Senior: 11 & 12: Unit 3: Australia's Free Trade Agreements

Please note that Trade data is available on Highlands / All Summative Assessment / S IA2 Research Assignment - Economic Report.

Please also note that you need a balanced variety of sources for your assignment, so be sure to include information obtained from websites, database articles, Economics text books, as well as any suitable Library books.

Aims
To help you understand the basics of the economics relevant to the problem or issue.

To help you find and understand the relevant economic theory, content and terminology related to the problem or issue.

1.1 Class Textbook (hard copy)
Consult your own textbook: Doug Cave and others, Economics for the Real World Unit 4, 4th ed.

• See Contents page for relevant chapters
• See Index at back of text
• See Glossary of Economic Terms

1.2 Other Economics Textbooks and Booklets (hard copy)
Tim Dixon and John O'Mahony, Australia in the Global Economy, 2018

• See Contents page for relevant chapters
• See Index at back of text
• See Library catalogue for Library copies

1.3 Economics Dictionaries (hard copy and digital)
      Use a variety of dictionaries for KEY terms and concepts.

• John Becroft, Australian Economics Dictionary, 2017
• Oxford Dictionary of Economics, 2017
• ebook The Routledge Dictionary of Economics (use your student number as BOTH username AND password).

1.4 Economics Newsletters
See Plain English Economics Newsletters on Highlands -  2018 and 2019

See also AES Student Bulletin for 2018 and 2019 series (introductory and advanced)

Reserve Bank Bulletin

• See Reserve Bank website

1.5 Key Economic Organisations

KEY ORGANISATIONS

1. Use 'Ctrl F' (Control + Find) to search for particular terms easily in a long document, whether from a website or a database article.

2.  Use a Boolean command - put double inverted commas around phrases to limit and improve your results eg "energy drinks cardiovascular problems children". 

3. Use a Google domain command eg site:edu OR site:gov to limit results to a CERTAIN DOMAIN such as education or government eg biodiesel site:edu

4. Use a Google command to limit results to the MOST RECENT: After you get your results, choose the Google Menu Bar, and choose 'Tools'. Then on the far left, at the drop-down menu next to 'Any Time', you can choose 'Within the last year' (or less, if you prefer), but generally, you can choose 'Custom Range' at the bottom, as often the last 3 years would be sufficient for a recent search.

Aims:
To help you source more up-to-date economic information and real world examples

To help you provide historical and/or up-to-date quantitative (statistical) evidence and qualitative evidence as support for your economic arguments.

2.1 Media, Newspapers, TV Programs and News Clips (mainly electronic)
Look for newspaper and journal articles from The Australian, The Courier-Mail and the Sydney Morning Herald in the recommended databases like Australia New Zealand Reference Centre.

SEE THE BOX ON THE RIGHT WITH NEWSPAPER LINKS

2.2 Statistical Sources (mostly web-based)

Reserve Bank of Australia (Chart Pack)

Trading Economics

ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural, Resource Economics and Science)

The World Factbook

SEE ALSO the Library Databases.

 2.3  Government Departments, Statutory Authorities, Regulatory Agencies and Public Corporations (web-based)
Australian Government entry point

Austrade
Try this link: Austrade Export Markets and Countries 

ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics and Science).

RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia Chart Pack)

Department of Employment

PC (Productivity Commission)

SEE ALSO the Library Databases.

2.4 International Organisations / Forums (web-based)
WTO (World Trade Organisation)

World Bank

IMF (International Monetary Fund)

World Economic Forum

Global Education: Country Profiles

Office of the United States Trade Representative - Country Profiles

CIA World Factbook

World Bank Countries

US Department of State: Countries Background Notes

• Productivity Commission: Trade and assistance review 2019-2020 

General

• Wiley Online Library: Impacts of Australia’s free trade agreements on trade in agricultural products: an aggregativeand disaggregative analysis

• Vittana.org: 12 pros and cons of free trade agreements
• Economic diplomacy brief: TPP post-Trump, China backs coal, Austrade shake-up (2017 article after TPP with discussion of what RCEP was aiming for)

Benefits
Free trade agreements give Australian businesses and consumers improved access to a wider range of competitively priced goods and services, new technologies, and innovative practices. Free trade agreements help Australia obtain more benefits from foreign investment.

• DFAT: The benefits of free trade agreements
• DFAT: Free trade agreements help provide new opportunities for Australian businesses
• Business.gov: Business benefits of FTAs
• Industry.gov: Growing Australian industries through trade

Disadvantages
Free-trade policies have not been as popular with the general public. The key issues include unfair competition from countries where lower labour costs allow price-cutting and a loss of good-paying jobs to manufacturers abroad

• News Weekly: Free trade agreements of doubtful use - trade review 
• The Guardian: Action on free trade agreements
• The Guardian: Labor headed for a showdown over free trade agreements
• Export demand on rise, but weather still a worry

The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Library can be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.

To read the day's paper, scroll right to the bottom of the page, to 'Today's paper' 

DFAT - you can access these tabs:

• Trade and Investment (main access for information)
• Countries and Regions
• International Relations​

Try these links: 
DFAT Fact Sheets for Countries and Regions

DFAT Trade and Investment

DFAT Countries, Economies and Regions

THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL SITE TO VISIT!