Economics exists in the local, national and international context. The fundamental economic problem relates to all societies; it is a common issue which ties all communities together. All students will learn about the complex relationships established in a global economic environment, the theoretical underpinning of these links and appreciate the different perspectives of these relationships. As a social science, the subject adopts an empirical approach to the study of social phenomena. Based on a methodology dominated by ‘modelling’, an appreciation of this process should assist students understand the ‘theory of knowledge’ that underlies the subject. The Standard Level course will provide the ‘core’ material of the subject, which is further developed in the Higher Level course. In microeconomics students will consider how markets work and the concept of market failure. With reference to macroeconomics, issues relating to modelling an economy, economic growth, inflation, unemployment and macroeconomic policy are the focus. In international economics attention is given to economic integration, trade, protectionism and exchange rates. The course concludes exploring broader development issues.