BUSS1040: pass the exams, not just read the notes
Your complete guide to University of Sydney's economics for business decision making unit. See where the marks are, work real practice questions, and study with an AI tutor that knows BUSS1040.
Sia generates BUSS1040 practice questions, walks through monopoly and strategic interaction step by step, and quizzes you on the material the exam weights most heavily.
Worked example
A single-price monopolist faces demand P = 120 − 2Q and has total cost TC = 60 + 12Q + Q² (so MC = 12 + 2Q). What price maximises profit?
For linear demand P = a − bQ, marginal revenue has the same intercept and twice the slope: MR = 120 − 4Q.
Read the price off the demand curve at Qm = 18: P = 120 − 2(18) = 120 − 36 = 84.
So the profit-maximising price is P = 84 (option index 2).
The trap: Setting P = MC (the competitive rule) gives 120 − 2Q = 12 + 2Q, so Q = 27 and P = 66. That is the efficient, zero-deadweight-loss outcome, not the monopolist's choice. A monopolist sets MR = MC, not P = MC, and prices above marginal cost. classic slip!
One exam decides 60% of your grade. Covers Topics 1 to 12, with roughly 80% weighted to Topics 6 to 12. This whole page is built around that.
Overview
What BUSS1040 is, and where it sits
BUSS1040 is the University of Sydney Business School's first-year economics gateway: a 6-credit-point unit that builds one microeconomic toolkit (scarcity and opportunity cost, demand and supply, surplus and welfare, elasticity, the four market structures, game theory, taxes and externalities) and then adds a macroeconomic tail (GDP, unemployment and inflation, and stabilisation policy) that the pure-micro siblings do not cover. The framing is business decision-making throughout: pricing, production, strategy and the wider economic environment.
The split is roughly 75% microeconomics across Topics 1 to 9 and 25% macroeconomics across Topics 10 to 12. The micro half runs on linear demand and supply equations, cost-curve algebra and graphical reasoning at an introductory level, so the working is Unicode-friendly rather than heavy calculus. The macro tail brings the expenditure approach to GDP, the GDP deflator, the unemployment rate and Okun's law, and the Keynesian-cross multiplier and output-gap policy, none of which the micro-only units examine.
It sits as the assumed-knowledge foundation for Finance and Banking majors and for most commerce decision-making units. BUSS1040 and ECON1001 occupy the same slot and are a prohibited combination: you take one or the other, not both for credit.
Official outline: sydney.edu.au · BUSS1040 outline. Always treat the official outline and the exam timetable as authoritative.
Difficulty & time commitment
Is BUSS1040 hard, and how much time does it take?
BUSS1040 is manageable if you keep a weekly rhythm and treat the back half as the main event. Across student reviews the pattern is consistent: it starts gently and steepens, and the heaviest assessment is the part that separates grades.
A read across student reviews and course feedback. See what students say ↓
The difficulty curve and the assessment weighting point the same way: the back half is harder and worth more. Front-loading effort there is the highest-return decision in the unit.
Is this unit for you
Who tends to do well, and who tends to struggle
You will likely do well if
- You are comfortable with HSC Mathematics Advanced-level algebra: rearranging linear equations, solving two equations simultaneously and reading slopes off a graph.
- You redraw the core diagrams (demand and supply, cost curves, monopoly MR = MC, the tax wedge, externality SMC against demand) from a blank set of axes until they are automatic.
- You do the weekly tutorial problems by hand and self-mark before the tutorial rather than only watching solutions.
- You keep up with the macro tail (GDP and the deflator, the unemployment rate, the PAE multiplier and output gaps), because it has no ECON1001 equivalent and still appears on the final.
You may struggle if
- You assume an HSC economics background covers it; the algebra and graphical rigour go further and the false confidence shows up in the mid-semester exam.
- You leave Topics 6 to 12 (monopoly, game theory, taxes, externalities and the whole macro module) to cram, even though the final weights roughly 80% to that block.
- You memorise formulas instead of being able to re-derive them, such as MR = a − 2bQ or the DWL triangle, under in-person exam pressure.
- You treat the online quizzes as the main event; together they are only 12% while the two in-person written exams are 85% of the grade.
- Master the Topics 1 to 5 toolkit early so the heavier post-midsem material has a foundation to stand on.
- Re-derive every formula (MR = a − 2bQ, MC cutting AVC and ATC at their minima, point elasticity, the DWL triangle, the expenditure multiplier) rather than memorising it.
- Drill the real practice finals timed: the MCQs can reappear as multi-part short-answer problems, so practise the full working, not just picking a letter.
- Keep one page of diagrams and formulas covering both the micro half and the macro tail, and rehearse reproducing each graph and each multiplier calculation from scratch.
Syllabus
The 12 topics, week by week
The exam-weight marker on each topic shows where the marks concentrate. The amber topics carry the highest exam weight.
Microeconomics · T1 to T9 ~75% of the unit
T1 · Key concepts and gains from trade
NW Ch 1 & 4Scarcity and opportunity cost, the production possibilities frontier, absolute versus comparative advantage, and the terms-of-trade range at which both parties gain.
T2 · Firm behaviour: production and costs
NW Ch 7Short-run cost curves (TC, FC, VC, MC, AFC, AVC, ATC), MC from a quadratic TC, and why MC cuts AVC and ATC at their minimum points.
T3 · Supply and demand
NW Ch 6 & 8Building market curves by horizontal summation of individual curves, watching for kinks, and distinguishing movements along a curve from shifts.
T4 · Market equilibrium, welfare and elasticity
NW Ch 9 & 10Equilibrium and total surplus, consumer and producer surplus as triangles, and price, cross-price and income elasticity by the point and arc methods.
T5 · Perfect competition
NW Ch 11 & 12The price-taking firm and the P = MC rule, the shut-down (P < AVC) versus exit (P < ATC) decisions, and long-run zero economic profit.
T6 · Monopoly and price discrimination
NW Ch 13Price-making with MR = a − 2bQ, MR = MC then reading the price off demand, monopoly deadweight loss, two-part tariffs and first, second and third-degree price discrimination.
T7 · Strategic interaction and business strategy I
NW Ch 3, 5 & 15Simultaneous games, payoff matrices, dominant strategies, Nash equilibrium and the prisoner's dilemma.
T8 · Strategic interaction and business strategy II
NW Ch 3, 5 & 15Sequential games, backward induction and subgame-perfect equilibrium, credible versus incredible threats, Cournot oligopoly and repeated games.
T9 · Market interventions and market failures
NW Ch 16, 17 & 18Price ceilings and floors, tax and subsidy incidence and DWL, externalities and the Pigouvian tax, public goods by vertical summation and tradeable pollution permits.
Macroeconomics · T10 to T12 ~25% of the unit
T10 · GDP and business cycles
Bernanke 1.2 to 1.3, 7.1 to 7.11The expenditure approach to GDP (C + I + G + NX), what counts and what does not, real versus nominal GDP and the GDP deflator.
T11 · Unemployment and inflation
Bernanke 1.4, 3.3, 4.2, 9.2The labour force and the unemployment rate, frictional, structural and cyclical unemployment, the natural rate and Okun's law, and CPI and inflation.
T12 · Stabilisation policies
Bernanke 10.1 to 10.5 + Ch 10 AppendixPlanned aggregate expenditure and the Keynesian cross, the expenditure multiplier, output gaps, and fiscal versus monetary policy including the RBA cash rate.
How it's assessed
Assessment structure
| Component | Weight | Format & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Early feedback quiz | 3% | Short Canvas quiz to calibrate where you stand. Due Friday of Week 3, 11:59pm; feedback returned Week 4. Low stakes, no hurdle. |
| Online quizzes (4) | 12% | On Canvas, 4% each. Due Fridays of Weeks 6, 9, 11 and 13 (dates subject to change). Best 3 of 4 count, so the single weakest quiz is dropped. |
| Mid-semester exam | 25% | In-person written, 60 min: 20 MCQ (20 marks) + 1 short-answer (5 marks) = 25 marks; uni-approved bilingual dictionary, non-programmable calculator and pen permitted. Week 7 (held in-semester; date and time subject to change). Covers Week 1 to 5 lecture material only. |
| Final exam | 60% | In-person written, 120 min + 10 min reading: Part A = 20 MCQ (30 marks), Part B = 3 multi-part short-answer questions (30 marks); handheld calculator and pen permitted. Formal exam period. Covers Topics 1 to 12, with roughly 80% weighted to Topics 6 to 12. |
- Pass on a weighted average of at least 50%. No single-component hurdle is stated in the unit materials reviewed.
- Final exam: 20 MCQ (30 marks) plus 3 multi-part short-answer questions (30 marks). The MCQs can reappear as parts of the short-answer problems, so the full working matters, not just the chosen option.
- Calculator policy: Mid-semester exam: non-programmable calculator. Final exam: handheld calculator. Pen or pencil permitted in both.
This is an exam-cram unit. With the exams at 85% of the grade and the final exam alone at 60%, your result is overwhelmingly decided by how well you perform under time pressure. Covers Topics 1 to 12, with roughly 80% weighted to Topics 6 to 12.
Final exam timing: approx 17 Nov 2026 (S2 offering, confirm against the official exam timetable). Confirm the exact date and venue on the official exam timetable.
How to actually pass it
A weekly rhythm, two checklists, and the traps to avoid
The unit rewards consistency over cramming, and practice over re-reading. Here is the loop that works, then what to have nailed before each exam.
The weekly loop
Before the mid-semester checklist
- Drill the pre-midsem topics (gains from trade, cost curves, supply and demand, equilibrium and elasticity, perfect competition) under 60-minute closed-conditions with only a non-programmable calculator.
- Practise the MC versus AVC versus ATC geometry and the shut-down and exit rules until they are instant.
- Rehearse point and arc elasticity and the total-revenue test, since they recur.
- Sit the Week 3 early feedback quiz seriously to calibrate before the 25% mid-semester exam.
Before the final heaviest topics
- Prioritise Topics 6 to 12, because the final weights roughly 80% there: monopoly and price discrimination, game theory, taxes and externalities, and the macro module.
- Work all three practice finals timed, then check method, not just the answer key; the MCQs can become multi-part short-answer problems.
- Practise DWL triangles and welfare areas quickly, since they recur across monopoly, taxes and externalities.
- Rehearse the macro calculations specifically: GDP and the deflator, the unemployment rate and Okun's law, and the expenditure multiplier and the change in G needed to close an output gap.
- Re-derive each game-theory result fast: dominant strategies and Nash for simultaneous games, backward induction and subgame-perfect equilibrium for sequential games.
The mistakes that cost marks
Using P = MC for a monopolist. The competitive rule P = MC gives the efficient outcome, not the monopolist's. A monopolist sets MR = MC, finds Qm, then reads the price off demand. This single confusion is the most common monopoly error and it cascades into wrong profit and wrong deadweight loss.
Treating the quizzes as the main event. The four online quizzes are 12% combined with the best three of four counting. The two in-person written exams are 85% of the grade. Polishing quiz marks while neglecting exam practice misreads where the marks are.
Cramming the post-midsem block. Topics 6 to 12 carry roughly 80% of the final and are the harder half. Leaving monopoly, game theory, taxes and externalities, and the entire macro tail to the last week rarely works.
Ignoring the macro tail. Students who treat BUSS1040 as ECON1001 forget the macro module (GDP, unemployment and inflation, stabilisation policy) has no micro-unit equivalent and still appears on the final. The PAE multiplier and output-gap policy reward dedicated practice.
Teaching team
Who teaches BUSS1040
The bios below are factual. The star ratings are not ours: they are impressions from students who have taken the unit, so you can hear from people who sat in the lectures.
Dr Khanh Phan
Coordinates BUSS1040 in the School of Economics, University of Sydney, and lectures the unit. Research and teaching in microeconomics for business decision-making.
Professor Kadir Atalay
Professor in the School of Economics, University of Sydney. Applied microeconomist working on household saving and consumption, retirement and ageing, and public economics.
Associate Professor Suraj Prasad
Associate Professor in the School of Economics, University of Sydney. Research in microeconomic theory and the economics of strategy, incentives and skills, contributing the game-theory and strategic-interaction material.
Professor James Morley
Professor of Macroeconometrics in the School of Economics, University of Sydney. Research in macroeconomics, business cycles and time-series econometrics, aligned with the macro module (GDP, inflation and stabilisation policy).
Teaching team as listed in the unit materials reviewed. AskSia does not rate lecturers; star ratings are submitted by students who have taken BUSS1040.
Formula & concept sheet
The vocabulary and formulas you must own
- Opportunity cost
- The value of the next-best alternative forgone. From a productivity table, the opportunity cost of one unit of X is the units of Y given up divided by the units of X.
- Comparative advantage
- Producing a good at a lower opportunity cost than another party. Gains from trade come from specialising in your comparative advantage, not your absolute advantage.
- Marginal cost from a quadratic TC
- If TC = F + aq + bq², then MC = a + 2bq. MC cuts AVC and ATC at their minimum points from below.
- Point price elasticity of demand
- epsilon = (dQ/dP)(P/Q). For P = a − bQ, epsilon = -(1/b)(P/Q). Elastic if the absolute value exceeds 1, inelastic if below 1.
- Monopoly marginal revenue
- For linear demand P = a − bQ, MR = a − 2bQ: same intercept, twice the slope. Profit-max at MR = MC, then read the price off demand.
- Deadweight loss (monopoly)
- DWL = half times (Qc − Qm) times the gap between the demand price and MC at Qm, where Qc is the competitive quantity from P = MC. The loss comes from restricted output, not from the profit (profit is a transfer).
- Two-part tariff
- Set the per-unit price equal to MC for the efficient quantity, then charge a fixed fee equal to the consumer surplus at that price. The firm captures all surplus and DWL is zero.
- Tax incidence
- The wedge Pb − Ps = t. The more inelastic side of the market bears more of the tax, independent of which side is legally taxed. DWL = half times t times (Q* - Qt).
- Pigouvian tax
- For a negative externality, SMC = MC + MEC and the efficient quantity is where demand equals SMC. The corrective tax equals the marginal external cost at the efficient quantity.
- GDP deflator
- GDP deflator = 100 times nominal GDP divided by real GDP, where real GDP values output at base-year prices.
- Unemployment rate
- Unemployed divided by the labour force (employed plus unemployed). The natural rate is frictional plus structural unemployment.
- Expenditure multiplier
- 1 divided by [1 − b(1 − t)], where b is the marginal propensity to consume and t is the proportional tax rate. Equilibrium Y = (A + Ip + G − bT) divided by [1 − b(1 − t)]; the change in G to close a gap equals the gap divided by the multiplier.
Common acronyms: PPF · MC · MR · AVC · ATC · AFC · CS · PS · DWL · PED · SMC · SMB · MEC · MEB · GDP · CPI · PAE · MPC · RBA.
What students say
What students actually say about BUSS1040
Recurring themes from student reviews, paraphrased in our own words.
- Described as mathematical for an intro unit: linear equations, graphs and finding intersection points throughout the micro half.
- Manageable with a strong HSC maths background; harder for students relying on HSC economics, where overlap can create false confidence.
- The content ramps up after the mid-semester break as monopoly, game theory, taxes and externalities and the macro tail pile up.
- The unit follows the Nguyen and Wait textbook closely for the micro topics.
- Students seek out external worked-example and cheat-sheet content to supplement lectures, especially around the high-stakes post-midsem material.
- Demand for concise video walkthroughs of the core microeconomics topics.
Recurring student opinions, paraphrased and aggregated, not official course information.
Set texts
The prescribed reading
The syllabus references map straight onto these.
Essentials of Microeconomics
Bonnie Nguyen and Andrew Wait. ISBN 9781032453668. Publisher page
Principles of Economics / Principles of Macroeconomics (reading set)
Bernanke, Olekalns, Frank et al.
Where it fits
Prerequisites, related units & why it matters
No formal prerequisites. Assumes no prior economics; it is a gateway unit. BUSS1040 and ECON1001 are a prohibited combination, so you take one or the other for credit.
Your BUSS1040 study toolkit
Study the unit with Sia, not just read about it
Each tool already knows BUSS1040: your syllabus, your texts, and where the marks are. Grouped by how you study, from first contact to exam week.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is BUSS1040 hard?
It is moderate-to-hard for a first-year unit. The micro half is introductory-level algebra and graphs, but 85% of the grade sits in two in-person written exams and the final weights roughly 80% to the harder post-midsem topics (monopoly, game theory, taxes and externalities, and the macro module). It is very manageable with strong HSC maths and consistent weekly practice.
How is BUSS1040 assessed?
A 3% early feedback quiz, four online quizzes worth 12% combined (best three of four count), a 25% in-person mid-semester exam covering Weeks 1 to 5, and a 60% in-person final exam covering Topics 1 to 12. You pass on a weighted average of at least 50%, with no single-component hurdle stated in the materials reviewed.
What is the final exam format?
An in-person written exam of 120 minutes plus 10 minutes reading time: Part A is 20 multiple-choice questions (30 marks) and Part B is 3 multi-part short-answer questions (30 marks). A handheld calculator and pen are permitted. It covers Topics 1 to 12, with roughly 80% weighted to Topics 6 to 12.
How much maths is involved?
It is moderately mathematical at an introductory level: linear demand and supply equations, solving for intersections, cost-curve algebra, elasticity and deadweight-loss calculations, plus the macro multiplier and GDP arithmetic. The working is graph-and-algebra based rather than calculus-heavy, and a calculator is permitted in the exams.
Can I take BUSS1040 if I have done ECON1001?
No. BUSS1040 and ECON1001 are a prohibited combination, so you cannot take both for credit. BUSS1040 is the Business School version and adds a macroeconomics module that ECON1001 does not cover.
Do I need to buy the textbook?
The required text is Essentials of Microeconomics, 2nd edition, by Nguyen and Wait, which covers the micro topics (1 to 9). The macro topics (10 to 12) follow a set of Bernanke et al. readings on Canvas. Lecture notes and tutorial exercises are provided weekly.
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