England · WJEC EduqasSyllabus
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.
Macroeconomics: Aggregate demand, supply and policy
Module overview →- What determines aggregate demand and supply, and how do they set the price level and national output?Aggregate demand and aggregate supply: the components of aggregate demand, the determinants of short-run and long-run aggregate supply, macroeconomic equilibrium, and the effects of shifts in AD and AS.13 min answer →
- How does fiscal policy manage demand and the public finances, and what are its limits?Fiscal policy: government spending and taxation, the budget balance and the national debt, direct and indirect and progressive and regressive taxes, automatic stabilisers, and the strengths and weaknesses of fiscal policy.12 min answer →
- How do interest rates and the money supply influence the economy, and what are the limits of monetary policy?Monetary policy: interest rates and the transmission mechanism, the role of the central bank and inflation targeting, quantitative easing, and the strengths and weaknesses of monetary policy.12 min answer →
- Why do macroeconomic objectives conflict, and what does the Phillips curve say about inflation and unemployment?Policy conflicts and the Phillips curve: the trade-offs between macroeconomic objectives, the short-run Phillips curve relationship between inflation and unemployment, the long-run Phillips curve, and the role of expectations.12 min answer →
- How do supply-side policies raise productive capacity, and how do market-based and interventionist approaches differ?Supply-side policies: market-based and interventionist supply-side policies, their effect on long-run aggregate supply and the objectives, and their costs, limits and time lags.12 min answer →
- How does the multiplier amplify a change in spending, and how does the accelerator link investment to growth?The multiplier and accelerator: the circular flow of income, injections and withdrawals, the multiplier process and its calculation from the marginal propensities, and the accelerator effect.12 min answer →
Microeconomics: Business economics and market structures
Module overview →- How do a firm's costs, revenues and profit behave, and how do they drive the profit-maximising output decision?Costs, revenues and profit: fixed and variable costs, marginal, average and total cost and revenue, the law of diminishing returns, normal and supernormal profit, and the profit-maximising condition.12 min answer →
- Why do average costs fall as firms grow, and what drives and limits business growth?Economies and diseconomies of scale and business growth: internal and external economies of scale, the minimum efficient scale, the causes of diseconomies of scale, and organic versus integrated growth and the divorce of ownership from control.12 min answer →
- How do oligopolies and monopolies set price and output, and what are the consequences for consumers?Oligopoly and monopoly: concentration and barriers to entry, interdependence and collusion in oligopoly, the kinked demand curve and game theory, monopoly equilibrium, price discrimination, and the costs and benefits of monopoly.13 min answer →
- How do perfectly competitive and monopolistically competitive firms behave in the short and long run?Perfect competition and monopolistic competition: their assumptions and characteristics, short-run and long-run equilibrium, the role of entry and exit, and the efficiency of each market structure.12 min answer →
- How are wages determined, and how do monopsony, trade unions and the minimum wage change the outcome?The labour market: the demand for and supply of labour, wage determination in competitive labour markets, wage differentials, monopsony and trade unions, and the effects of a national minimum wage.12 min answer →
Macroeconomics: Macroeconomic objectives and indicators
Module overview →- How is economic growth measured, what causes it, and how does it move through the business cycle?Economic growth and the business cycle: the measurement of GDP and growth, real versus nominal and per-capita measures, the causes of short-run and long-run growth, the phases of the business cycle, and the costs and benefits of growth.12 min answer →
- How is inflation measured, what causes it, and why do inflation and deflation matter?Inflation and deflation: the measurement of inflation using a price index, demand-pull and cost-push causes, the effects of inflation and deflation, and the distinction between inflation, disinflation and deflation.12 min answer →
- What does the balance of payments record, and why does a persistent current-account deficit matter?The balance of payments and the current account: the structure of the balance of payments, the components of the current account, the causes and consequences of a current-account deficit or surplus, and the link to other objectives.12 min answer →
- What causes inequality in income and wealth, and how can governments influence the distribution?The distribution of income and wealth: the difference between income and wealth, the causes of inequality, the costs and benefits of inequality, and the policies governments use to redistribute.12 min answer →
- How is unemployment measured, what are its causes, and what are its costs?Unemployment: its measurement by the claimant count and the Labour Force Survey, the causes of unemployment (cyclical, structural, frictional and real-wage), and the economic and social costs of unemployment.12 min answer →
Microeconomics: Market failure and government intervention
Module overview →- How do externalities cause markets to misallocate resources, and what does this mean for the environment?Externalities and the environment: positive and negative externalities in production and consumption, private and social costs and benefits, the welfare loss from market failure, and environmental market failure.12 min answer →
- What tools can governments use to correct market failure, and when does intervention make things worse?Government intervention and government failure: indirect taxes and subsidies, maximum and minimum prices, regulation, tradable pollution permits and state provision, and the causes of government failure.13 min answer →
- How do monopoly power and an unequal distribution of income count as market failures, and how are they measured?Monopoly power and inequality as market failures: the welfare costs of monopoly power, factor immobility, the distinction between equity and equality, and the measurement of inequality using the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient.12 min answer →
- Why do markets fail to provide public goods, and how does asymmetric information distort markets?Public goods and information failure: non-rivalry and non-excludability, the free-rider problem, merit and demerit goods, and asymmetric information and moral hazard as causes of market failure.12 min answer →
Microeconomics: Markets and the price system
Module overview →- What do consumer and producer surplus measure, and how do they capture the welfare gains from trade?Consumer and producer surplus: their definition and measurement on a demand-and-supply diagram, how they change when price or the curves shift, and their use in welfare analysis.11 min answer →
- How do demand and supply set the equilibrium price, and what functions does the price mechanism perform?Demand, supply and the price mechanism: the determinants of demand and supply, movements versus shifts, market equilibrium and disequilibrium, and the rationing, signalling and incentive functions of prices.12 min answer →
- How do the four elasticities measure responsiveness, and why do they matter for revenue, taxes and producers?Elasticity: 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.13 min answer →
- How do economic systems allocate resources, and how does thinking at the margin explain rational choice?Resource allocation and rational decision-making: free-market, command and mixed economies, allocative and productive efficiency, marginal utility and rational choice, and the assumptions and limits of rational economic behaviour.12 min answer →
- Why does scarcity force every economy to choose, and how does the production possibility frontier model that choice?Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost: the basic economic problem, the factors of production, the production possibility frontier, and positive versus normative statements.12 min answer →
Trade and development
Module overview →- How does economic development differ from growth, how is it measured, and what holds developing economies back?Economic development and developing economies: the difference between growth and development, the measurement of development including the Human Development Index, the characteristics of developing economies, and the barriers to development.12 min answer →
- What determines exchange rates, and how do their movements affect the economy?Exchange rates: floating and fixed (and managed) exchange rate systems, the determinants of a floating exchange rate, the effects of appreciation and depreciation, and the Marshall-Lerner condition and J-curve.12 min answer →
- What is driving globalisation, and who gains and loses from an increasingly integrated world economy?Globalisation: the causes and characteristics of globalisation, the role of multinational corporations and foreign direct investment, and the costs and benefits of globalisation for developed and developing economies.12 min answer →
- Why do countries trade, and how does comparative advantage explain the gains from specialisation?International trade and comparative advantage: absolute and comparative advantage, the gains from trade and specialisation, the terms of trade, and the limitations of the theory.13 min answer →
- Why and how do governments restrict trade, and what do trading blocs and the WTO do?Protectionism and trading blocs: tariffs, quotas, subsidies and other barriers, the arguments for and against protectionism, types of trading bloc, and the role of the World Trade Organisation.13 min answer →
- Which strategies can promote economic development, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?Strategies to promote development: market-oriented and interventionist strategies, trade and aid, the role of foreign direct investment, microfinance and debt relief, and their effectiveness.12 min answer →