Economics Student Society of Australia

Subject Guides Clayton

Introduction:

In our 2025 Subject Overview, you will find brief reviews of the economics units on offer at Monash Clayton, including core units and electives. We hope this overview will help you navigate your economics studies and provide you with valuable tips and advice. 

Help us improve the Subject Overview:

We’re always looking to expand upon these reviews and keep them up-to-date. If you have completed any of these units recently, we would love for you to contribute to our Subject Overview. 

If you would like to write a review for any unit(s), please contact us at essa@monashclubs.org.

Acknowledgment and Disclaimer

To create this subject overview, we’ve asked economics students at Monash University to share their experiences. We’d like to thank them for contributing their time and effort to do so.

This Subject Overview is the work of ESSA Monash Clayton and not of Monash University. It is not intended to replace the Monash University Handbook, which should be consulted for official information about each unit. The handbook can be found here: handbook.monash.edu. 

This Subject Overview also reflects students’ experiences of economics units across various years. As such, this overview may not fully reflect the opinions of others who also took these units.

Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) at Monash Clayton

To complete a major in Economics under the Bachelor of Commerce, you will need to:

  • Complete four core units
    • ECC1000, ECC1100, ECC2000, ECC2010
  • Complete an additional four economics units which are offered at the Clayton campus
    • At least three of these units must be level three units (this means that the unit code should look like ECC3XXX)

It’s important to remember that you should follow the handbook from the year in which you started your course. The 2026 Subject Overview provides information consistent with the 2026 Economics major, which is the latest version available.

It is very important that continuing students consult the handbook for the year they commenced their course to confirm their major requirements. The handbook can be found at handbook.monash.edu. 

ESSA’s 2026 Subject Overview does not constitute course advice. If you are unsure about your course progression or unit selection, please submit a Course Advice Request form or contact Monash Connect.

Progression Streams

Some units have prerequisites, which should be taken into account when planning your course progression. For your convenience, we have compiled the progression streams for the full range of economics units below:

The Four Core Economics Units

ECC1000 Principles of Microeconomics
ECC1100 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECC2000 Intermediate Microeconomics
ECC2010 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Additional Economics Units (Clayton)

Semester 1 & 2

ETC1000 Business and Economic Statistics
ECC1550 Introductory Mathematics for Business and Economics
ETC2410 Introductory Econometrics

Level 1 Semester 1

ETC1000 Business and Economic Statistics
ECC1550 Introductory Mathematics for Business and Economics
ETC2410 Introductory Econometrics

New Economic Units at Clayton

ECC1000 Principles of Microeconomics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 and 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: Applied sessions and workshops (S1 – blended; S2 – in-person)

Assessment structure: 20% Exercise, 30% Quiz, 50% Exam 

Topics covered: Supply and demand, market equilibrium, consumer behaviour, analysis of consumer decisions, optimal production, market structure, consumer choice, game theory and behavioural economics. 

How to do well: Success in this unit depends largely on a strong understanding of the graphs as most questions test diagram knowledge. When answering written questions, focus on explaining cause-and-effect relationships using precise definitions drawn from the textbook. Since the maths is not complex, focus on grasping each concept rather than concentrating on calculations. Finally, watch for subtle phrasing differences (e.g. movement along vs. shift of the demand curve).

Comments: Accessible to those with no economics background. Engage with Perusall and quizzes and build a strong grasp of the graphs. It’s an enjoyable intro to economics.

ECC1100 Principles of Macroeconomics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 and 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: Applied sessions and workshops (S1 – blended; S2 – in-person)

Assessment structure: In-class quiz 20%, Video Project 5%, Report (Group) Project 10%, Reflection Project 5%, Exam 60%

Topics covered: Inflation, unemployment, economic growth, aggregate demand, aggregate supply, role of monetary and fiscal policy in business cycles, current macroeconomic challenges. 

How to do well: A useful way to prepare for the exam is to practise explaining seminar slides (especially graphs/diagrams) in paragraph form. When constructing answers, follow this structure: definition → application → argument/counter-argument → graph reference → conclusion. To reinforce your understanding, create practice questions from seminar slides and tutorial material and review them weekly. It is also important to apply concepts to real-world scenarios by following current economic news.

Comments: A comprehensive overview of key macroeconomic principles and how different economic indicators interact. Some maths, but manageable for most students. A fascinating and broad introduction to macroeconomic theory and real-world applications.

ECC2000 Intermediate Microeconomics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 and 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: In-person workshops

Assessment structure: 30% Exercise, 40% Quiz/Test, 30% Exam

Topics covered: Consumption and production, theory of consumer choice, allocative efficiency, input pricing, market structures, and market failures.

How to do well: This unit takes many theoretical concepts from ECC1000, alongside some new ones, and quantifies them using functions and graphs. Being able to read these graphs to find correlations between different microeconomic concepts is highly important. If you are struggling with understanding a concept, don’t be hesitant to reach out to your tutors as there are plenty of consultations throughout the semester. To maximise your time during open-book assessments, it is useful to prepare a condensed version of the seminar/lecture slides, a table of formulas with relevant worked examples and a compilation of difficult workshop/tutorial questions.

Comments: This unit involves a plethora of calculus, such as partial derivatives, and linear equations with multiple parameters. However, regardless of your prior maths background, if you work smart and consistently, it is very possible to score highly. Also, stay in touch with your classmates throughout the unit as you will be able to help one another with the coursework.

ECC2010 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 and 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: In-person applied sessions and workshops

Assessment structure: 40% Quiz/Test, 10% Exercise, 50% Exam

Math vs. essay: Mathematically heavy unit. Involves short-answer responses.

Topics covered: Employment, productivity, growth, inflation, business cycles and macroeconomic policies (fiscal & monetary policies).

How to do well: This unit is a more advanced and considerably more mathematical version of ECC1100. It’s worth attending the workshops (which aren’t recorded) as they help you understand the content, develop your problem-solving skills, and figure out the markers’ expectations. Try to prepare notes for each topic as the semester progresses so that the workload doesn’t pile up at the end. If you can understand the interrelations between different concepts (e.g. how monetary policies affect the housing scheme), you will do well in this unit. Finally, don’t hesitate to stay back after your workshop if you are struggling with any concepts, as the teaching staff are very friendly and helpful.

Comments: This unit is structured with the intention that you view workshop slides and the textbook pre-workshop. During the workshop, the slides are explained more thoroughly. The tutorial is immediately after the workshop, where it focuses on questions related to the topics, which are thoroughly explained by the lecturer

ETC1000 Business and Economic Statistics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 and 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: In-person Tutorials

Assessment structure: Exercises 20%, 2 in-class tests (10% each), Group Project 20%, Exam 40%

Topics covered: Standardisation techniques, simple/multiple regression, nonlinear and categorical explanatory variables, time series data, probability theory, sampling data, estimators, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and variances. 

How to do well: This unit focuses on manipulating, interpreting, and evaluating datasets; balancing technical skills with clear, real-world explanations. The final exam is purely data analysis with no Excel or R involved, so it’s worth practising how to describe technical concepts in plain language. Reviewing past exam solutions is a good way to understand how to communicate findings accessibly. Many practice exams are provided, so make use of them to build confidence with the material.

Comments: This unit does not require any prior knowledge of Excel or R, though having some previous experience is highly advantageous. What you learn here will serve as the foundation for further units down the econometrics stream.

ECC1550 Introductory Mathematics for Business and Economics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 & 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: In-person applied sessions and workshop

Assessment structure: 50% quiz, 50% examination

Topics covered: Sets, relations, and functions, single-variable and multivariable differential calculus, leading up to formulating and solving unconstrained and constrained optimisation problems.

How to do well: Attending all the workshops and solving the questions provided will be key to success in the unit. The questions in the assignments are usually very similar to the ones discussed and basic practice should lead to success in the unit.

Comments: This unit requires you to be committed and attend all required workshops as content is built upon from one session to the next. The unit takes you through every concept with a practical aim of solving optimisation-based problems, such as prioritising items and production equipment in a factory or a farm, etc. The maths in the unit builds up over time and is similar to high school maths, starting with equations and ending with new concepts introduced in the unit. The lecturer is very helpful and will give you tons of guidance if asked. As an introductory unit, it does a good job of ensuring it can accommodate students with variable mathematical aptitudes.

ETC2410 Introductory Econometrics

Availability in 2026: Semester 1 & 2 (Clayton)

Mode of delivery: Tutorials

Assessment structure: 20% Group Assignment 1, 10% Group Assignment 2, 10% Tutorial Quiz & Participation, 60% Exam 

Topics covered: Properties of least squares estimators, hypothesis testing, the choice of appropriate functional form, dummy variables, issues around modelling survey data and the problems of serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and multicollinearity. 

How to do well: Each week builds on the previous one, so you need a strong grasp of early concepts (e.g. probability theory, matrix review). Group assignments are mainly done in R which makes it difficult to work together at once, so splitting tasks works well – but ensure you understand how to do all the parts. If any concepts feel unclear, attend the available consultations early as gaps in understanding compound and make later weeks significantly harder.

Comments: Assignments require producing full reports directly from R, so becoming comfortable with the software is essential. Although R is not required in the exam, understanding how to interpret its outputs is crucial for strong performance. Overall, the unit suits students who enjoy analytical, data‑driven work.