You are required to support your economic analysis with appropriate data and economic models (partial equilibrium analysis) which you use to examine how the policy achieves the desired outcome. A brief summary of the potential economic effects (costs and benefits) of each of the above policies is required. However, it is appreciated that a full analysis of effects of these policy solutions is beyond the scope of this work. Refer to file attached
1 BSB113 Economics Semester 2 2020 Assessment 2: Research essay Submission date Tuesday 22nd September Research essay requirements • This assessment has a MAXIMUM WORD limit of 1400 words (excluding your reference list – but inclusive of in-text citations). • The essay is to be submitted through SafeAssign via the BSB113 blackboard website (see BB assessment 2 folder for detail). You are advised to keep a copy of your work for your own records. • The assessment should be submitted as a WORD document or PDF. Please note that other file formats may not be able to be opened and will be assumed to be a non-submission. • It is your responsibility to check that the document has uploaded to SafeAssign and that it is the correct document. If you need help on how to check contact IT support (do not contact your tutor or UC). • Work that has been submitted for assessment in BSB113 in previous semesters cannot be resubmitted for assessment. If identified, re-submitted work from previous semesters will be treated as plagiarism. • QUT exercises zero tolerance on late submissions without an approved extension. • If special circumstances prevent you from meeting the assessment due date, you can apply for an extension. If you do not have an approved extension prior to the submission date, you should submit the work you have completed by the due date and it will be marked against the assessment criteria. • You will NOT be able to view your plagiarism report. Refer to the FAQs in the supporting assessment document (BB assessment 2 folder) as to why. • We strongly recommend that prior to submission you ensure that you have read ALL the related assessment documents. • Your essay will be marked against the published CRA for this assessment (provided at the end of the Assessment Documentation). • You are strongly recommended to keep a portfolio of your reading, notes made and all essay drafts. This will help you establish the originality of your work, should you need to. https://www.student.qut.edu.au/studying/assessment/late-assignments-and-extensions https://www.student.qut.edu.au/studying/assessment/late-assignments-and-extensions 2 Scope of research essay Contact tracing apps were presented to the public as an important tool in fighting the spread of COVID19 (University of Oxford, 2020). In Australia, the COVIDSafe app (Department of Health, 2020) was launched by the Australian Federal Government and Chief Medical Officer (Prime Minister of Australia, 2020). The public were encouraged to download and use the app. However, the target of 40% download target was not achieved (Meixner, 2020). A search of the media and academic literature presents many theories/hypothesises as to why this is the case. These range from a lack of understanding of the data that was being collected, how collected data was to be stored, data protection issues, concerns about privacy breaches, along with more day to day pragmatic issues including concerns that the app would drain phone batteries quickly and to up-take (or not) reflecting political allegiances. For example, see Lee et al. (2020) and Thomas et al. (2020). In the absence of a vaccine, given the economic impact of border controls and lock downs, the current Chief Health Minister for Queensland is interested in understanding if the COVIDSafe app (or equivalent) could be successfully resurrected as part of a range of tools for managing [controlling/mitigating/supressing] community transmission. From an economics perspective it is no surprise that the app failed to achieve its targets. The purpose of this research essay is to explore the economics behind the uptake of the COVIDSafe app and potential policy solutions (Hawkins and Freyens (2020), Holden (2020) and Volk, (2020)). The current Chief Health Minister for Queensland has asked you to summarise the economics perceptive in an essay format which includes the following: 1. An overview of the rationale behind the COVIDSafe app and data on its uptake. (International comparisons are encouraged). 2. Presentation of (inclusive of a supporting explanation) an economic model that identifies the optimal uptake of the COVIDSafe app and the actual (suboptimal) uptake of the COVIDSafe app. 3. Investigation of the following TWO economic policies and a critical analysis of how they could potentially increase up take of the relaunch of COVIDSafe app (or equivalent): a. Monetary incentive b. Behavioural economics approach (non-monetary incentive) You are required to support your economic analysis with appropriate data and economic models (partial equilibrium analysis) which you use to examine how the policy achieves the desired outcome. A brief summary of the potential economic effects (costs and benefits) of each of the above policies is required. However, it is appreciated that a full analysis of effects of these policy solutions is beyond the scope of this work. Recommended reading The readings presented below are not an exhaustive list of references. You are encouraged to also search for appropriate sources to support your critical analysis (refer to the CRA). Department of Health (2020, Aug 16). COVIDSafe app. Retrieved https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps- and-tools/covidsafe-app Hawkins, J. and Freyens, B. (2020, April 30). Contact tracing apps: a behavioural economist’s guide to improving uptake. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/contact-tracing-apps-a-behavioural- economists-guide-to-improving-uptake-137157 Holden, R. (2020, April 24). Vital Signs: Modelling tells us the coronavirus app will need a big take-up, economics tells us how to get it. https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-modelling-tells-us-the- coronavirus-app-will-need-a-big-take-up-economics-tells-us-how-to-get-it-136944 https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-holden-118107 https://theconversation.com/profiles/stefan-volk-883484 https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app https://theconversation.com/contact-tracing-apps-a-behavioural-economists-guide-to-improving-uptake-137157 https://theconversation.com/contact-tracing-apps-a-behavioural-economists-guide-to-improving-uptake-137157 https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-holden-118107 https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-modelling-tells-us-the-coronavirus-app-will-need-a-big-take-up-economics-tells-us-how-to-get-it-136944 https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-modelling-tells-us-the-coronavirus-app-will-need-a-big-take-up-economics-tells-us-how-to-get-it-136944 3 Lee, J. Sneddon, J. and Gerrans, P. (2020, May 27) COVID-19: COVIDSafe downloads may be more about understanding people than about the design of processes. Retrieved https://www.news.uwa.edu.au/2020052712117/covid-19-coronavirus/covid-19-covidsafe-downloads-may- be-more-about-understanding-peop?page=show Meixner, S. (2020, June 2). How many people have downloaded the COVIDSafe app and how central has it been to Australia's coronavirus response? ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020- 06-02/coronavirus-covid19-covidsafe-app-how-many-downloads-greg-hunt/12295130 Prime Minister of Australia (2020, April 26). COVIDSafe: New app to slow the spread of coronavirus. Retrieved https://www.pm.gov.au/media/covidsafe-new-app-slow-spread-coronavirus Thomas, R., Michaleff, Z., Greenwood, H., Abukmail, E., & Glasziou, P. (2020). More than privacy: Australians' concerns and misconceptions about the COVIDSafe App. medRxiv, 2020.2006.2009.20126110. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.09.20126110 Volk, S. (2020, April 23). Coronavirus contact-tracing apps: most of us won’t cooperate unless everyone does. https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-contact-tracing-apps-most-of-us-wont-cooperate-unless- everyone-does-135959 University of Oxford (2020, April 16th). Digital contact tracing can slow or even stop coronavirus transmission and ease us out of lockdown. Retrieved https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/Article/2020-04-16-digital-contact- tracing-can-slow-or-even-stop-coronavirus-transmission-and-ease-us-out-of-lockdown https://www.news.uwa.edu.au/2020052712117/covid-19-coronavirus/covid-19-covidsafe-downloads-may-be-more-about-understanding-peop?page=show https://www.news.uwa.edu.au/2020052712117/covid-19-coronavirus/covid-19-covidsafe-downloads-may-be-more-about-understanding-peop?page=show https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-02/coronavirus-covid19-covidsafe-app-how-many-downloads-greg-hunt/12295130 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-02/coronavirus-covid19-covidsafe-app-how-many-downloads-greg-hunt/12295130 https://www.pm.gov.au/media/covidsafe-new-app-slow-spread-coronavirus https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.09.20126110 https://theconversation.com/profiles/stefan-volk-883484 https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-contact-tracing-apps-most-of-us-wont-cooperate-unless-everyone-does-135959 https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-contact-tracing-apps-most-of-us-wont-cooperate-unless-everyone-does-135959 https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/Article/2020-04-16-digital-contact-tracing-can-slow-or-even-stop-coronavirus-transmission-and-ease-us-out-of-lockdown https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/Article/2020-04-16-digital-contact-tracing-can-slow-or-even-stop-coronavirus-transmission-and-ease-us-out-of-lockdown 4 General guidance notes You are required to present your response to the current Chief Health Minister for Queensland in an essay format. It is recommended that you approach the problem as follows: The context (Task 1 relates to CRA 1) In economics we generally start by framing the problem. We also refer to this as setting the context. In this part of your essay (Task 1), you need to articulate what the issue is. This is not simply a case of stating “I think it is a problem because …”. You need to present an informed context which is supported by peer reviewed published research (not the Courier Mail). In setting the context, you should also include details of the social costs associated with the problem (in dollar values). Data should be from reputable sources. The case that you make in this section provides the basis for economic policy solutions you will present in part 3. Economic theory (Task 2 relates to CRA 2) You will need to present the correct theoretical economic model and explain it using appropriate economic terminology (Task 2). It is no secret that this is about the theory of externalities. You will need to present a robust diagrammatic exposition of the correct economic theory of externalities, identifying the theoretical market and efficient equilibrium and deadweight loss aligned to the problem you have identified in part 1. The critical analysis (Task 3 relates to CRA 3) In Task 3, potential policy solutions are critically analysed from an economic perspective. Your analysis should be framed with reference to the economic theory presented in Task 2. You have been presented with two policy options and need to examine both of these. The objective of the policy is to improve the outcome. The trick, for you and what you are being assessed on is how. You need to work out how each policy you are considering shifts from the current equilibrium to a new equilibrium (in normal - speak improves up take of the app). The key to this part of the essay is to keep it simple. Give an overview of each policy, detail how it will work to address the issue under consideration (yes this does mean potentially more diagrams) and give a brief summary of the potential strengths and limitations of that policy approach based on what you find from the research literature. In a policy context, the benefits should be greater than the costs (note this refers to economic cost not financial costs). Note, you are not required to say that one policy is better than another. A key feature of economic analysis is that it is objective. Whilst this work has been commissioned by a particular stakeholder, it should be an unbiased and informed critical economic analysis and not a political document. No particular policy solution should be given a greater or lesser weight because you think this may have more sway with the audience you are writing for. In summary: • clearly frame the “problem” by setting the context • use an appropriate economic theory to show how economists view this problem • write an unbiased and informed critical economic analysis and not a political document. Do not get drawn into reporting emotive arguments (interesting as they are). • be academically rigorous, ensuring that your analysis is underpinned by references to peer reviewed academic literature Your audience’s background knowledge in economics Assume that your audience has an understanding of economic theory and terminology, up to the level of BSB113. Assume that they are regularly exposed to documents drafted by economists