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Economics Examination Board: Edexcel Economics is a fascinating subject which is constantly in the news headlines. Studying Economics A-level enables you to develop a critical awareness of an enormous range of topical issues ranging from China’s remarkable economic emergence to the role of economics in solving problems such as climate change, binge drinking and traffic congestion. Everyone starting out in Year 12 is new to Economics, so everyone goes on this journey of discovery together. At the core of economic study is decisionmaking: how do people, firms and governments make decisions when we can’t do or have everything? Each choice requires us to give up one thing in order to choose the other. Economics uses simple models to analyse these relationships and illustrate their impact, investigating questions such as: ■
ill I make more money if I raise my price W or lower it?
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hich firm is better: a big firm or a small W one?
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ow can the problem of pollution be H tackled?
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oes international trade make our lives D better or worse?
■ Should interest rates be raised or lowered? ■ How
will changes in tax rates affect different people in society?
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hy is it so difficult for poor countries to W develop?
Economics is exciting because we are regularly discussing current affairs. You may not feel very connected to the issues that politicians talk about or items discussed on the 'News at Ten', but you will once you’ve spent some time in Economics lessons. Good GCSE results in English and Mathematics are an indication that you would be able to tackle the writing component of the course and understand the more theoretical aspects of this subject. Students must be comfortable with percentages and analysing graphs and data. Whether or not you are planning to pursue the subject at university, studying A-level Economics is extremely valuable. It is wellregarded by all university departments as a cross-curricular subject because it combines social analysis with mathematical logic and it requires students to apply their understanding in the formation of a coherent argument. Aside from being an excellent preparation for further academic study, it is a tremendously useful course in preparation for adult life. The course begins by considering both micro and macroeconomics. In microeconomics, you will study the choices people make about what to buy and sell. Analysis of the basic economic problem looks at the constraints of allocating resources and satisfying the infinite wants in an economy. Demand and supply within a market influence the pricing of any product in our economy and this unit will explore this relationship in more depth. It is also necessary to consider times when
