Wales Β· WJECSyllabus
Economics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Wales 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.
Economics in Action (AS Unit 2)
Module overview β- What are the components of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, and what causes each to shift?The components and determinants of aggregate demand, and short-run and long-run aggregate supply and their shifts.12 min answer β
- How do aggregate demand and aggregate supply interact to set output and the price level, and how do the Keynesian and Neo-Classical views differ?The interaction of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, macroeconomic equilibrium, and the Keynesian and Neo-Classical views of long-run aggregate supply.12 min answer β
- How does income circulate around an economy, and what determines the level of national income?The circular flow of income, injections and withdrawals, and the determination of national income equilibrium.12 min answer β
- How are exchange rates determined, and what are the effects of a change in the exchange rate?Exchange rate determination, the effects of changes in the exchange rate, the use of exchange rate policy and the Marshall-Lerner condition.12 min answer β
- Why do countries trade, and what are the costs and benefits of free trade and protectionism?Free trade, comparative advantage, the costs and benefits of protectionism, globalisation, sustainable development and international competitiveness.13 min answer β
- What are a government's main macroeconomic objectives, and why do they sometimes conflict?Government macroeconomic objectives: economic growth, low inflation, low unemployment and a satisfactory balance of payments, and the conflicts between them.12 min answer β
- What policy instruments can a government use to achieve its macroeconomic objectives?Macroeconomic policy instruments: fiscal policy, monetary policy and supply-side policy, and their effects and limitations.13 min answer β
Evaluating Economic Models and Policies (A2 Unit 4)
Module overview β- How do the short-run and long-run views of aggregate supply explain the trade-off between inflation and unemployment?Short-run and long-run aggregate supply, the Keynesian and Neo-Classical views, and the short-run and long-run Phillips Curve.13 min answer β
- What is the balance of payments, what causes a current account imbalance, and how can it be corrected?The structure and measurement of the balance of payments, the causes of current account imbalances, and policies to correct them.12 min answer β
- How is development measured, what holds poorer countries back, and what strategies can promote development?The measurement of development, the barriers to development, and development strategies including aid, foreign direct investment and trade liberalisation.13 min answer β
- What causes economic growth, and is growth always desirable and sustainable?Actual and potential growth, output gaps, the trade cycle, the causes and effects of growth, and its sustainability.13 min answer β
- How does fiscal policy work, and how serious are budget deficits and public sector debt?Fiscal policy, the budget deficit and public sector debt, the distinction between structural and cyclical deficits, and the policy trade-offs.13 min answer β
- How do trading blocs, monetary union, the WTO and the terms of trade shape the global economy?Trading blocs and economic integration, the European Union and monetary union, the World Trade Organisation, the terms of trade, and Welsh and UK trade links.13 min answer β
- What causes inflation and deflation, how are they measured, and why do they matter?The measurement, causes (demand-pull and cost-push), costs and control of inflation, and the causes and dangers of deflation.13 min answer β
- How does monetary policy work, and how do governments manage financial stability and crises?Monetary policy and the transmission mechanism, quantitative easing, financial stability, asset bubbles and the regulation of the financial sector.13 min answer β
- What types of unemployment exist, what causes them, and how can they be reduced?The types, causes, costs and measurement of unemployment, and demand-side and supply-side policies to reduce it.12 min answer β
Exploring Economic Behaviour (A2 Unit 3)
Module overview β- How do a firm's costs, revenues and profit behave, and what does profit maximisation require?Short-run and long-run costs, revenues, the profit-maximising rule and the distinction between normal and abnormal profit.13 min answer β
- What are the different types of economic efficiency, and which market structures achieve them?Productive, allocative, dynamic and X-efficiency, Pareto efficiency, and how different market structures compare.12 min answer β
- How and why do governments intervene to control firms with market power?Government intervention in markets: competition policy, the regulation of monopoly and privatised industries, and privatisation.13 min answer β
- Why and how do firms grow, and what economies and diseconomies of scale result?The growth of firms through internal and external growth and mergers, economies and diseconomies of scale, and reasons firms stay small.13 min answer β
- How do firms with market power behave through price discrimination, collusion, contestability and strategic interaction?Price discrimination, collusion and cartels, the theory of contestable markets, and game theory and oligopoly behaviour.13 min answer β
- How do the main market structures differ, and how does each affect price, output and profit?Perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition: their characteristics and effects on price, output and profit.13 min answer β
Introduction to Economic Principles (AS Unit 1)
Module overview β- How do demand and supply determine price in a product market, and what do the elasticities tell us about how markets respond?Demand and supply in product markets, market equilibrium, consumer and producer surplus, and price, income and cross elasticities of demand and supply.13 min answer β
- How can governments correct market failure, and why might intervention make things worse?Government intervention to correct market failure (taxation, subsidies, price controls, regulation and public provision) and government failure.13 min answer β
- How are wages determined in a labour market, and what happens when minimum wages, trade unions and migration intervene?Wage determination through the demand for and supply of labour, labour market issues, the national minimum wage and the effects of migration.12 min answer β
- Why do free markets sometimes fail to allocate resources efficiently or fairly?Market failure: externalities, public and merit goods, monopoly power, information failure and inequality.13 min answer β
- Why must every economy make choices, and how does the production possibility frontier model the cost of those choices?Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost; the production possibility frontier; specialisation, the division of labour and productivity.12 min answer β
- How does the price mechanism allocate resources in a free market, and how rationally do consumers and producers actually behave?The allocation of resources in a free market, the functions of the price mechanism, and assumptions of rational economic behaviour.12 min answer β