LESSON 16.9 Review 16.9.1
Key knowledge summary Use this dot point summary to review the content covered in this topic. 16.2 What are our needs and wants? • The Australian economy is the total of all activities undertaken within Australia for the purpose of producing, distributing and consuming goods and services. • We purchase goods and services to satisfy our needs and wants. • We purchase goods and services in a market. • Employees provide labour to businesses and receive money in return, enabling them to purchase goods and services from other businesses. • The unlimited wants competing for limited resources create the problem of scarcity. • The three choices an economy must make are what to produce, how to produce and who to produce for. 16.3 What types of businesses exist? • People start a business for a number of reasons. • The three main types of business ownership are: sole proprietorships (one owner), partnerships (two or more owners) and companies (up to 50 owners for private, unlimited for public). • Other ownership structures include cooperatives and franchises. 16.4 What is economic sustainability? • Production should consider current and future needs. • Markets in Australia are inþuenced by what consumers wish to buy, including products that are healthy and environmentally friendly. 16.5 What is meant by demand and supply in the market? • The law of demand states that as prices rise, demand for a product will fall. • The law of supply states that as prices rise, supply of a product will increase. • Demand and supply of a product can be shown diagrammatically on demand curves and supply curves. • Equilibrium is where demand and supply intersect. 16.6 What are your rights as a consumer? • Australian Consumer Law prohibits a range of practices that could mislead consumers. • It is compulsory for sellers to provide all available information to consumers, and to ensure that buyers and sellers have equal rights in any purchase. • Australian Consumer Law also provides a number of basic guarantees in relation to the quality of goods purchased. 16.7 What responsibilities do businesses, producers and government have to you? • Practices that would lessen fair and open competition between businesses are banned under the Competition and Consumer Act. • The ACCC has the power to take legal action through the courts to deal with businesses that fail to comply with the provisions of the Act. • A number of different government regulators monitor product safety throughout Australia. • These regulators encourage the development of safety standards, and seek to educate suppliers and the public on product safety. • The regulators can ban dangerous products, or order the recall of products to ensure they are made safe.
582 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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