What does the macroeconomic-policy module of OCR Economics cover?

It covers the instruments governments and central banks use to manage the economy. The content is fiscal policy (government spending, taxation, the budget balance and the national debt, types of tax and automatic stabilisers), monetary policy (interest rates and the transmission mechanism, quantitative easing, the inflation target) and the financial sector and its regulation, supply-side policies (market-based and interventionist), and the conflicts between objectives including the short-run and long-run Phillips curve.

How is this module assessed in OCR Economics?

This macroeconomic content is examined in Component 2 (Macroeconomics, H460/02), an 80-mark, 2-hour paper worth 33.33 per cent of the A-level, using Section A data-response questions and a Section B extended-response essay of up to 25 marks. AD-AS and Phillips-curve diagrams and the evaluation of policy choices are heavily rewarded, and the ideas reappear synoptically in Component 3.

What is the difference between fiscal, monetary and supply-side policy?

Fiscal policy uses government spending and taxation to influence aggregate demand; monetary policy uses interest rates and the money supply, set by the independent central bank, mainly to hit the inflation target; supply-side policy raises the economy's productive capacity by shifting long-run aggregate supply right. Fiscal and monetary policy manage demand and face trade-offs, while supply-side policy can improve several objectives at once but works only slowly.

EnglandEconomics

Macroeconomic policy - OCR A-Level Economics (H460) overview

An overview of the macroeconomic-policy module of OCR A-Level Economics (H460), covering fiscal policy and the public finances, monetary policy and the financial sector, supply-side policies, and policy conflicts and the Phillips curve, and how the module is examined.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.89 min readH460Updated 2026-06-02

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

Jump to a section

The dot points in this module
How this module is examined
How to study this module
Work through the dot points
For the official specification

The macroeconomic-policy module of OCR A-Level Economics (specification H460) covers the tools used to manage the economy and the trade-offs they involve. This page maps the dot points and how they are examined.

The dot points in this module

Fiscal policy and the public finances: 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.
Monetary policy and the financial sector: Interest rates and the transmission mechanism, quantitative easing, the role of the central bank and the inflation target, the functions of the financial sector, and financial regulation.
Supply-side policies and the labour market: Market-based and interventionist supply-side policies, their effect on long-run aggregate supply and the macroeconomic objectives, and their costs, time lags and limitations.
Policy conflicts and the Phillips curve: The conflicts between macroeconomic objectives, the short-run Phillips curve trade-off between inflation and unemployment, the role of expectations, and the vertical long-run Phillips curve.

How this module is examined

OCR Economics is a two-year linear course with three papers at the end. This module is examined in Component 2 (Macroeconomics), an 80-mark, 2-hour paper using data-response questions and a chosen extended-response essay of up to 25 marks. The content also appears synoptically in Component 3 (Themes in economics). AD-AS and Phillips-curve diagrams and balanced evaluation of policy choices are heavily rewarded, and higher-mark questions are marked by levels of response.

How to study this module

Master the diagrams. Use AD-AS to show fiscal and monetary effects, LRAS shifts for supply-side policy, and the short-run and long-run Phillips curves.
Practise the calculations. Classify taxes as progressive or regressive from average tax rates, and link fiscal stimulus to the multiplier.
Build evaluation lines. Weigh each policy's strengths against time lags, crowding out, the public finances and the trade-offs.
Use real examples. Pandemic fiscal support, the 2022 to 2023 interest-rate rises, post-2008 QE and privatisation make application marks easy.

Work through the dot points

Each dot point has its own focused answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links: fiscal policy and the public finances; monetary policy and the financial sector; supply-side policies and the labour market; and policy conflicts and the Phillips curve.

For the official specification

OCR publishes the full specification (H460), past papers and mark schemes at ocr.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and OCR's own past papers, because the question style and the levels-of-response mark schemes are board-specific.

Sources & how we know this

OCR A Level Economics (H460) Specification — OCR (2023)