Economics

Economics is a subject for all those people who take an interest in, and wish to understand more about the world around them. It brings meaning to the way that we make decisions about our lives. It forms an important part of many professional examinations and is a highly valued subject in its own right at University. It considers questions such as:

• What determines the prices of different products that we buy?
• What do we mean by ‘value’?
• What is happening in different markets, such as the housing market and stock market?
• What are interest rates – why do they matter?
• What is the pound worth – in Dollars and Euros?
• Should the UK join the Euro?
• What is ‘globalisation’?

The AS course is made up of two Units,the exams for which are taken in June each year. There is no coursework.

Module 1 – Markets and Market Failure

Modern Economics involves the understanding of how markets work. This unit is concerned with the behaviour of buyers and sellers who make up various markets, and how they interact. It is also about how and why markets don’t work properly sometimes, leading to bad economic decisions, such as wrong prices being charged for different products. Governments often have to take action to improve the working of these markets. These issues are also considered here.

The exam consists of 25 multiple choice questions and a choice of one data response question from two.

Module 2 - The National Economy

In this unit we look at the UK and other economies and assess how well they are performing. To do this we analyse measurements such as inflation, unemployment, economic growth and trade figures. Also, Governments can also affect economic performance and so, different types of Government policy are considered in this unit. As with Unit 1, economic theory is used to help with our understanding.

Again, the exam consists of a combination of 25 multiple choice questions and one from two data response questions.

For those students wishing to study economics at A2 level, we offer 2 more Units, in which we develop our work on modules 1 and 2 with a detailed study of the Economics of the European Union and the major issue of Globalisation.