Professor Shiro Armstrong is an economist and Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy. He is Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre , Editor of the East Asia Forum , Director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and Research Associate at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at the Columbia Business School
Program Page
How can we raise living standards, reduce inequality and address climate change? How can we strengthen international cooperation, reduce global poverty and overcome the challenges of ageing populations, automation and intergenerational disadvantage?
Should we tax sugar? Should we price carbon? Should education be free? Should healthcare be universal? These are some of the questions meant to be covered in this Economic literacy for non-economists course.
This course is about teaching the frameworks used by economists to think about these problems and propose solutions. It is about learning the economic way of thinking and applying that thinking to real world challenges, from the aftermath of Covid-19 to the war on drugs and the USChina relationship.
Course overview
Topics include:
- The economic way of thinking: cost-benefit analysis, opportunity cost, thinking at the margin, incentives, correlation vs causation, sunk costs, and how not to be an economist
- Demand-supply framework to understand how markets work
- Market distortions and government policy
- Elasticities and shocks to the market
- Market failure
- International trade
- Macroeconomics and the Australian economy
- Factors influencing economic growth and productivity
- Issues in international economics
Learning outcomes:
- Understand mainstream economic theories and basic economic concepts.
- Demonstrate economic literacy in your broader advocacy, briefing and reporting responsibilities.
- Demonstrate the ability to analyse current domestic and global economic issues.
- Develop a stronger understanding of macroeconomics and microeconomics.
- Understand the Australian Government’s economic diplomacy agenda.
- Critically reflect on the key economic trends and challenges facing governments and business in the globalised world.
Who should attend?
- Anyone interested in learning more about the economic way of thinking and applying that thinking to real work challenges.
Testimonials
This course far exceeded my expectations! As a true non-economist I thought the training would be valuable but highly intimidating and/or slightly inaccessible - but I’m delighted to say only the former was accurate. Brilliant on all counts, thank you!
This is the best course I’ve done through the diplomatic academy. It was pitched at the perfect level, had a steady pace and relevant examples related to my work.
Presenter
Dr Adam Triggs
Dr Adam Triggs is the senior manager in the Canberra office of the economics consulting firm, Alphabeta, and is a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. He holds bachelors degrees in law and economics, a masters degree in international economics and a PhD in economics from the Australian National University.