Edexcel Course Content
Introduction to markets and market failure
Microeconomics is about how individuals and businesses make choices when resources are limited. This topic covers how markets work – including demand, supply, and prices. It also looks at why markets fail and how the government can intervene to correct market failure.
The UK economy – performance and policies
Macroeconomics is about the economy as a whole. This topic looks at the UK economy as an example – including measures of economic growth, inflation, unemployment, and national income. It also looks at macroeconomic policy and how governments can influence the economy.
Business behaviour and the labour market
This topic uses microeconomic concepts to explain how companies behave and why. It looks at business objectives, revenues, costs, and profits. It also covers the labour market – including wages and employment – and how government can influence it.
A global perspective
This topic applies macroeconomic concepts to understand and explain how countries and economies interact with each other. It looks at international trade, globalisation, and exchange rates, as well as poverty and inequality, the role of banks and financial markets, and the role of governments.
AQA Course Content
Individuals, firms, markets, and market failure
This section focuses on microeconomics, examining how individual consumers and businesses make decisions and interact within markets. It covers how prices are set by supply and demand, market structures such as perfect competition and monopoly, the labour market, poverty and inequality, and why markets can sometimes fail to allocate resources efficiently and how governments can step in to try and correct market failures.
The national and international economy
This section focuses on macroeconomics, looking at the performance and behaviour of the economy as a whole – both nationally and globally. It covers key economic performance indicators – such as inflation, growth, unemployment, and trade – and how aggregate demand and supply shape them. It also explores the policy tools (fiscal, monetary, and supply-side) that governments use to manage the broader economy.
OCR Course Content
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is the study of how individual consumers, businesses, and governments make choices to allocate scarce resources. This includes the goals of these different economic agents, how prices and quantities are determined through demand and supply, and market failure and government intervention.
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is the study of how an overall national or global economy functions as a single system. This includes key economic objectives like growth, employment, inflation, and trade balance, how economic activity fluctuates over time, and how governments use fiscal and monetary policies to manage stability.