England · AQASyllabus
Economics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Economicssyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
The national and international economy
Module overview →- What determines the total demand for goods and services in an economy?The components of aggregate demand, why the AD curve slopes downwards, the determinants of consumption, investment, government spending and net trade, and the multiplier.9 min answer →
- What determines the total output an economy can supply, in the short run and the long run?Short-run and long-run aggregate supply, the determinants of each, and the difference between the Keynesian and classical views of the long-run AS curve.8 min answer →
- How do we record a country's transactions with the rest of the world?The structure of the balance of payments, the current account and its components, the causes and consequences of current account deficits and surpluses, and policies to correct them.8 min answer →
- What is the difference between growth and development, and how can poorer countries develop?The difference between economic growth and economic development, measures of development, the barriers to development, and the strategies used to promote it.8 min answer →
- What causes an economy to grow, and why does growth come in cycles?Actual and potential growth, the causes of growth, the phases of the economic cycle, output gaps, and the costs and benefits of economic growth.8 min answer →
- How is unemployment measured, what causes it, and why does it matter?The measurement of unemployment, the types and causes of unemployment, the consequences of unemployment, and the significance of changes in employment and the labour force.8 min answer →
- How are the price level and real output determined for the whole economy?Macroeconomic equilibrium where AD equals AS, the effects of shifts in AD and AS, and the difference between the Keynesian and classical analysis of equilibrium.8 min answer →
- What determines the value of a currency, and how does it affect the economy?Exchange rate systems, the determination of floating exchange rates, the causes and effects of appreciation and depreciation, and the Marshall-Lerner condition and the J-curve.9 min answer →
- How does government taxation and spending influence the economy?Fiscal policy and the government budget, the use of taxation and government spending to influence AD and AS, the budget balance and national debt, and the limitations of fiscal policy.9 min answer →
- What is globalisation, and who gains and loses from it?The meaning and causes of globalisation, the role of multinational corporations, and the costs and benefits of globalisation for countries, firms and consumers.8 min answer →
- What causes prices to rise or fall, and why does it matter?The measurement of inflation, demand-pull and cost-push causes, the consequences of inflation and deflation, and the role of expectations.9 min answer →
- Why do countries trade, and should trade be free or protected?Absolute and comparative advantage and the gains from trade, the patterns of trade, the arguments for and against protectionism, and the role of trading blocs and the WTO.9 min answer →
- How do economists measure how well an economy is performing?The main macroeconomic objectives, the use of GDP and real and nominal values, index numbers, and other indicators of living standards and well-being.8 min answer →
- How does a central bank use interest rates and the money supply to manage the economy?Monetary policy, the role of the central bank, the use of interest rates and quantitative easing, the transmission mechanism, and the limitations of monetary policy.9 min answer →
- How does income flow around an economy, and what makes it grow or shrink?The circular flow of income, injections and withdrawals, the distinction between income, expenditure and output, and the concept of equilibrium national income.7 min answer →
- How can government raise the productive capacity of the economy?Supply-side policies, the distinction between market-based and interventionist measures, their effects on AS and the macroeconomic objectives, and their limitations.8 min answer →
Individuals, firms, markets and market failure
Module overview →- How do we measure the welfare gains that buyers and sellers get from trading?Consumer surplus and producer surplus, how they are shown on a demand and supply diagram, and how they change when price, demand or supply changes.7 min answer →
- How do a firm's costs behave as output changes?Fixed and variable costs, total, average and marginal cost, the shapes of the short-run cost curves, and the relationship between marginal and average cost.8 min answer →
- What determines how much of a good consumers want to buy?The demand curve, the law of demand and diminishing marginal utility, the conditions of demand and the causes of shifts in demand, and the distinction between movements along and shifts of the curve.8 min answer →
- How do economists think, and what is the difference between positive and normative statements?Economics as a social science, the use of models and ceteris paribus, positive versus normative statements, and the role of value judgements in economic decision making.8 min answer →
- Why do average costs fall as firms grow larger, and why can they eventually rise?Internal and external economies of scale, diseconomies of scale, the long-run average cost curve, minimum efficient scale, and the link to returns to scale.8 min answer →
- How responsive are demand and supply to changes in price, income and other prices?Price, income and cross elasticity of demand and price elasticity of supply, their calculation and determinants, and the link between price elasticity of demand and total revenue.9 min answer →
- How can government correct market failure, and why might intervention make things worse?Government intervention to correct market failure through taxes, subsidies, regulation, price controls, tradable permits and provision, and the causes of government failure.9 min answer →
- Why do free markets sometimes fail to allocate resources efficiently?Market failure and the types of efficiency, positive and negative externalities in production and consumption, and the welfare loss they create.9 min answer →
- How does a monopoly set price and output, and is monopoly good or bad for welfare?The monopoly model, barriers to entry, the determination of price and output, the costs and benefits of monopoly, natural monopoly, and sources of monopoly power.9 min answer →
- Why do a few large firms behave so differently from many small ones?The characteristics of oligopoly, concentration ratios, interdependence and the kinked demand curve, collusion and cartels, and price and non-price competition.9 min answer →
- How do firms behave in a perfectly competitive market in the short and long run?The assumptions of perfect competition, short-run and long-run equilibrium, the entry and exit of firms, and the efficiency properties of the model.8 min answer →
- How does the production possibility frontier show scarcity, and why do economies specialise and trade?The production possibility frontier (PPF), opportunity cost shown by movements along it, economic growth and shifts of the PPF, specialisation, the division of labour, and the functions of money.9 min answer →
- How are prices set in a free market, and how do markets respond to change?The determination of equilibrium market prices, how excess demand and excess supply are eliminated, the functions of the price mechanism, and the effect of shifts in demand and supply.8 min answer →
- Why and how do firms charge different prices for the same product?Price discrimination, the conditions required for it, the degrees of price discrimination, and its effects on firms, consumers and economic welfare.8 min answer →
- What is the difference between production and productivity, and why does productivity matter?Production and productivity, the difference between them, specialisation and the division of labour, and the law of diminishing returns and returns to scale.8 min answer →
- Why does the market under-provide certain goods, and what does information have to do with it?Public goods and the free-rider problem, merit and demerit goods, information gaps and asymmetric information, and the under- or over-provision of these goods.8 min answer →
- How do firms measure revenue and profit, and what is the profit-maximising rule?Total, average and marginal revenue, the distinction between normal and supernormal profit, the profit-maximising rule, and alternative objectives of firms.8 min answer →
- What determines how much of a good firms are willing to sell?The supply curve and the law of supply, the conditions of supply that shift it, the distinction between movements and shifts, and the role of profit, costs and indirect taxes and subsidies.7 min answer →
- Why must every economy make choices, and what does each choice cost?Scarcity, the fundamental economic problem, finite resources and infinite wants, the factors of production, opportunity cost, and the basic economic questions of what, how and for whom to produce.8 min answer →
- What determines wages and employment in a labour market?The demand for and supply of labour, wage determination in competitive labour markets, the marginal revenue product of labour, monopsony and trade unions, and wage differentials.9 min answer →