Economics

Course summary

Economics is the study of how society allocates scarce resources between competing claims on their use. Economic issues affect the lives of everyone: when we decide which goods to buy, how we divide up our work and leisure time, how businesses survive, and what policies governments use to run the country. Economics examines the issues and develops models of human behaviour. These models allow us to some extent to analyse problems, predict outcomes, and evaluate policies. How is money defined and what are interest rates and exchange rates? Is free trade a good thing? Why do unemployment and inflation keep going up and down and fluctuate between regions and countries? How do taxes affect the behaviour of firms and consumers? Component 1: Microeconomics • Introduction to microeconomics • The role of markets • Business objectives • Market structures • The labour market Component 2: Macroeconomics • Aggregate demand and aggregate supply • Economic policy objectives • Implementing policy • The global context • The financial sector Component 3: Themes in Economics • The assessment of this component is fully synoptic and draws on both the microeconomic and macroeconomic components. Synoptic assessment involves the explicit drawing together of knowledge, skills and understanding of different aspects of the A Level course.