Edexcel AS and A Level Economics A: Getting Started Guide Overview

This guide provides an essential overview of the updated Pearson Edexcel AS and A Level Economics A specifications, designed to foster a deep understanding of economic principles and their real-world application. The qualifications are now linear, meaning all examinations are taken at the end of the course (one year for AS, two for A Level), with no January assessment window. The AS Level is a standalone qualification, though its content (Themes 1 and 2) is embedded within the A Level, allowing for co-teachability.

Core Content Themes

The A Level specification is structured around four interconnected themes:

Theme 1: Introduction to markets and market failure covers fundamental microeconomic concepts such as scarcity, opportunity cost, production possibility frontiers, specialisation, economic systems (free market, mixed, command), demand, supply, elasticities, price determination, consumer/producer surplus, indirect taxes/subsidies, and market failures (externalities, public goods, information gaps), alongside government intervention and potential government failure.
Theme 2: The UK economy – performance and policies delves into macroeconomic measures like economic growth (GDP, GNP, GNI), inflation, employment/unemployment, and the balance of payments. It explores aggregate demand and supply, national income, the multiplier, economic growth drivers, output gaps, the business cycle, and the impact of growth. This theme also covers macroeconomic objectives and demand-side (fiscal, monetary) and supply-side policies, including their conflicts and historical applications (e.g., Great Depression, Global Financial Crisis).
Theme 3: Business behaviour and the labour market examines firm sizes and types, business growth strategies (organic, integration, demergers), business objectives (profit, sales, revenue maximisation, satisficing), revenue, costs, profits, economies/diseconomies of scale, and market structures (perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly, monopsony, contestability). It also covers the labour market, including demand and supply for labour, immobility, wage determination, and government intervention.
Theme 4: A global perspective broadens the scope to international economics, including globalisation, specialisation and trade (comparative/absolute advantage), patterns of trade, terms of trade, trading blocs, the WTO, and restrictions on free trade. It addresses poverty and inequality (absolute/relative, measures like Lorenz curve/Gini coefficient), emerging economies (development measures like HDI, IHDI, MPI, factors influencing growth), and strategies for development. The theme also covers the financial sector (role of markets, market failure, central banks) and the state's role in the macroeconomy (public expenditure, taxation, public sector finances, global macroeconomic policies).

Key Skills and Assessment

The specifications emphasize developing critical skills for progression, including economic thinking, applying concepts to real-world contexts, and robust quantitative skills (at least 15% of AS marks, 20% of A Level marks). Students will practice calculations, data interpretation, and graphical analysis across all themes. Furthermore, the course aims to develop broader transferable skills such as cognitive (problem-solving, critical thinking), interpersonal (communication, teamwork), and intrapersonal (adaptability, self-management) abilities.

Assessment objectives (AO1: Knowledge/Understanding, AO2: Application, AO3: Analysis, AO4: Evaluation) are clearly defined, with varying weightings for AS and A Level. Exams feature multiple-choice, short open-response, and extended open-response questions, with choice provided for extended writing tasks. Skills-based mark schemes ensure consistent and clear expectations for student responses.

The guide also highlights the availability of comprehensive support resources for planning, teaching, and understanding the new specifications, and notes the relevance of Economics to the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).