VCE Economics past exams 2016–2025, by year and topic

The rest of the study design

Question-level mapping for these areas is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

• An introduction to microeconomics: the market system, resource allocation and government intervention (Unit 3, AoS 1) — Relative scarcity: needs, wants, resources and opportunity cost · Nature and conditions of a perfectly competitive market · Law of demand and the demand curve, movements along vs shifts of the curve · Law of supply and the supply curve, movements along vs shifts of the curve · Price elasticity of demand and supply and their determinants · Market equilibrium and how prices/quantities adjust to changes in demand and supply · Resource allocation via the price mechanism (rationing, signalling, incentive functions) · Productive, allocative and dynamic efficiency · Market failure (externalities, public goods, information failure, common access resources) · Government intervention: taxes, subsidies, regulation, and price controls, and their effect on efficiency
• Domestic macroeconomic goals (Unit 3, AoS 2) — Strong and sustainable economic growth as a domestic macroeconomic goal · Low inflation / price stability as a domestic macroeconomic goal · Full employment as a domestic macroeconomic goal · Measuring living standards: material and non-material living standards, GDP and its limitations · Factors influencing aggregate demand and aggregate supply · Business cycle phases and their effect on macroeconomic goals and living standards · Equity in the distribution of income
• Australia and the international economy (Unit 3, AoS 3) — Reasons for and benefits of international trade · The balance of payments: current account and capital and financial account · Exchange rate determination (floating exchange rate) and factors affecting the AUD · Effects of exchange rate movements on the domestic economy · Australia's terms of trade and international competitiveness · Trends in globalisation and trade agreements
• Aggregate demand policies and domestic economic stability (Unit 4, AoS 1) — Aggregate demand and the factors affecting its components (consumption, investment, government spending, net exports) · Budgetary/fiscal policy: instruments, budget outcomes, automatic stabilisers, strengths and limitations · Monetary policy: the RBA's cash rate target, transmission mechanisms, strengths and limitations · The policy mix and coordination of fiscal and monetary policy · Evaluating the effectiveness of aggregate demand policies in achieving domestic macroeconomic goals and improving living standards
• Aggregate supply policies (Unit 4, AoS 2) — Aggregate supply and factors affecting the economy's productive capacity · Market-based (microeconomic reform) policies: deregulation, privatisation, competition policy, trade liberalisation · Interventionist (direct/collective) aggregate supply policies: education and training, infrastructure, industry assistance, environmental management · Effects of aggregate supply policies on incentives, efficiency and competitiveness · Evaluating aggregate supply policies against domestic macroeconomic goals