Economics

Head of Department: Mr G Bishop
Exam board: AQA
Qualification name: Economics
Qualification codes: GCE AS 7135, GCE A Level 7136

What you will study
AS
The operation of markets and market failure
Economic methodology and the economic problem
Price determination in a competitive market
Production, costs and revenue
Competitive and concentrated markets
The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets
The national economy in a global context
The measurement of macroeconomic performance
How the macroeconomy works: the curricular flow of income, AD/AS analysis and related concepts
Economic performance
Macroeconomic policy.

A Level
Individuals, firms, markets and market failure
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: property and inequality
The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets
The national and international economy
The measurement of macroeconomic performance
How the macroeconomy works: the curricular flow of income, AD/AS analysis and related concepts
Economic performance
Financial markets and monetary policy
Fiscal policy and supply-side policies
The international economy.

How you will be assessed
AS
Paper 1: The operation of markets and market failure
A 90-minute written paper (50% of AS)
Section A: 20 multiple choice questions worth 20 marks
Section B: data response questions requiring written answers, choice of one from two contexts worth 50 marks
Paper 2: The national economy in a global context
A 90-minute written paper (50% of AS)
Section A: 20 multiple choice questions worth 20 marks
Section B: data response questions requiring written answers, choice of one from two contexts worth 50 marks.

A Level
Paper 1: Markets and market failure
A two-hour written exam (33.3% of A Level)
Section A includes data response questions requiring written answers – candidates choose one question from two contexts (worth 40 marks).
Section B includes essay questions requiring written answers – candidates choose one from three (worth 40 marks)
Paper 2: National and international economy
A two-hour written exam (33.3% of A Level)
Section A includes data response questions requiring written answers – candidates choose one question from two contexts (worth 40 marks).
Section B includes essay questions requiring written answers – candidates choose one from three (worth 40 marks)
Paper 3: Economic principles and issues
A two-hour written exam (33.3% of A Level)
Section A includes multiple choice questions (worth 30 marks)
Section B contains case study questions requiring written answers (worth 50 marks).

Why choose Economics?
Every day the news carries stories that are rooted in economics. Food prices, taxes, and spending cuts alongside minimum wages, energy costs and mortgages are all part of our world. Economics helps us to understand the behaviour of the market place system which prices everything we buy from houses to coffee and from sugar to soccer players. Economics also helps us to understand more about the whole economy and how government can influence it. Inflation, unemployment, rates of exchange, the growth of our economy and international trade are all critical to our future.

Course requirements
A willingness to engage with current affairs and a logical mind are important, and a good grade in GCSE Mathematics often indicates the latter.

Related subjects at Sixth Form
Politics, History, Geography, Mathematics and Business Studies often make good complementary choices

Where could it lead?
University statistics indicate that the majority of Economics graduates obtain employment within six months of graduating. The jobs they get are many and varied, although with an emphasis on the finance sector (including banking, accountancy, tax advice, actuarial work, insurance and trading). Other roles that Economics graduates regularly go into include management, marketing, sales and advertising, human resources, IT and education.

Further important information
All work is supported by PowerPoint presentations for each topic area and by a full set of notes for each module on the student shared network. Work is extensively referenced to the real world via the excellent Tutor2U website and the wider economics news and economic blogosphere. Students attend revision conferences and are also provided with large sets of exemplar answers with a heavy emphasis on the exam techniques required for high scoring.