ECOS3997: Interdiscplinary Project in Economics
Notes and assessment criteria for written report
The written report
Your task is to analyse pricing data and write a report for the state government of NSW
on the retail market for petrol in Sydney on a question of your choosing. Here are some
suggested topics for you to consider.
1. Price cycles: Are there cycles in retail prices in Sydney? What explains the dynamic
pattern of prices in the Sydney market? What evidence is there for your explanation?
What are the vulnerabilities of your explanation?
2. Holiday prices: Do retailers set higher prices on weekends and holidays? Provide
evidence for your conclusions.
3. Your choice: Choose your own topic. Feel free to ask me ahead of time about your
proposed topic.
Assessment is based on written communication; and your ability to articulate empirical
analysis and theoretical arguments.
Report length
The report has a length of 3000 words. This is a maximum, not a minimum. Writing
concisely is a skill. If your report is well over 3000 words, I will assess your report based on
only the first 3000 words.
Assessment criteria
Assessment against criteria Weighting
Clear and coherent exposition of arguments HD D C P F 40
Analysis is logical and justified in terms of eco-
nomic concepts
HD D C P F 30
Writing: appropriate style, free of spelling and
grammatical errors
HD D C P F 20
Quality, consistency and relevance of refer-
ences
HD D C P F 5
Clear and appropriate formatting HD D C P F 5
Total 100
HD=85+; D=75-84; CR= 65-74; P=50-64; F=0-49
Structuring your report
You are free to organise your report how you would like. Below is a suggested format for
you to consider. (Examples are based on topic 1 above.)
1. Introduction: What is the motivation for the report, and how will it be organised?
ECOS3997, Interdisciplinary project
2. Background: Provide background information that will be useful for answering the
main questions of the report. For example, how do you define a price cycle? What are
the main theories of price cycles that you will consider in the report? What is the logic
of each theory, and what assumptions does it rely on?
3. Cycles: Relative to the definition of a price cycle you have introduced in the previous
section, do you find evidence for the existence of price cycles in the sample dataset?
What is the logic and evidence behind your conclusion?
4. Explanations: What theory do you find most convincing as an explanation for the
pattern of pricing that you have uncovered? What logic and evidence supports your
conclusions? What are the weak points or vulnerabilities of your explanation?
5. Conclusion: The conclusion is an opportunity for you to summarise the main argu-
ments you have made in the report.
Optional charts for analysis
A number of students have indicated that it is a challenging task to summarise the large
volume of data available for this project. I agree that this is a challenging task, and one that
we have not trained for during this unit. Therefore, I would like to offer an alternative. If you
would like, you can use the charts below as a basis for your report. There is no requirement
that you use these charts. You are encouraged to produce your own charts for analysis if
this is feasible for you, or to supplement the charts below with your own. I will take into
account the work and creativity you have put into producing your own charts if you choose
this option.
I have uploaded these charts onto Canvas at the following link: chart pack
Figure 1 contains hourly brand average prices for five of the largest firms in the market for
the year of 2021. The terminal gate price (“TGP”) in black is an indication of the wholesale
price of refined petrol in Sydney. Each coloured line represents, for one brand, the average
price across each of its stations.
Figure 2 presents retail prices for individual stations from January to March, 2021. Each
panel shows the retail prices of each station of a particular brand (coloured lines), together
with the terminal gate price (in black).
Figure 3 contains equivalent information for April to June, 2021.
Figure 4 contains equivalent information for July to September, 2021.
Figure 5 contains equivalent information for October to December, 2021.
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Figure 1: Sydney brand average retail petrol prices
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Figure 2: Station-level prices by brand
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Figure 3: Station-level prices by brand
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Figure 4: Station-level prices by brand
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Figure 5: Station-level prices by brand
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