Economics

Economics is one of the social sciences: a group of subjects that study various aspects of human behaviour. It concentrates on how we behave when faced with the economic problem that the world has too few resources to produce enough goods and services to satisfy all the wants of all of its people. Given this economic problem, choices have to be made about what, how and for whom to produce goods and services. Economists study how people, businesses and governments make choices and the consequences of their decisions. The skills you require: During the Advanced Level course you will encounter the underlying models and theories of Economics and be expected to apply them to various real world situations. In addition to acquiring a sound knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, you will also need to develop your powers of logical analysis and evaluation. To be successful, you will have to read widely and keep abreast of current affairs. The statistical and data handling aspects of the work require no more than a competent performance at GCSE/IGCSE Mathematics.

Course structure and content

The course being followed is the AQA Economics Specification (7136) and covers the following topics:

Individuals, firms, markets and market failure (microeconomics) • Economic methodology and the economic problem • Individual economic decision making • Price determination in a competitive market • Production, costs and revenue • Perfect competition, imperfectly competitive markets and monopoly • The labour market • The distribution of income and wealth: poverty and inequality • The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets The national and international economy (macroeconomics) • The measurement of macroeconomic performance • How the macroeconomy works: the circular flow of income, aggregate demand/aggregate supply analysis and related concepts • Economic performance • Financial markets and monetary policy • Fiscal policy and supply-side policy • The international economy

Assessment

Paper 1 (2 hours) Microeconomics data response and essay questions. Paper 2 (2 hours) Macroeconomics data response and essay questions. Paper 3 (2 hours) Multiple-choice questions and a case study covering all aspects of the course content. Economics is a contemporary, thought-provoking and evolving subject. It is always in the news, unearthing new problems and proposing new remedies. The challenge of learning about something that exerts a significant influence over your behaviour and life should be given serious consideration.