SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

1
Why study Economics in Commerce?

• MYTH Economics is all about MONEY
• Economics is not all about money. Economics is
  the study of human behaviour. Economics is not
  just a set of facts or theories, economics gives
  you a way to think about the world. It helps you
  to make sense of the decisions people make
  everyday how much to spend, what job to choose,
  how much government spends on education, how much
  government taxes South African citizens and
  businesses.
• Economics affects our daily lives. We are
  continuously made aware of local, regional and
  international economic issues. Issues such as
  prices, inflation, trade, unemployment,
  globalization are all economic concepts. We
  introduce these ideas to you in first year
  Economics courses
• MICROECONOMICS I and MACROECONOMICS I.
• Microeconomics I introduces you to concepts such
  as the problem of scarcity, demand, supply,
  consumer behavior, producer behavior, wages,
  income, inequality, poverty and international
  trade. We show you how these concepts affect our
  daily lives. We answer questions such as
• How do I decide what I should buy at the
  supermarket?
• Given the choice between two items, which do I
  choose?
• Why do firms choose labour-intensive production
  processes rather than capital- intensive
  production processes?
• Should I go to university or should I try to
  find a job now?
• Why do stores have sales?
• How responsive is demand to changes in the
  prices of items such as DVDs, PS2 games,
  movies?
• Macroeconomics I introduces students to concepts
  such as inflation, unemployment, balance of
  payments and exchange rates. We answer questions
  such as
• Why do economies sometimes grow rapidly, while
  at other times they suffer from recession?
• Why, if people want to work, do they sometimes
  find themselves unemployed?
• Why do economies experience inflation (rising
  prices), and does it matter if they do?

ECONOMIC MYTHS Economics is all about
MONEY A First-year student had the following to
say about this myth Economics is not about the
money. Economics is a social science as well.
Economics is about the demand and supply. There
is microeconomics and macroeconomics (looking at
the big picture). Tax cuts help the
economy by putting money in the
consumers pockets The right tax cuts help the
economy by creating incentives to work and
save. Free gifts are free. The economists
motto is There aint no such thing as a free
lunch! This simple statement is the root of the
economists problem, opportunity cost. Economic
theory says that whatever goods and services are
provided, they must be paid for by someone.
GDP is a valid measure of human well-being and
progress. GDP is not a valid measure of human
wellbeing as it does not capture the material
wellbeing of society but rather a monetary
wellbeing that usually does not approximate the
average person in society. Budget
deficits are bad Budget deficits are bad
when they are used to fund current consumption or
wasteful expenditure. Budget deficits are
bearable, beneficial or even necessary when used
for public investment or to assist the economy in
times of severe recession.
SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Freakonomics, inside one economists
mind Which is more dangerous, a gun or a
swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo
wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers
still live with their moms? How much do parents
really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v.
Wade have on violent crime?   These may not
sound like typical questions for an economist to
ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical
economist. He is a much-heralded young scholar
who studies the riddles of everyday life-from
cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing
and whose conclusions regularly turn the
conventional wisdom on its head. He usually
begins with a mountain of data and a simple,
unasked question. Some of these questions concern
life-and-death issues others have an admittedly
freakish quality. Thus the new field of study
contained in this book Freakonomics
Some of our leading research economists
Below Corné van Walbeek Research Focus Tobacco
Left Edwin Muchapondwa Research Focus
Environmental Economics
Left Murray Leibbrandt Research Focus Labour
Poverty
Right Nicoli Nattrass Research Focus HIV/Aids
Right Lawrence Edwards Research Focus
International Trade
Above Johann Fedderke Research Focus Growth
Theory Macroeconomics