The specification
The four themes
Edexcel Economics A splits the course into four themes. Themes 1 and 3 are microeconomics, the study of individual markets, firms and choices; Themes 2 and 4 are macroeconomics, the study of the economy as a whole. Every topic page defines the concepts, shows the diagram, walks a chain of reasoning and turns it into evaluation.
Markets and market failure
The nature of economics, demand and supply, elasticities, the price mechanism, market failure and government intervention.
Examined in Papers 1 and 3
Theme 2 · MacroeconomicsThe UK economy: performance and policies
Measures of performance, aggregate demand and supply, the macroeconomic objectives, and fiscal, monetary and supply-side policy.
Examined in Papers 2 and 3
Theme 3 · MicroeconomicsBusiness behaviour and the labour market
Business growth and objectives, costs, revenue and profit, the market structures, and the labour market.
Examined in Papers 1 and 3
Theme 4 · MacroeconomicsA global perspective
Globalisation and international trade, exchange rates, the financial sector, and development, poverty and inequality.
Examined in Papers 2 and 3
Micro and macro are one subject
It is tempting to treat the two halves as separate courses, but the strongest answers move between them. A minimum wage (Theme 3) changes costs, employment and household incomes (Theme 2); a change in the exchange rate (Theme 4) feeds through to the prices firms and consumers face (Theme 1). Paper 3 is built entirely on making those links, so look for them as you go.