Recently, a student posed a question about analysing the effectiveness of government intervention in demand and supply, specifically regarding price ceilings and subsidies. The student wanted to know how to determine which points are relevant in their analysis. This is a common issue faced by students, and in today’s blog post, I will address how to find the focus in such questions. For effective Economics tuition to work, identifying the Dartboard in a question is important.
Finding the Dartboard through Effective Economics Tuition
One way to determine the focus of a question is to rephrase it into the format of “Impact of A on B.” We then focus on B, which is what I refer to as the dartboard. For example, if the question is about the best way to make food more affordable, the focus would be on the impact of either a price ceiling or subsidy on lowering the price of food. This helps you identify the key points to include in your analysis.
Another approach to identifying the dartboard is to consider the decision-maker in the question, which is the government in this case. By understanding the objectives of the decision-maker, which in this case would be efficiency and equity (microeconomics), you can pinpoint the focus of the analysis. Hence, points related to efficiency and equity should be central to your analysis.
Additionally, for J2 economics tuition students, it is useful to bring in macroconomics objectives that may be impacted by the policy being analysed, such as price stability or employment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when analyzing economic concepts like price ceilings and subsidies, finding the focus of the question is crucial. By using methods like rephrasing the question into this format – Impact of A and B and focusing on B, or understanding the objectives of the decision-maker, you can create a more targeted and effective analysis.
I hope this blog post has been helpful in guiding you on how to find the focus in economic analysis questions. Thank you for reading and best of luck in your studies!