OLA 6th Economics
Why do oil prices fluctuate?
Why does the government provide free health care to its citizens?
Why do economies experience recessions?
The study of Economics provides us with answers to these questions and many more.
Why study Economics at A Level?
Economics is a fascinating subject especially in the current climate of change. Economics helps you to look more deeply into the world around you and it can give new perspectives on some of the most pressing and challenging problems facing society today. Few decisions are taken that are not influenced to some degree by Economics. It explores the role of government, producers and consumers and explains many of the issues and debates that feature in world economic affairs and in society.
A Level Economics is a thought provoking course which enables you to learn about traditional and more recent economic theories; it challenges your inherent views and examines national and international economic events. Economics is a current, relevant and dynamic.
Specification Code: AQA 7136
What will I Study?
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: poverty and inequality • The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets
The national and international economy
• The measurement of macroeconomic performance
• How the macro-economy works : the circular 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
Throughout the course students are encouraged to develop a critical approach to economic models and methods of enquiry. The skills of analysis and evaluation are developed throughout the course.
Assessment of the A Level: three compulsory papers
Paper 1
Is a 2 hour written examination; 80 marks worth 33.3% of the A Level. Section A has data response questions worth 40 marks and section B allows you to choose one essay question from three titles worth 40 marks.
Paper 2
Is a 2 hour written examination; 80 marks worth 33.3% of the A Level. Section A has data response questions worth 40 marks and section B allows you to choose one essay question from three titles worth 40 marks.
Paper 3
Is a 2 hour written examination; 80 marks worth 33.3% of the A Level. Section A has multiple choice questions worth 30 marks and section B is a case study question worth 50 marks
Further study and careers in Economics
Whilst not a prerequisite to study Economics at university, A Level Economics provides an excellent basis for further study in this area or many related subjects. Degrees are offered in Economics or as part of a joint degree with Politics, Management, History or Mathematics. Careers for Economics graduates include roles in finance, accountancy, research or advisory roles for banks, government or business.
Preparatory work for studying Economics in the Sixth Form
Be aware of the Economic and Political environment. As we progress through the course, as discussed above, we draw upon situations which occur in the world around us. An interest in, and an understanding of, current affairs are essential to good performance in Economics. Brexit, UK and overseas Government economic policies are in the news daily at the moment. Try to read the news as often as you can, ideally every day but certainly a couple of times each week. The following are good places to start:
• Download news apps to your phone – try the BBC News app and personalise your newsfeeds to include Economics, UK Business, World, Technology and Politics. Also, try ‘Flipboard’ and again tailor your newsfeeds.
• News on the TV – BBC News and Channel 4 News tend to have the best coverage of economic issues.
• Newspapers and Journals – The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph Business pages and The Guardian offer both UK business and International news on. The Financial Times is good but maybe a little too technical at this stage in your studies. Be aware of ideological bias in the news and try to get a balanced view. The Economist is a very good source of information.
• Read Books. An understanding of Economics is becoming more popular and, as such, there are an ever-increasing number of accessible economics books out there. Here are some you can try. They are arranged in approximate order of complexity so it is better to start at the top of the list:
• Freakonomics/Superfreakonomics (Levitt & Dubner)
• The Economic Naturalist (Frank)
• Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy (Tim Harford) – a book to go alongside the podcast which looks at everything from concrete to baby formula and insurance.
• The Undercover Economist (Harford)
• 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know (Conway)
• No Logo (Naomi Klein)
• 23 Things they didn’t tell you about Capitalism (Ha-Joon Chang)