Economics A Level

Economics is the study of how economies work and why they sometimes fail to work effectively. Among the areas of study are: the function of markets, competition and monopolies, why size matters, why some economies grow and others are stuck in poverty, how the British Economy works and how and why the government influences it, what determines the level of wages, why women earn less than men, pollution and the destruction of the environment, why unemployment still occurs, the benefits of international trade and globalisation, the Single European Currency and the European Union.

Economics is taught over two years with the AS Level being taught in the first year and the A Level in the second year. First Year Themes: Introduction to markets and market failure. Many modern economies, such as the UK, are capitalist systems which rely on the free market to distribute scarce resources. However, the market is not perfect and this unit studies how markets operate and how governments deal with market failures such as unemployment and pollution. The UK economy – performance and policies. Britain has the sixth largest economy in the world but the recent recession has prompted questions about how well balanced the British economy is. Do we rely too much on banking and services? Why do we import more manufactured goods than we export?

Second Year Themes: Business behaviour and the labour market. How do businesses operate? How is income distributed in the British economy and is it fair? Why do women earn less money than men, and is an unequal distribution of income a natural and healthy consequence of a capitalist economy? A global perspective and the financial sector. We live in an increasingly globalised world in which the UK economy is closely linked in with those of other countries. What happens in the US or Japan impacts on the British economy. The balance of the world economy is also changing with Brazil, India and China becoming more important, and this will have far reaching consequences. You will examine public finance, macroeconomic policies and the role of the financial sector in a global context.

Assessment takes place in a variety of ways, including essays, multi-choice questions and case studies. However, to be successful in this subject it is just as important to follow world events related to Economics as it is to attend class and write assignments. Students might go on to careers in: Accountancy, Banking, Business, Civil Service, Insurance, Journalism, Management, Marketing, Media, Fund Management, Retailing, and the Financial Services. Graduates with degrees in Economics are among the very highest paid.