Economics

Economics

Why do petrol prices keep going up and down? Why are interest rates currently so low? Why are businesses finding it hard to raise finance? Why are there NHS waiting lists? These are real life questions that economics helps you to answer. The basic economic problem is that there are limited resources and unlimited demand for these resources

The AQA A-level Economics course covers both microeconomic and macroeconomic theory.

i) Microeconomics: concerned with individual consumers and firms. Issues covered include how consumers make choices, how firms make business decisions, the economic causes and consequences of environmental pollution, powerful monopoly firms, unequal income distribution and the study of alternative economic systems.

ii) Macroeconomics: concerned with issues affecting the entire economy. These include inflation, unemployment, economic growth, the exchange rate, the balance of payments and the UK’s future relationship with the European Union. The impact of globalisation and its consequences for the UK economy are also considered.

The aim of the A-level Economics course is to develop students’ understanding and ability to apply economic concepts and theories. They will do this through a critical consideration of current economic issues, problems and institutions that affect everyday life. To this end it is essential for students to access information from many sources, such as newspapers, television programmes and the Internet. This will support the theoretical discipline of the subject and make it more relevant. Students will be expected to organise and present ideas in a logical essay style, to develop their problem-solving skills and to interpret statistics and data wherever appropriate

The second year of A-level study includes a look at business objectives, market structures,  behavioural economics and the labour market, together with the global economy which covers macroeconomic performance, international trade, development, sustainability and globalisation.

The study of economics equips students with skills which are highly sought after by universities and employers alike, including the ability to analyse and evaluate complex data.