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Economics

 

2011 Examination Results

Economics

What is Economics?

There is no one universally accepted answer to the question "What is economics?" There are various definitions:

The Economist's Dictionary of Economics defines economics as "The study of the production, distribution and consumption of wealth in human society."

Wikipedia defines economics as: "Economics is a social science that studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses (Lionell Robbins, 1935). Economics is the study of the trade-offs involved when choosing between alternate sets of decisions."

Economics specification

Economics

Economics is the study of how individuals and groups make decisions with limited resources as to best satisfy their wants, needs, and desires. We hear daily of unemployment, inflation, interest rates, productivity and the balance of payments. The state of the economy affects our current and future standard of living and has come to dominate the media.

The AQA Economics specification examines these issues, explains the way the economy works and provides the basis to forecast what is likely to happen to the economy in the future. Economics is the discipline that investigates how society can make efficient choices so that we can maximise our living standards.

Economics

AS level

At AS, pupils investigate micro and macroeconomics.

Unit 1 - Microeconomics considers the financial characteristics of firms, industries, individual households and the way the individual elements in an economy behave. Microeconomics addresses issues such as:
• Why house prices are are so high.
• Can pollution effectively be controlled?
• Should governments interfere with markets?

Unit 2 - Macroeconomics investigates issues facing nation states. The macroeconomic issues covered include:

• Why governments have an inflation rate and targets and how it could affect us.
• What happens to the economy if people decide to spend more?

• How are we affected by the Chinese and Indian economies?

A2 level

A2 Economics develops the micro and macroeconomic concepts already learnt at AS considering them in greater depth and recognising their values and limitations, as well as understanding, analysing and evaluating macroeconomic performance at a global level. Pupils are encouraged to:

  • develop an understanding of economic concepts and theories through a critical consideration of current economic issues, problems and institutions that affect everyday life
  • select, interpret and use appropriate data from a range of sources
  • analyse, explain and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the market economy and the role of government within it
  • develop a critical approach to economic models and methods of enquiry
  • Interpret and evaluate different types of data from multiple sources.

Skills required

No prior knowledge of the subject is required. However:

Economists need to be good at working with figures. They should enjoy looking at a page of numbers and working out what they mean. Mathematical and information technology skills are essential. Therefore, it is recommended that pupils have attained GCSE Mathematics at grade A /A* and are studying Mathematics at AS or A2 level.

Economists need to be able to explain their ideas simply, in plain English, to non-specialists. They should not be swayed easily by the views of others.

Economists need to be decisive, logical, quick thinking and able to cope with pressure. Often they are only given a few minutes to make a decision based on information given to them.

At the end of the course pupil may wish to continue studying Economics at University. The UCAS database lists over 1000 UK degrees in economics. Economics can be studied alone or combined with a wide range of other subjects such as a language, banking and finance, Mathematics, Politics and Philosophy.

Considering Applying for Business Studies, Economics or Business Management at University

  • Keep up to date with Business and Economic issues happening within the UK and the wider world.
  • Read Newspapers
  • Read Business Review Magazine
  • Read Economics Review and Economics Today Magazines
  • Watch the News, especially the Business News programmes (BBC Business Breakfast, BBC Working Lunch)
  • Keep up to date with Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (Interest Rates) and Governmental Monetary and Fiscal Policies.
Websites
  • Tutor2u is a good website with forums for pupils considering applying to University with suggested reading lists for Oxbridge applications.
  • UCAS website for Open Days and key dates.

Library - Guide to Oxbridge Applications in Economics and the Social Sciences (331.702)

Extra-curricular activities

The Business Studies Department is committed to offering a variety of extra-curricular activities wherever and whenever practicable considering the restraints of time due to public examinations. Currently, extra-curricular activities offered by the Business Studies Department are offered to any pupils in the sixth form and are timetabled to run on Wednesday afternoons. Activities offered have included:

  • The Young Enterprise Scheme
  • Merseyside Industry and Commerce Award (MICA), together with a Crest Award
  • ProShare. Currently pupils participate in the ProShare Student Investor Challenge.

Proshare

The ifsProShare Student Investor Challenge

ifsProShare Student Investor Challenge is a set of business competitions for UK students aged between 14 and 19. The competition includes:

The Portfolio Challenge

Portfolio Challenge is a UK wide investment game for pupils who have the opportunity to invest £100,000 on the Stock Market. Trading runs from November to February after which the top teams go head to head in the regional finals.

What does the challenge involve?

The Portfolio Challenge is designed for teams of four students and has two distinct phases:

Phase One: Using this website, invest a virtual £100,000 in a set of stocks between November and February and watch your wealth grow.

Each month, the most improved team will be rewarded with a prize (only one prize per team).

Phase Two: The top 20 teams from each region with the best performing portfolios as of February will be invited to attend the regional finals, which will take the form of a University Challenge. Teams will be given a series of questions and the top two teams from each region will be invited to the National Final usually in April.

How do I know which shares to trade?

There is a whole host of extra information on the website on each company to help pupils make a good investment decision. Throughout the game, they will be able to refer to advice from the mysterious share Guru on how to pick shares, and if their portfolio performs better than his then the team will get a virtual cash bonus! (Beware though, Guru's friend Monkey is also playing this year, buying and selling shares completely at random - doing worse than the Monkey would be most embarrassing...).

The Rules

Your portfolio will consist of ten stocks chosen from a list of FTSE100 companies, plus 50 selected smaller companies from the FTSE SmallCap Index.

  • Of your stocks, at least six must be from the FTSE100.
  • Those companies that make the FTSE's FTSE4Good UK 50 ethical index will be clearly marked.
  • When you buy a stock, you'll be charged stamp duty and commission, just like you would be in the real world. You will also be charged commission when you sell stock.
  • You'll also have the option to invest up to £20,000 of your virtual cash into an investment trust.
  • The charges for investing in a trust vary, just like the real world.
  • Holding more than £15,000 in hard (virtual) cash is not very helpful and against the rules (the challenges are all about investing, after all!).
  • The minimum investment in any one stock or investment trust is £1,000.
  • There is a 20% maximum spend in any one company.
  • All stock market data will be the genuine live data, provided courtesy of Bloomberg.
 Head of Business Studies - Mrs H Irwin 
Courses Offered       

 A2 / AS (AQA)

 

 Economics