P_s

Quantity traded falls from Q* to Q_tax. The lost surplus between those who could have traded is deadweight loss.

Exam structure for welfare questions:

1. Identify market and policy instrument
2. Explain effect on equilibrium quantity
3. Compute or describe changes in CS and PS
4. Identify redistribution and DWL

Tax Incidence: Who Pays the Tax?

A classic misconception: “the tax is paid by consumers or producers depending on who the government collects it from.” Correct economics:

• Incidence depends on elasticities, not collection responsibility.
• If demand is more inelastic than supply → consumers bear more burden.
• If supply is more inelastic than demand → producers bear more burden.

Diagram Template for Tax Incidence

You typically draw:

1. original demand (D) and supply (S)
2. impose tax:
   • shift supply upwards by tax amount (or demand downwards)
3. show new equilibrium:
   • buyers face higher price P_b
   • sellers receive lower price P_s
4. show tax wedge and label Q_tax

Welfare effects:

• consumer surplus declines
• producer surplus declines
• government revenue equals tax per unit × quantity
• deadweight loss triangle forms from reduced quantity

Price Controls: Ceilings and Floors

Price ceilings (like rent controls) and floors (minimum wage) are often asked as conceptual policy questions.

Price Ceiling (e.g., below equilibrium)

• Results: shortage (Q_d > Q_s)
• Efficiency: reduced transactions can lead to deadweight loss
• Distribution: who gains/loses depends on elasticity and rationing mechanism
• Non-price rationing:
  • queueing
  • waiting times
  • informal payments (in some interpretations)
  • quality deterioration

A strong exam answer includes both:

• the immediate mechanical effect (quantity reduction)
• the secondary effects (rationing, quality, incentives)

Price Floor (e.g., above equilibrium)

• Results: surplus (Q_s > Q_d)
• Government intervention might buy surplus (if required by policy)
• Efficiency: deadweight loss
• Distribution: producers gain above-market price, consumers lose

Quotas and International Trade Instruments (Often Included)

If your Ekonomie 144 syllabus includes tariffs/import quotas, expect:

• tariff creates an effective price wedge for domestic consumers
• domestic output rises; domestic consumption falls
• government collects revenue from tariff per unit × quantity imported
• deadweight loss arises from reduced trade and distorted consumption/production

Similarly, quotas can mimic tariffs with different distribution:

• tariff revenue goes to government (in many standard models)
• quota rent often goes to license holders/foreign exporters (depending on implementation)

A top answer compares tariff vs quota outcomes, emphasizing welfare and who receives the transfer.

Bringing It Together: Welfare Reasoning Framework

A general structure for micro welfare exam responses:

1. Market change: identify shift/price wedge
2. Quantity response: explain movement to new quantity
3. Surplus changes: CS and PS effects
4. Government revenue: if applicable
5. DWL: show and explain efficiency loss
6. Policy implication: relate to equity vs efficiency

For example:

• “A tax reduces output and creates deadweight loss; however, it raises government revenue that can finance public goods, partially offsetting welfare considerations depending on how revenue is used.”

That last sentence is important: welfare is not only “total surplus,” but a policy evaluation might include externalities, public spending, and distribution.

3) Labour Markets, Unemployment, and Policy Evaluation (with South African Relevance)

Labour Market Basics: Supply, Demand, and Institutions

Ekonomie 144 modules that cover labour markets usually emphasize that labour markets differ from standard commodity markets due to:

• contracts and wage bargaining
• search frictions (matching workers to jobs)
• minimum wages or collective bargaining
• unemployment benefits and social protection
• regulatory constraints (employment protection, hiring costs)

Even when you use supply/demand diagrams, you must state how institutions modify outcomes.

Minimum Wages: Efficiency vs Equity

Minimum wage questions are common because they connect micro theory to public debate.

Standard Competitive Model Results

Assume a minimum wage set above equilibrium:

• labour quantity demanded falls
• labour quantity supplied rises
• unemployment occurs

But exams often ask you to evaluate:

• will unemployment necessarily increase?
• what about productivity effects or reduced turnover?

A strong exam answer includes:

• the baseline model predicts unemployment (quantity mismatch)
• but real-world factors can soften effects:
  • informal sector may absorb some labour
  • firms might adjust hours instead of workers
  • productivity might rise if retention increases
  • enforcement capacity matters (especially relevant in real policy)

Unemployment: Voluntary vs Involuntary in Intro Exams

If your course includes labour market friction logic:

• Voluntary unemployment: people choose not to work at the going wage.
• Involuntary unemployment: people want to work at that wage but cannot find jobs.

If unemployment is explained via search and matching (sometimes taught later), you can discuss:

• higher unemployment benefits can increase search time
• job search assistance can reduce frictional unemployment
• training can shift the effective labour supply quality

However, Ekonomie 144 likely stays within a general framework:

• identify reasons for unemployment
• explain policy instruments and trade-offs

Wage Rigidity and Bargaining

A common conceptual point:

• wages may not fall easily due to contracts, bargaining norms, or efficiency wages.

This affects adjustment during recessions:

• instead of wages declining, employment adjusts through layoffs
• leads to persistent unemployment

Exam answers should show:

• recession reduces demand for labour
• if wages are sticky downward, firms cannot restore equilibrium via wage cuts
• unemployment results until conditions improve or policy intervenes

Skills, Human Capital, and Education Policy

Labour market outcomes depend on skills. If your module includes human capital, you may be expected to explain:

• education raises productivity
• higher productivity increases labour demand for skilled workers
• education can reduce structural unemployment

A detailed exam answer distinguishes:

• short-run effects: training takes time; graduates enter gradually
• long-run effects: productivity and matching improve

Example of Exam-Style Policy Evaluation

Question type: “Critically discuss whether expanding TVET colleges reduces unemployment.”

A good structure:

1. Define unemployment type (especially structural)
2. Explain mechanism:
   • training → better skills → higher productivity → higher demand
3. Address timing:
   • short-run mismatch may remain
4. Address supply-side constraints:
   • firms must hire; demand matters
5. Mention barriers:
   • poor placement support reduces benefits
6. Conclude with balanced evaluation:
   • TVET helps primarily if labour demand can absorb skills and training is well-aligned

Labour Taxation and Employment Costs

If tax policy intersects labour demand, expect questions like:

• payroll taxes increase firm hiring costs
• reduces employment demand
• may affect wage bargaining (employees might accept lower wages if tax incidence shifts)

Key point: incidence again depends on elasticities and bargaining.

Productivity, Efficiency Wages, and Wage Premiums

Efficiency wage theory (if covered) suggests firms may pay above-market wages to increase productivity or reduce shirking.

Exam prompts might ask:

• “Explain why unemployment may persist even if wages are sticky.”

An excellent answer:

• firms have incentive to avoid wage cuts
• workers have incentive problems (shirking) if wages too low
• thus wage rigidity increases unemployment persistence

South African Labour Market Relevance (Handled Carefully)

To keep answers accurate without overstating:

• you can reference general features often discussed in South Africa: youth unemployment, informality, wage bargaining, and skills mismatch.
• you should focus on mechanisms rather than claiming exact causal certainty.

For instance:

• “Skills mismatch can create structural unemployment even when aggregate unemployment is cyclical.”
• “Informality can reduce measured unemployment but shift workers into lower productivity, lower job stability employment.”

That kind of language earns marks because it demonstrates economic reasoning and conditionality.

4) Macroeconomics Core: Output, Inflation, Policy Trade-offs, and Stabilisation Logic

Aggregate Demand and Supply: The Central Framework

When Ekonomie 144 includes macro stabilization, the core diagram is often Aggregate Demand (AD) and Aggregate Supply (AS).

How AD Shifts

AD reflects planned spending. Common determinants:

• consumption (income effects)
• investment (interest rates, expectations)
• government spending
• net exports (exchange rate, global demand)

If the exam question says “higher government spending,” AD shifts right (in the simplest model).

How AS Shifts

AS reflects production possibilities and costs. Typical determinants:

• input prices (energy, wages)
• technology
• productivity
• expectations of inflation (if the model includes it)

Exam tip: In inflation questions, ask what caused price pressures—this often determines whether AS shifts (supply shock) or AD shifts (demand shock).

Inflation: Interpreting Causes

A well-structured inflation answer often distinguishes:

1. Demand-pull inflation
   • AD rises, output may exceed potential (in the short run)
   • price level rises
2. Cost-push inflation
   • input costs rise, pushing AS left
   • price level rises while output may fall
3. Expectations and wage bargaining
   • if agents expect inflation, wages/prices adjust accordingly

A top exam answer includes:

• which of these is dominant in the scenario
• what policy instrument fits the problem

Unemployment and Output: Short Run vs Long Run

Many macro questions hinge on short-run vs long-run reasoning. Even if your course uses simplified versions, the logic matters:

• In the short run, output can deviate from potential due to sticky prices/wages.
• In the long run, the economy tends toward equilibrium output determined by real factors (technology, labour, capital).

If the question asks about long-run effects of expansionary policy:

• expansion may raise inflation
• but output may return toward potential after adjustments

Fiscal Policy: Stimulus vs Sustainability

Fiscal policy includes:

• changing government spending (G)
• changing taxes (T)
• automatic stabilizers (depending on syllabus)

Multipliers (If Taught)

If your module includes the multiplier:

• increased G increases aggregate demand by more than the initial spending if there are rounds of spending
• taxes reduce disposable income and reduce consumption, also affecting AD

In exam answers:

• show direction and reasoning
• if numbers are required, compute using the multiplier given in the question or taught in class

Crowding Out and Interest Rates (If Included)

Fiscal expansion might raise interest rates, potentially reducing private investment:

• crowding out mechanism
• effectiveness depends on economy’s conditions (e.g., slack, financial constraints)

A high-quality critique includes:

• “fiscal policy effectiveness depends on whether there is spare capacity”
• “crowding out is more likely when the economy is near full capacity and financing costs rise”

Monetary Policy: Interest Rates and Inflation Control

Monetary policy changes:

• interest rates
• money supply (depending on framework)

Transmission channels:

• interest rates affect consumption and investment
• net exports respond to exchange rate
• aggregate demand responds; inflation follows

Exam-style policy evaluation:

• “Tight monetary policy reduces AD, lowering inflation, but increases unemployment/output losses in the short run.”

Again, your job is to tie the mechanism to the direction.

Policy Trade-offs: A Framework for Critical Evaluation

When asked to “evaluate” a policy, you can use a trade-off matrix:

• Goal 1: reduce inflation
• Goal 2: minimize unemployment/output losses
• Goal 3: maintain fiscal sustainability
• Goal 4: protect vulnerable groups

Then match instruments:

• tighter monetary policy targets inflation but may worsen unemployment short run
• fiscal consolidation reduces demand but can harm growth
• targeted transfers can cushion poor households without heavily increasing demand

In many Ekonomie 144 exams, the best answers show:

• understanding the immediate effect
• acknowledging second-round effects
• stating conditionality (depends on elasticities, expectations, output gap, credibility)

Exchange Rates and Imported Inflation

In an open economy (often relevant in SA discussions), exchange rate changes can affect:

• import prices → inflation
• competitiveness → net exports
• expectations → inflation persistence

If your syllabus covers this, you might see questions like:

• “A depreciation leads to higher inflation: explain.”

Mechanism:

1. currency depreciates
2. import prices rise
3. cost of production rises (AS shift)
4. consumer prices rise

You then evaluate policy:

• monetary tightening may stabilize exchange rate and reduce inflation
• but can slow growth

Applied Scenario Writing: Turning Theory Into a Response

A useful exam technique:

• start with “If AD shifts right, prices rise; if AS shifts left, inflation rises with output losses.”
• then map the scenario to AD/AS and name the likely shock.

Example scenario pattern:

• “Fuel price increases” → cost-push (AS left)
• “Government increases infrastructure spending” → demand shift (AD right)
• “Firms expect higher inflation” → AS may shift due to wage/price expectations

Even if your course doesn’t formalize expectations, mentioning them can still show depth.

5) Consolidated Problem Sets, Diagram Practice, and High-Scoring Answer Templates (Ekonomie 144)

Diagram-First Learning: The “Five-Theme” Set

To be ready for exams, focus on a repeatable set of diagram themes. In Ekonomie 144 assessments, these themes often recur in different words:

1. Tax incidence wedge
2. Surplus and deadweight loss
3. Price ceiling shortage vs surplus under a floor
4. Minimum wage/unemployment
5. AD/AS policy shocks and inflation

For each theme, practice:

• correct axes labels
• equilibrium labeling
• direction of changes
• welfare interpretation

High-Scoring Answer Template: Micro Policy Evaluation

Use this structure when the question is long and asks “discuss/critically evaluate”:

1. State the policy and market context
   • what instrument, what market (goods or labour)
2. Identify the economic mechanism
   • shift vs movement
   • tax wedge or price control
3. Predict the direction of effects
   • price, quantity, surplus changes
4. Explain distributional effects
   • who gains/loses (consumers, producers, workers, government)
5. Assess efficiency
   • deadweight loss or distortion
6. Discuss ambiguity and conditions
   • elasticities, enforcement, expectations, labour market frictions
7. Conclude with balanced judgement
   • equity vs efficiency trade-off and relevance to welfare

High-Scoring Answer Template: Macro Stabilisation Policy Evaluation

Similarly, for macro essay questions:

1. Identify the macro problem
   • inflation, recession, unemployment
2. Diagnose the type of shock
   • demand shock vs supply shock
3. Use AD/AS (or equivalent) to predict outcomes
4. Map policy instrument to transmission mechanism
   • monetary → AD → output/inflation
   • fiscal → AD directly, possibly affecting interest rates
5. Discuss trade-offs
   • short-run costs vs long-run benefits
6. Consider credibility and expectations
   • repeated inflation expectations change AS behaviour
7. Conclude with conditions
   • effectiveness depends on slack, supply constraints, policy credibility

Worked Practice: Tax Incidence (Concept + Calculation Style)

Even if your exam includes mostly theory, practice with numbers improves confidence.

Example Scenario

• Demand and supply are such that the equilibrium quantity without tax is Q*.
• Government introduces a per-unit tax T.
• The new market quantity falls to Q_tax.
• Buyers pay a higher price P_b, sellers receive P_s.

Your answer should:

1. show that P_b − P_s = T
2. interpret how elasticities decide the split:
   • if demand is more inelastic than supply, consumers bear a larger portion of T
3. compute welfare components if asked:
   • CS change
   • PS change
   • government revenue = T × Q_tax
   • DWL = lost surplus between Q_tax and Q*

If numbers are provided in the question, you must compute exactly. If they aren’t, describe qualitatively and mention which triangle is DWL.

Worked Practice: Minimum Wage (Labour Market Diagram Style)

Example Scenario

Assume minimum wage w_min is above equilibrium wage w*.

Answer must cover:

• labour demanded falls: employment decreases from L* to L_min (qualitative if no numbers)
• labour supplied rises: workforce seeking work increases
• unemployment occurs: U = labour supply − labour demand (if your course defines it)
• distribution:
  • workers who keep jobs may benefit (w rises)
  • potential workers face difficulty entering employment

Critical evaluation:

• enforcement and informality reduce measured unemployment
• firms may adjust via:
  • reducing hours
  • substituting technology
  • hiring less skilled workers or changing training
• productivity/turnover effects could offset some costs

Worked Practice: AD/AS Policy Shock Matching

Scenario 1: Rising Input Costs (Supply Shock)

Expected results:

• AS shifts left
• price level rises
• output falls
  Policy:
• contractionary monetary policy reduces inflation but may deepen output loss
• fiscal expansion could worsen inflation if it increases AD into a constrained economy
• supply-side policies may be more appropriate: reduce production costs, improve logistics, energy supply reliability

Scenario 2: Higher Government Spending (Demand Shock)

Expected results:

• AD shifts right
• output rises in short run
• inflation rises as economy moves upward along AS
  Policy:
• monetary tightening could offset AD expansion
• fiscal policy effectiveness depends on slack capacity and crowding out

Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

1. Confusing tax incidence with tax revenue
   • incidence is burden split between buyers/sellers
   • revenue is government share, equal to T × Q_tax
2. Drawing shifts in the wrong direction
   • rising input costs → supply shifts left (upward)
   • increased demand from higher income (normal good) → demand shifts right
3. Not labeling
   • unlabeled axes and equilibria lose marks fast
4. Explaining without mechanism
   • “Because it changes incentives” is too vague; specify incentives in market terms
5. One-sided conclusions in “critically discuss”
   • balanced answers get more marks: include conditions and exceptions

A Consolidated “Ekonomie 144” Revision Checklist

Use this as a final pre-exam guide. Tick off each item:

Microeconomics

• I can explain movement along vs shift of curves
• I can define and interpret elasticity (and relate it to incidence)
• I can compute or describe consumer/producer surplus changes
• I can explain deadweight loss and why it arises
• I can analyze tax incidence qualitatively and link it to elasticities
• I can evaluate price ceilings/floors with rationing and surplus/shortage
• I can analyze labour market effects of minimum wages with unemployment logic

Macroeconomics

• I can map shocks to AD/AS (demand vs supply)
• I can explain inflation mechanisms and short-run output effects
• I can evaluate fiscal policy using transmission and trade-offs
• I can evaluate monetary policy using inflation control logic
• I can discuss open-economy inflation via exchange rates (if included)

Communication

• I can write full exam answers with structure (policy → mechanism → diagram → welfare → conclusion)
• I can produce correct diagrams quickly
• I can interpret results in words (not only calculations)

Short Practice Prompts (Write Full Answers)

These prompts reflect typical Ekonomie 144 exam question styles. When practicing, aim for full essay/paragraph structure and include diagrams if you’re allowed.

1. Elasticity and Tax Incidence
   • “A per-unit tax is introduced on a good. Explain how the incidence of the tax depends on the elasticities of demand and supply.”
2. Welfare Effects
   • “Critically discuss the welfare effects of imposing a quota on imports.”
3. Minimum Wage
   • “Discuss the likely effects of a minimum wage increase on employment and unemployment. Include relevant assumptions and possible mitigating factors.”
4. Inflation and Policy
   • “Evaluate whether monetary tightening is the best policy response to a cost-push inflation shock.”
5. Fiscal Policy Trade-offs
   • “Discuss how fiscal expansion affects output and inflation, and explain why outcomes may differ across countries and time periods.”

To get top marks, ensure each answer includes:

• at least one diagram (or detailed verbal description if diagrams are not required)
• a clear mechanism statement
• a balanced conclusion addressing trade-offs and conditions

Final Study Strategy: From Knowledge to Marks

Ekonomie 144 rewards organized thinking. The fastest route from “knowing” to “scoring” is:

1. Master diagrams and vocabulary
   • Demand, supply, incidence, surplus, deadweight loss, AD/AS
2. Practice with a timer
   • at least 2 timed sets of short answers (10–15 minutes each)
3. Grade your own work
   • check if you labeled axes, indicated shifts, explained mechanisms, and used correct welfare language
4. Rework weak spots
   • if tax incidence explanations are weak, redo incidence questions until consistent
   • if labour market answers are too simplistic, add institution and mechanism detail

With consistent practice, you build speed and precision—exactly what Ekonomie 144 exams typically require.