Economics

“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually slaves of some defunct economist.” ― John Maynard Keynes

Economics is one of the most dynamic A-level subjects. Economics studies human behaviour. Economics can help to provide answers to the challenges of climate change and environmental damage. The winners and losers from increasing protectionism and the future of work in an era of artificial intelligence. Students will study how markets work and how they fail. Students will also seek to understand the dynamics of change at a micro level (e.g. within an industry) and at a macro level (e.g. within and between countries).

At Key Stage 5, Students develop the knowledge and skills needed to understand and analyse data, think critically about issues and make informed decisions. They will also build upon their quantitative skills and appreciate that, when evaluating arguments, both qualitative and quantitative evidence are important. The specification is split into two main sections, the first section introduces students to microeconomic issues and the second section covers mainly macroeconomic issues. However, students should appreciate that microeconomics and macroeconomics are not entirely distinct areas of study. For example, microeconomic principles often provide fundamental insights into understanding aspects of the macroeconomy. Students should appreciate that value judgements play an important role in economic decision making. It is expected that students will acquire a good knowledge of trends and developments in the economy which have taken place over the past fifteen years and also have an awareness of earlier events where this helps to give recent developments a longer term perspective.