A level Economics Years 12 & 13
Specification
AQA - The specification and assessment structure can be found at the link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/economics/as-and-a-level
Economics is about how we allocate scarce resource in society. How decisions are made about:
- What goods and services should we produce?
- How should those goods and services be produced?
- Who should get the goods and services?
- How will changes affect the economy?
- What is the best way to implement economic change?
A significant component of the A Level qualification focuses on microeconomics. From a base of microeconomic theory, it will enable students to discuss and evaluate how well this theory explains our observations of economic agents in the real world. The theoretical workings of the free market provide a useful starting point for explanation and analysis. Imperfections and market failures provide a lead into discussing the merits and drawbacks of government intervention and the usefulness of theory in explaining observations taken from the real world of economics.
The A Level qualification will also focus on ‘macroeconomics’. It will provide students with the technical and analytical tools required to understand how the economy functions both domestically and globally. The course encourages students to adopt a critical approach to their study of policy through understanding the limitations and conflicts that they present. Policy approaches are also considered in a historical context to understand how macroeconomics has changed over time.
Subject content
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 markers 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 macroeconomy 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.
Examination Assessment Overview
| Paper 1: Markets and Market Failure | Paper 2: National and International Economy | Paper 3: Economic Principles and Issues |
|---|---|---|
| What’s assessed? Content 1-8 above |
What’s assessed? Content 9-14 above |
What’s assessed? Content 1-14 above |
| Assessment Written exam: 2hours 80 marks 33.3% of A Level |
Assessment |
Assessment |
| Questions Section A: data response questions requiring written answers, choice of one from two context worth 40 marks. Section B: essay questions requiring written answers, choice of one from three worth 40 marks. |
Questions |
Questions Section A: multiple choice questions worth 30 marks. Section B: case study questions requiring written answers, worth 50 marks |
Year 12
| Topic | Further details about the topic | Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term | |||
| 1 |
The operation of markets and market failure |
Economic methodology, the nature and purpose of economic activity, economic resources, scarcity, choice and the allocation of resources and production possibility diagrams |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 1 | Production, costs and revenue | Production and productivity, specialisation, division of labour and exchange, costs of production, economies and diseconomies of scale, average revenue, total revenue and profit | |
| 1 | Price determination in a competitive market | The determinants of the demand for goods and services, price, income and cross elasticities of demand, the determinants of the supply of goods and services, price elasticity of supply, the determination of equilibrium market prices and the interrelationship between markets | |
| 2 |
Competitive and concentrated markets |
Market structures, the objectives of firms Monopoly and monopoly power, the competitive market process |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets |
How markets and prices allocate resources, the meaning of market failure, public goods, private goods and quasi-public goods, positive and negative externalities in consumption and production, market imperfections, merit and demerit goods, an inequitable distribution of income and wealth, Government intervention in markets and Government failure | |
| 2 | The measurement of macroeconomic performance | The objectives of Government economic policy, macroeconomic indicators, use of index numbers | |
| Spring Term | |||
| 1 |
How the macroeconomy works |
The circular flow of income, aggregate demand (AD) and aggregate supply (AS) analysis, the determinants of aggregate demand, aggregate demand and the level of economic activity, determinants of short-run aggregate supply and determinants of long-run aggregate supply |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 1 | Economic performance | Economic growth and the economic cycle, employment and unemployment, inflation and deflation, the balance of payments on current account, possible conflicts between macroeconomic policy objectives | |
| 2 |
Macroeconomic policy Macroeconomic mock exam |
Monetary policy, fiscal policy and supply-side policies. |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Summer Term | |||
| 1 | Start A2: Marginality, behavioural economics and poverty | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation | |
| 2 |
End of year exam Economic growth and development |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation | |
Year 13
| Topic | Further details about the topic | Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term | |||
| 1 |
The labour market |
The demand for labour, marginal productivity theory, influences on the supply of labour to different markets, the determination of relative wage rates and levels of employment in perfectly competitive labour markets, the determination of relative wage rates and levels of employment in imperfectly competitive labour markets, the influence of trade unions in determining wages and levels of employment, the National Minimum Wage, discrimination in the labour market. | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 1 |
The distribution of income and wealth: poverty and inequality |
The distribution of income and wealth, the problem of poverty, Government policies to alleviate poverty and to influence the distribution of income and wealth. Measures of growth and development and related links. | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 1 | Perfect competition, imperfectly competitive markets and monopoly | Market structures, the objectives of firms, perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly and monopoly power, price discrimination, the dynamics of competition and competitive market processes, contestable and non-contestable markets, market structure, static efficiency, dynamic efficiency and resource allocation, consumer and producer surplus | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets |
How markets and prices allocate resources (part), public goods, private goods and quasi-public goods (part), positive and negative externalities in consumption and production (part), merit and demerit goods (part), market imperfections, competition policy, public ownership, privatisation, regulation and deregulation of markets, Government intervention in markets (part), Government failure (part) |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 | The measurement of macroeconomic performance | Uses of national income data | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
How the macroeconomy works |
Aggregate demand and the level of economic activity, determinants of long-run aggregate supply | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 | Economic performance | Economic growth and the economic cycle, employment and unemployment, inflation and deflation, possible conflicts between macroeconomic policy objectives | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 | Fiscal policy and supply-side policies | Fiscal policy, supply-side policies | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Spring Term | |||
| 1 |
Financial markets and monetary policy The international economy |
The structure of financial markets and financial assets, commercial banks and investment banks, central banks and monetary policy, regulation of financial markets Globalisation, trade, The Balance of Payments , exchange rate systems, economic growth and development |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
Complete Spring term topics Revision for A- Level Economics examinations |
Scrutiny of past papers and mark schemes | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Summer Term | |||
| 1 | Revision for A- Level Economics examinations | Scrutiny of past papers and mark schemes | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
Assessments
| Resources | Topic | Type of assessment |
|---|---|---|
| CAT 1 | All areas covered in term 1 | Exam paper |
| CAT 2 | All areas covered in Year 12 | Exam paper |
| CAT 3 | Paper 1 and 2 | Mock exam |
| CAT 4 | All areas covered in term 1 | Exam paper |
| CAT 5 | Paper 1 and 2 | Exam paper |
| CAT 6 | Paper 3 | Mock exam |
Main Resources
| Resource | Details | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Text books and support materials |
AQA AS Economics by Powell (ISBN9781471829789) AQA A2 Economics by Powell (ISBN9781471829840) |
All |
| Recommended reading |
A quality newspaper Economics by Alain Anderton (ISBN 9781405892353) |
All |
| Recommended websites | All |
Enrichment opportunities
| Activity | Day and time or term |
|---|---|
