A-Level Economics Notes & Questions (Edexcel)

A-Level Economics Notes & Questions (Edexcel)

We have summarised the Economic concepts from the Edexcel Economics A syllabus, and linked our A-Level Economics notes and questions to key topics on this page. We hope this will serve as a directory of our Economics resources for Edexcel Economics A students in AS and A2. For some topics, certain slides/concepts will not be applicable for this specification, which is noted in the brackets. Topics without links are either coming soon or not available, but a close substitute for these resources will be provided to students receiving mentoring or tuition from us.

Please do bookmark this page and share it if you find it helpful. Edexcel A2 Past papers and Edexcel AS Past papers are also available on the site to test/consolidate your knowledge.

Edexcel Economics A (AS / Year 1)

Theme 1: Introduction to markets and market failure
1.1 Nature of economics
– Scarcity, Opportunity Cost, Factors of Production
– Production Possibility Frontiers: PPFs (Coming soon)
– Specialisation, Division of Labour, Money

1.2 How markets work
– Demand & Supply: Diminishing Marginal Utility, Factors, Shifts, Price Determination (Coming soon)
– Excess Supply and Excess Demand
Price, Income & Cross Elasticity of Demand; Price Elasticity of Supply
– Rationing, Incentive and Signalling Price Functions
Producer & Consumer Surplus
– Behavioural Economics

1.3 Market failure
Public Goods and the Free-Rider Problem
– Asymmetric Information
Externalities (Not Required: Negative Consumption Externality & Positive Production Externality)
Private, External & Social Costs/Benefits
Negative Production Externality
Positive Consumption Externality

1.4 Government Intervention
– Indirect Taxes
Subsidies
Price Controls: Maximum & Minimum Prices
– Pollution Permits, Provision of Information, Regulation, State Provision of Public Goods
– Government Failure: Information Gaps, Opportunity/Administrative Costs, Price Signal Distortions

Theme 2: The UK economy – performance and policies
2.1 Measures of economic performance
– Economic Growth
Inflation
Employment/Unemployment
– Balance of Payments: Current Account

2.2 & 2.3 – Aggregate demand (AD) & Aggregate supply (AS)
– AD & AS Factors, Shifts, Equilibrium Price Level/Output (Coming soon)
– Keynesian & Classical Long-Run Aggregate Supply (LRAS)

2.4 National income
– The Circular Flow of Income
The Multiplier

2.5 Economic Growth
– Trade/Business Cycle

2.6 Macroeconomic objectives and policies
Macroeconomic Objectives
Fiscal Policy
Monetary Policy
Supply-Side Policies
– Conflicts and Tradeoffs between Objectives and Policies (Coming soon)
Phillips Curve (Short-run only)

Edexcel AS Past papers to conslidate AS Edexcel Theme 1 (Paper 1) and Theme 2 (Paper 2) knowledge.
Alternatively, use Edexcel AS old specification papers to consolidate AS Theme 1 (Unit 1) and Theme 2 (Unit 2) knowledge.

Edexcel Economics A (A2 / Year 2)

Theme 3: Business behaviour and the labour market
3.1 Business growth
– Principal-Agent Problem
– Organic Growth and Business Integration: Horizontal/Vertical/Conglomerate
– Mergers and Demergers

3.2 Business objectives
Profit, Revenue, and Sales Maximisation; Satisficing

3.3 Revenues, costs and profits
Revenues: Total (TR), Average (AR), Marginal (MR)
– Costs: Total Cost (TC), Average Cost (AC), Marginal Cost (MC), Fixed Cost (FC), Variable Cost (VC), Diminishing Marginal Returns
Profit Maximisation: Normal Profits, Supernormal Profits and Loss
Economies of Scale & Diseconomies of Scale, Long-Run Average Costs (LRAC), Minimum Efficient Scale (MES)

3.4 Market structures
Perfect Competition
Oligopoly
Monopoly
Market Efficiency
Price Discrimination
Monopolistic Competition
Monopsony
– Contestability

3.5 Labour market
– Demand & Supply of Labour: Factors, Elasticity and Wage Determination
– Labour market failure: Geographical & Occupational Immobility, Monopsony, Minimum Wage

3.6 Government intervention for Market Structures: Types, Impact and Limits (Coming soon)

Theme 4: A global perspective
4.1 International economics
– Globalisation
Absolute/Comparative Advantage
– Pattern of Trade (Coming soon)
– Terms of Trade
– Trading Blocs
Restrictions on Free Trade: Tariffs, Quotas, Domestic Subsidies, Other Barriers
– Balance of Payments
Exchange Rates
– International Competitiveness

4.2 Poverty and inequality
– Absolute/Relative poverty
– Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient

4.3 Emerging and developing economies
– Factors & Strategies influencing growth and development (Coming soon)

4.4 The financial sector: Role of Financial Markets, Financial Market failure and Role of Central Banks

4.5 Role of the state in the macroeconomy
– Global Impact of Macroeconomic Policies: Public Sector Finances, Taxation Impacts, Laffer Curve

Edexcel A2 Past papers to consolidate A2 knowledge from all four Edexcel Economics themes.
Alternatively, use Edexcel A2 old specification papers to consolidate A2 Theme 3 (Unit 3) and Theme 4 (Unit 4) knowledge.