BUSINESS115: nail every assessment, not just read the notes
Your complete guide to University of Auckland's economics, markets and law course. See where the marks are, work real practice questions, and study with an AI tutor that knows BUSINESS115.
Sia generates BUSINESS115 practice questions, walks through law and how markets work step by step, and quizzes you on the material the heaviest assessments weight most heavily.
Worked example
The government introduces a $2 per unit tax on a good whose demand and supply are both moderately elastic. Before the tax, 1,000 units sold at $10. After the tax, 800 units sell and consumers pay $11.20. What is the deadweight loss?
Identify the tax wedge. Consumers pay $11.20 and the tax is $2, so producers receive $9.20. The wedge between the two prices is the full $2.
Deadweight loss is the triangle between the demand and supply curves over the lost units: one half times the tax wedge times the change in quantity, which is 0.5 times 2 times 200, equalling $200.
Check the other options. $1,600 is the tax revenue (2 times 800), $400 is the rectangle that double-counts the triangle, and $1,120 confuses price with a loss.
The trap: Reporting tax revenue as the welfare cost. Revenue is a transfer from buyers and sellers to the government, not a loss to society; the deadweight loss is only the value of the trades that stopped happening. classic slip!
One exam decides 40% of your grade. Individual examination. This whole page is built around that.
Overview
What BUSINESS115 is, and where it sits
BUSINESS 115 is the University of Auckland's Stage 1 economics-and-law core course for the BCom. The catalogue positions it for students with no prior economics or legal background: it covers how the economic and legal environment affects individuals, businesses, markets and the global economy, with New Zealand's legal system and institutions as the frame.
The four learning outcomes are the syllabus in miniature: explain the nature of law within New Zealand's constitutional framework including the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi; apply foundational micro- and macroeconomic principles to current issues; predict and evaluate the welfare impacts of public policies; and critically evaluate perspectives on current issues in a written critical report.
Assessment is a five-part mix: pre-workshop quizzes 10%, peer-assessed participation 10%, a mid-term test 20%, an Economics and Markets Report 20% and a final examination 40%. Workshops are not recorded and attendance is expected. The course runs in both Semester One and Semester Two at the City campus and is the prerequisite for ECON 152.
Always treat your own course outline and the exam timetable as authoritative.
Difficulty & time commitment
Is BUSINESS115 hard, and how much time does it take?
BUSINESS115 is manageable if you keep a weekly rhythm and treat the back half as the main event. The pattern is consistent: it starts gently and steepens, and the heaviest assessment is the part that separates grades.
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 course.
Is this course for you
Who tends to do well, and who tends to struggle
You will likely do well if
- You follow economic news and want a framework for it.
- You show up: workshops are unrecorded and participation is graded.
- You can write a structured argument that weighs more than one perspective.
- You are comfortable with graphs as the main analytical tool.
You may struggle if
- You expect a mathematical economics course; this one is conceptual and applied.
- You treat the Treaty and constitutional material as peripheral — it is the first learning outcome.
- You leave the 20% report to the last week; the catalogue budgets three hours a week for it.
- You skip pre-workshop quizzes; they are 10% and they set up every workshop.
- For every news item the course uses, practise writing the welfare analysis: who gains, who loses, and by how much in principle.
- Keep a running glossary of legal and economic terms in your own words; the exam rewards precise use of language.
- Draft the report early and use the mid-term test week to revise it with fresh eyes.
- Learn the demand-and-supply diagram cold, then practise shifting it for interest rate, exchange rate and policy shocks.
Syllabus
The 10 topics, topic by topic
The exam-weight marker on each topic shows where the marks concentrate. The amber topics carry the highest exam weight.
T1 · Law and New Zealand's constitutional framework
Learning outcome 1The nature of law, the functioning of Government, and the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
T2 · How markets work
Course prescriptionDemand, supply, prices and what price fluctuations signal.
T3 · Market failure and welfare
Learning outcome 3Externalities, public goods and the welfare impacts of intervention.
T4 · Interest rates and the macroeconomy
Course prescriptionWhat interest rate changes mean for households, firms and the economy.
T5 · Exchange rates and the balance of payments
Course prescriptionExchange rate movements, trade and balance-of-payments problems.
T6 · Standard of living comparisons
Course prescriptionMeasuring and comparing living standards across countries and over time.
T7 · Regional trading agreements
Course prescriptionWhy countries trade and what agreements change.
T8 · Regulation and legal mechanisms
Course prescriptionRegulatory and legal constraints on business decisions in New Zealand.
T9 · Evaluating public policy
Learning outcome 3Predicting and judging the welfare effects of a policy, the skill the report and exam test.
T10 · Current issues and the critical report
Course overviewTech giants, climate change, population ageing: synthesising perspectives into a critical report.
How it's assessed
Assessment structure
| Component | Weight | Format & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Workshop Quizzes | 10% | Pre-workshop quizzes completed online before each workshop. Weekly. Continual assessment. |
| Participation | 10% | Participation, peer-assessed. Across the semester. Peer coursework. |
| Mid-term Test | 20% | Mid-term test. Mid-semester. Individual test. |
| Economics and Markets Report | 20% | Critical report on a current economic and social issue. Second half of semester. Individual coursework. |
| Final Exam | 40% | Final examination covering the whole course. Examination period. Individual examination. |
- The catalogue publishes no exam hurdle: the grade is the weighted total of the five components. Because 20% of the grade is quizzes and participation, consistent attendance is the cheapest insurance in the course.
- The final examination is 40%, the largest single piece but not a majority. The mid-term test (20%) examines the first half in the same style, so it is a direct rehearsal. The 20% report is the one component where writing quality, not recall, decides the mark.
This is a coursework course. Coursework carries 60% of the grade and the final exam is the single heaviest piece at 40%, so steady work across the semester decides your result more than any one sitting. Individual examination.
Final exam timing: During the examination period. Confirm the exact date and venue on your exam timetable.
How to actually pass it
A weekly rhythm, two checklists, and the traps to avoid
The course 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
- Explain the nature of law and New Zealand's constitutional framework including Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Use demand and supply to explain price fluctuations.
- Identify a market failure and the case for intervention.
- Explain what an interest rate change does to households and firms.
Before the final heaviest topics
- Analyse exchange rate movements and balance-of-payments problems.
- Compare living standards and explain the measurement issues.
- Predict and evaluate the welfare impact of a public policy.
- Critically evaluate perspectives on a current issue including social and environmental responsibility.
The mistakes that cost marks
Describing instead of evaluating. The report and exam ask you to predict and judge welfare impacts, not summarise a news story.
Ignoring the legal outcome. Law and the constitutional framework are a full learning outcome and are examinable.
Missing workshops. Unrecorded, attendance expected, participation graded: absence costs marks directly.
Formula & concept sheet
The vocabulary and formulas you must own
- Te Tiriti o Waitangi
- The founding agreement between Māori and the Crown; its Māori and English texts are studied for their constitutional significance.
- Constitutional framework
- The set of laws, conventions and institutions through which Government functions in New Zealand.
- Demand and supply
- The model of how prices form from buyers' willingness to pay and sellers' willingness to sell.
- Market failure
- A situation where markets alone do not produce an efficient outcome, such as with externalities or public goods.
- Welfare
- The total benefit to society from an outcome, the yardstick for evaluating policies.
- Interest rate
- The price of borrowing, whose changes ripple through spending, investment and inflation.
- Exchange rate
- The price of one currency in another, driving trade competitiveness and import prices.
- Balance of payments
- The record of a country's transactions with the rest of the world.
- Standard of living
- Material wellbeing, commonly proxied by income per person with known limitations.
- Regulation
- Legal rules that constrain or direct business behaviour.
Set texts
The prescribed reading
The syllabus references map straight onto these.
Principles of Economics
.
Where it fits
Prerequisites, related courses & why it matters
No prerequisite. Restriction: ECON 111, ECON 191, ECON 101, ECON 151/151G. BUSINESS 115 is 15 points at Stage 1, offered in Semester One and Semester Two at the City campus, and is the prerequisite for ECON 152.
Your BUSINESS115 study toolkit
Study the course with Sia, not just read about it
Each tool already knows BUSINESS115: 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 BUSINESS 115 hard?
It rates moderate. The economics is deliberately accessible to students with no background, but the published workload is a genuine 10 hours a week and the critical report and peer-assessed participation reward sustained engagement.
What is the assessment breakdown?
Pre-workshop quizzes 10%, participation 10% (peer-assessed), mid-term test 20%, Economics and Markets Report 20% and final exam 40%, as published on the catalogue page.
Do I need any economics or law background?
No. The catalogue states the course is designed for students with no prior exposure to economics or legal concepts.
Are workshops recorded?
No. The catalogue states that workshops will not be available as recordings unless otherwise specified, and attendance is expected. Participation is 10% of the grade.
What is the weekly workload?
About 3 hours of pre-workshop preparation, 2 hours of workshops, 2 hours of post-workshop assessment and 3 hours of report planning, research and writing, per the catalogue's workload statement.
Can I take it if I have done ECON 101 or ECON 151?
No. The restriction list names ECON 111, ECON 191, ECON 101 and ECON 151/151G.
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