Economics and Business Studies

The History of Economics and Business Studies

Whilst Economic writings date from earlier Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman and Arab civilisations, the term “economics” was popularized by neoclassical economists at the start of the 20th Century. Up until the mid-30s, economic thought was based on classical economics, predominantly the thoughts of Adam Smith (1770s). It was the Great Depression of the 1930s that brought an alternative view to macroeconomics by John Maynard Keynes who believed that high unemployment may not be self-correcting. Classical economists was modernised in the 1970s with the development of monetarism which was embodied in the governments of both Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in

2014-15

The Department enjoys participating in a variety of competitions each year. At the beginning of the academic year, we began the Young Enterprise Company Programme with two Year 12 teams: Cosmos and the Candle Company. Both teams developed a strong brand image and participated in the Dragon’s Den Event ran by Ernst Young. They also ran a stall at the Trafford Centre Spring Fair, amongst other events during the year. Team Cosmos won through to the Greater Manchester Area Final in May and created a festival ‘vibe’ with their creative stall. In the Autumn Term, a team of four Year 13 Economists entered the prestigious Target 2.0 competition, run by the Bank of England. After months of preparation, the girls produced a 15 minute presentation on what level of interest rate would best suit the current economic conditions. The judges commented on the team’s excellent performance, in which they covered all of the key influences on the current economy the US. In comparison to Economics, Business Studies is often viewed as a ‘modern’ subject and has only been taught in schools since the early 1990s. The teaching of the subject began with MBA’s and degree level courses and then it slowly filtered down to A Level and GSCE. In BSGD Economics and Business Studies have been taught solely by Girls’ Division staff with a Head of Department and a part time member of staff since the late 1990s. In recent years, there has been some growth in the popularity of the subjects and we have additional teaching from the Boys’ Division.

and provided clear justification for their interest rate decision. They endured some tough questioning about the natural rate of unemployment but they were a credit to the school both on the day and in the commitment they displayed throughout the preparation. In the Spring Term, it was the turn of the Year 13 Business Studies’ students, who participated in the popular BASE competition run by the ICAEW. We travelled to the home of Stockport County Football Club to take part in the challenging day of activities. At the start of the day, the girls were given a detailed business scenario, they were then presented with issues that affected the business from which they had to devise appropriate strategies. The competition concluded with each team presenting their ideas to a panel of judges. Despite not progressing to the next round, the girls enjoyed the competition as it helped them improve their strategic thinking and appreciate the synoptic nature of a business.

Miss Lisa Jones