GRADE 12
LIST OF ESSAY: ECONOMICS 2021 – 2025 EXAMINATION GUIDELINES
MACRO-ECONOMICS (TOPIC 1 - 4)
TOPIC 1: CIRCULAR FLOW
Discuss in detail the markets within the FOUR-SECTOR model: -
- Factor markets: (labour, resource, capital) P
- Product markets: (consumer and capital goods, durable, semi- durable and non-
durable)
- Financial (monetary and capital)
- Foreign exchange market
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TOPIC 2: BUSINESS CYCLE
1. Discuss in detail 'The new economic paradigm'/Explain the 'smoothing of
cycles'
- Explain demand-side policies.
o Explain clearly how monetary and fiscal policies (expansionary and
contractionary) can be used in smoothing out business cycles
o Relate to inflation (peak) and unemployment (trough) by using the Phillips curve
- Explain supply-side policies
o Reduction in costs
o Improving efficiency in inputs
o Improving efficiency in markets
2. Discuss in detail the features underpinning forecasting:
- Indicators
o Leading
o Coincidence
o Lagging
o Composite
- Length of a cycle
- Amplitude
- The trend line
- Extrapolation
- Moving averages
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TOPIC 3: PUBLIC SECTOR
1. Discuss in detail the main objectives of the public sector in the economy
- Economic growth
- Full employment
- Exchange rate stability / Balance of Payments equilibrium –
- Price stability
- Economic equity
2. Discuss in detail the reason(s) for public sector failure (link them to typical
problems experienced through public sector provisioning)
- Management failure
- Apathy
- Lack of motivation
- Bureaucracy
- Politicians
- Structural weaknesses
- Special interest groups
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TOPIC 4: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
1. Discuss in detail the reasons for international trade
- Demand reasons:
o Size of population
o Income levels
o Change in the wealth of the population
o Preferences and taste
o The difference in consumption patterns
o Absolute and Comparative advantage
- Supply reasons:
o Natural resources
o Climatic conditions
o Labour resources
o Technological resources
o Specialisation - Capital
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MICRO- ECONOMICS (TOPIC 5 -7)
TOPIC 5: PERFECT MARKET
Discuss in detail the various equilibrium positions with the aid of graphs:
- Economic profit
- Economic loss
- Normal profit (short and long run)
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TOPIC 6: IMPERFECT MARKET
1. Discuss the monopoly in detail (with/without the aid of graphs):
2
- Concept
- Characteristics
- Economic profit
- Economic loss (short run)
- Economic profit (Long-run)
2. Examine the oligopoly in detail:
- Concept
- Characteristics
- Kinked-demand curve
3. Compare and contrast any TWO types of market structures (perfect to
imperfect/imperfect to imperfect) in detail in terms of the following.
- Number of businesses
- Nature of product
- Entrance
- Control over prices
- Information
- Examples
- Demand curve
- Economic profit/loss
- Decision-making
- Collusion
- Productive/Technical efficiency
- Allocative efficiency
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TOPIC 7: MARKET FAILURE
1. Discuss in detail how the following factors lead to the misallocation of
resources in the market:
- Externalities
- Missing markets
- Imperfect competition
- Lack of information
- Immobility of factors of production
- Imperfect distribution of income and wealth
2. Discuss in detail state intervention as a consequence of market failures, with
the aid of relevant graphs
- Direct control - Imperfect markets
- Minimum wages
- Maximum prices
- Minimum prices
- Taxes and subsidies
- Subsidies on goods and services
- Redistribution of wealth
3
- Government involvement in production
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ECONOMIC PURSUITS (TOPICS 8 =11)
TOPIC 8: PROTECTIONISM & FREE TRADE
1. Discuss in detail export promotion:
- Definition
- Methods
- Reasons/Advantages
- Disadvantages
2.Discuss in detail the arguments in favour of protectionism:
- Industrial development
- Infant industries
- Stable wage levels and high standard of living
- Increased employment
- Self-sufficiency and strategic industries
- Prevention of dumping
- Stable exchange rates and BoP
- Protection of natural resources
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TOPIC 9: ECONOMIC GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
1. Discuss in detail the demand-side approach in promoting growth and
development in South Africa
- Give an overview of the demand-side approach:
o The monetary policy (interest rate changes, open market transactions, moral
suasion)
o The fiscal policy (progressive personal income tax, wealth tax, cash benefits,
natural benefits, other redistribution, land restitution and redistribution,
subsidies on property)
2. Discuss in detail the following South African growth and development
policies and strategic initiatives
- Reconstruction and Development policy (RDP)
- Growth, Employment and Redistribution Programme (GEAR)
- National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS)
- Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA)
- Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA)
- Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
- The New Growth Path (NGP) - National Development Plan (NDP)
- Small Business Development Promotion Programme
4
- Black Economic Empowerment Programmes
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TOPIC 10: INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Discuss in detail South Africa's initiatives (endeavours) in regional
development:
- Spatial development initiatives (SDI's)
- Corridors
- Industrial Development Zones (IDZ's)
- Special Economic Zones (SEZ's
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TOPIC 11: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INDICATORS
1. Discuss in detail the following economic indicators:
- Inflation rate indicators
o Production prices (PPI)
o Consumer prices (CPI)
- Foreign trade indicators
o Terms of trade
o The exchange rate
- Employment indicators
o Economically active population (EAP)
o Employment rate
o Unemployment rate
- Productivity indicators
o Labour productivity
o Remuneration per worker
- Interest rate indicators
o Repo rate (link to other interest rates such as prime rate)
- Money supply indicators
o M1
o M2
o M3
2. Discuss in detail the following social indicators:
- Demographic indicators
o Population growth
o Life expectancy
- Nutrition and health indicators
Nutrition
o Malnutrition
o Obesity
Health
o Child mortality
o Under 5 mortality
o Spending on health
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o Access to clean water
o Access to sanitation
- Education
o Percentage public-sector spending
o Percentage enrolment in secondary schools
- Services
o Electricity
o Refuse/Garbage removal
o Water supply
o Sanitation
- Housing and urbanisation Housing
o Number of houses completed Urbanisation
o Natural growth in population
o Migration
o Founding of new towns
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CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC ISSUES (TOPICS 12 -14)
TOPIC 12: INFLATION
1. Discuss in detail the consequences of inflation under the following headings: -
- Debtors/Creditors
- Wage and salary earners
- Investors and savers
- Tax payers
- Industrial stability
- Unemployment/poverty
- Balance of payments problems
- Psychological influence
2. Discuss in detail the measures to combat demand-pull and/or cost-push
inflation
- Monetary policy
- Fiscal policy
- Other measures
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TOPIC 13: TOURISM
1. Examine in detail the effects of tourism
- GDP
- Employment
- Poverty
- Externalities
- Environment
- Investment
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2. Examine in detail the benefits of tourism
- Households
- Businesses
- State
- Infrastructure development
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TOPIC 14: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
1. Discuss in detail how the government can ensure sustainable development
under the following headings:
- Grant property rights
- Pay for environmental use
- Levy environmental tax
- Pay environmental subsidies
- Issue marketable permits
- Command and control
- Voluntary agreements
- Education
2. Discuss in detail the following problems and the international measures
taken to ensure sustainable development under the following headings:
- Biodiversity
- Chemical waste
- Hazardous waste
- Climate change policy
(Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCC], Kyoto
Protocol, Paris agreement on climate change)
- Indigenous knowledge
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