The Subject
Economics at Collingham is a rewarding intellectual experience, offering highly marketable skills in a way that is both stimulating and analytically rigorous.
Why study Economics?
Have you ever wondered:
- Why cigarettes and alcohol are taxed so heavily?
- What effect the Euro has on your life?
- Why European food surpluses are not given to poor countries suffering famine?
- Why parking is so expensive in London?
These are some of the many questions dealt with in an Economics course. Students are encouraged to take a lively interest in current affairs as discussed in the newspapers or podcasts or television. By the end of the course, students will be in a position to understand and discuss current economic issues, such as: potential ramifications of the UK leaving the EU, the importance of controlling inflation, the effect of commodity price rises on businesses, consumers and the economy.
This is an excellent subject for numerate, literate and able students. It combines well with most subjects, although we would not generally advise students to take both Economics and Business A Levels. GCSE Maths is needed, not because of any formal mathematical content, but as an indication of analytical ability.
Economics can form the basis of many different university courses or careers. It is a qualification respected by university admissions tutors as an indication of analytical ability. It can be a complement to other A Levels in the Sciences, Social Sciences or Humanities, and may lead to degree courses in any discipline.
The course
Students starting the linear two-year course in September will take an internal examination in micro and macroeconomics at the end of the first year. During the second year candidates develop the micro and macroeconomics already learnt at during year one, considering economic concepts and theories in greater depth and recognising the values and limitations of economic models.
The A level subject content is presented in three papers;
Paper one provides an introduction to the nature of economics and examines the operation of markets for goods and services, why and how markets fail and how the government attempts to provide remedies. This requires analysis of production, costs and revenue in both competitive and concentrated markets as well as the labour market and the distribution of income and wealth: poverty and inequality.
Paper two focuses on the national economy in a global context, measuring macroeconomic performance, utilising AD/AS analysis, and assessing macroeconomic monetary, fiscal and supply-side policy in specific markets such as the financial sector.
Paper three combines micro and macroeconomic theory, addressing a particular current affairs question.
A one-year course is possible for determined and able students with a mature attitude and an interest in current affairs.
Preferred Board: AQA