Economics is at the heart of many issues and problems facing our country and the world today. AQA A-Level in Economics consists of three externally examined papers. In the first year, Students are introduced to economics through building knowledge of core microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts. Breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding with applications to more complex concepts and models are developed in the second year of study. Students will need to apply their knowledge and understanding to both familiar and unfamiliar contexts in the assessment and demonstrate an awareness of current economic events and policies. A-level Economics will give you an understanding of the economic problems which face individuals, firms and governments on a local, national and global level and the alternative ways these problems can be resolved. You will investigate microeconomic topics such as how individual decisions impact economic outcomes, the importance of competition, how markets operate and why they fail and how the distribution of income and wealth is affected. At the same time you will learn about macroeconomics, looking at the ‘big picture’ of how our national economy fits into the global context, the global impact of financial markets and monetary policy and the operation of the international economy. Content also takes into account fundamental advances and changes in economic ideas such as behavioural economics, importance of financial markets and development economics, so that students can relate what they are learning to the world around them. In order to achieve a good grade students should have an interest in the major political and economic issues of the world and current affairs. An understanding of statistics is important and the assessment includes data response writing and critical thinking to evaluate strategies for businesses or the government to use.