Econ1001: How do the three main Supermarkets in Australia: Microeconomics for Business Decisions Essay, UoN, Singapore

Questions:
Choose one only of these four questions:
1. How do the three main supermarkets in Australia (Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi) differentiate themselves from each other?
2. What are the economic advantages, and disadvantages, of the ‘share’ economy, or the ‘gig’ economy?
3. How can economic instruments be used to address, or contribute to, environmental issues? (for example, contemporary ecological challenges, such as climate change, pollution, loss of biodiversity and wildlife, etc.)
4. Considering at least one example of an economic change at a regional level, how has it provided challenges, and/or opportunities for local businesses in that region?

PART ONE: General advice for this assignment

Background (from Course Outline)
Choose one of these four topics for your essay:
1. How do the three main supermarkets in Australia (Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi) differentiate themselves from each other? (This involves the application of economic principles learned in this course.)
2. The economic advantages and disadvantages of the ‘share’ (or gig) economy. (This involves discussing the economic benefits and costs for both consumers and those who produce these services such as Uber drivers, as well implications of the ‘share economy’ for the broader community.)
3. Application of economic principles to address environmental issues. (This involves discussing how economic instruments are used to address some of the main ecological challenges of our time such as climate change, plastic waste pollution, loss of biodiversity, wildlife extinction, etc.)
4. Regional economic change and challenges and opportunities for local businesses.(This involves the application of economic principles learned in this course.)

PART TWO The topics explained in detail

Topic One
How do the three main supermarkets in Australia (Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi) differentiate themselves from each other?

Background
Woolworths and Coles have huge market power, meaning these two firms dominate the Australian grocery retailing industry (about 34% and 28% respectively in 2018 according to a report). Aldi is becoming more prominent with about 12% of market share in 2018 and set to increase.

Their strategies are different. Although all are focused on trying to keep costs competitive, Woolworths also emphasizes the quality of its merchandise more than The other two so is usually a bit more expensive.

In this topic, you are discussing the concepts of market power and different business strategies. (In broad terms, the strategy here means does the firm focus on low-cost products (e.g. Aldi) or does it differentiate itself through higher quality but more expensive products (e.g. Woolworths). It is usually difficult to successfully do both as a very influential business theorist Michael Porter argued in some classic books (1985; 1990). Possibly Woolworths does both successfully but you can find out and argue your point

Topic Two
The economic advantages and disadvantages of the ‘share’ (or gig) economy. (This involves discussing the economic benefits and costs for both consumers and those who produce these services such as Uber drivers, as well implications of the ‘share economy’ for the broader community.)

Background
Originally the word ‘gig’ was used by jazz musicians in the 1920s as a colloquial expression for working at different shows and venues. Usually, the nature of this work is uncertain (e.g. ‘you are only as good as your last gig’, implying there is no guarantee of repeat work). But musicians accept this as part of that profession.

It is only in recent years the term ‘gig’ has been applied to other types of precarious work outside of its entertainment context. For example, traditionally cab drivers and delivery drivers were employed by a firm and had more security than they often currently do. Now they are often classed as ‘contractors’ or working in the ‘gig’ economy. The same applies to workers in the hospitality industry, which previously in Australia, had more job security and opportunities for in-house training. The rise of the share or ‘gig’ economy is having profound effects on traditional labor markets and more broadly, social fabric.

Topic Three
Application of economic principles to address environmental issues.

(This involves discussing how economic instruments can be used to address some of the main ecological challenges of our time such as climate change, plastic waste pollution, loss of biodiversity, wildlife extinction, etc.)

Background
In your essay, it is best to choose one environmental issue to focus on, rather than trying to cover several issues. Therefore, either focus on economic instruments to be used for CO2 reduction, or economic instruments to reduce and manage waste, or say economic instruments such as using property rights to protect biodiversity.

TheThe climate change topic is in some respects easier because there is so much information available. But we also had that topic last year so there is a risk of plagiarism or being too close to a submitted essay. If you are repeating the course from last year, or know someone who did Econ1001 last year, then do not recycle last year’s work as you will risk plagiarism There is also the possibility that an essay on this topic will be bland and just plain boring for the academic markers to read -hence earn a very average mark (e.g. 12 /20). The more challenging topics are applying economic analysis in the management of plastic waste, or applying economic ownership ideas to the management of ecosystems and wildlife. Because you have to think harder about these to write a good essay, then choosing such topics will be considered favorable for your marks if do a good job of applying some economic ideas.

Topic Four
Regional economic change and challenges and opportunities for local businesses.

This is the broadest topic of our set. It is one where you can exercise considerable initiative and creativity in applying the economic principles learned in this course to applied real-world examples. It is one where many of us can see the impacts firsthand. For example, possibly you have noticed closed-up shops in your local area and wondered why it happened. Was the shop’s failure due to the owner’s lack of skills or foresight, or were there external forces (i.e. forces or events beyond the firm’s control) that caused this?

At the time of writing this document (March 2020), this topic is incredibly relevant. The C19 crisis – as a stark example of an external force – will continue for the foreseeable future to have a huge impact on local businesses as people keep away from crowds. For example, some businesses such as supermarkets cannot keep up with demand, whereas other businesses such as travel agents, restaurants, music venues, and many others have had alarming decreases in demand. Many of these businesses have been forced to close. Even before the C19 crisis, just a casual observation of a suburban retail area demonstrated that some businesses do well and others do not. The fundamental reasons for varying success and failures can be explained by microeconomic

principles such as changes in demand or costs of production. For example, outside NewSpace on Hunter Street, there are a number of empty shops. Perhaps they closed because they did not keep up with a changing business environment, or possibly other factors such as the disruption to Hunter Street due to the light rail construction a few years back and lack of adequate nearby parking had an influence.

I do not know the answer to this – maybe you can find out if you choose this topic? As another example, perhaps your family lives in a regional farming community and has been adversely affected by the recent drought, bush fires, or other factors such as nearby mining activity. Does the government have a role to help in these cases, considering that it has many other competing demands? If so, what should that role be and how could it be made effective? Sources of information to do this topic would include local newspapers, in addition to government reports (either Local, State, or Federal). This information would be integrated with the appropriate economic analysis.