A2-level Economics
This is the course outline for the 2008 course. Please treat the information on this page AS A GUIDE ONLY. Updated course outlines, fees and dates will be available from the first week of January 2009.
Please note that it is ESSENTIAL that you read the following information before filling
in the application form.
The course is aimed at students sitting A2-level Economics in the summer of 2008.
| Harrow Course code: |
AECO0001 |
| English Examination Boards: |
Based on Edexcel |
| Number of days: |
Five half days |
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Course outline
The emphasis will be on the consolidation of basic principles and ideas and their application
to data response and essay questions. Examination technique and study skills will be stressed.
This course, delivered in 5 sessions is based on the Edexcel syllabus. There is considerable
overlap with A2 offered by other boards but students must be aware that both content and sample
materials are drawn from the Edexcel board.
Topics covered will as far as possible, be adjusted to suit the needs of the students in
each class. Content will be based on an analysis of newspaper articles, e.g. David Smith's
column in the Sunday Times Business Section, and an analysis of the exam papers set in 2005
and 2006.
The following topics will be covered:
Unit 4 - Industrial Economics
- Productivity and diminishing returns
- Cost structure of a firm
- Revenue, based on perfect competition AR = MR = MU
- Alternative motives for a firm; profit, revenue and sales maximisation
- Productive and allocative efficiency
- Monopoly, cost structure, output policy and efficiency
- Economies of scale
- Natural monopoly and the cost structure
- Price discrimination
- The kinked demand curve/elementary games theory
- Monopolistic competition
- Oligopoly
- Concentration ratio
- Pricing and non pricing strategies in oligopoly
- Contestability theory
- Privatised industries and the regulator
- Competition policy
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Unit 5A - Labour Markets
- The income and substitution effect and the backward sloping supply of labour
- Demand for labour, derived demand based on MPP and MRP
- Supply of labour in a given competitive industry, AC = MC
- Wage equilibrium in a given industry and relative to other industries
- Why wage rates differ between and within industries
- Wage differences between different groups and genders explained
- Types and impact of intervention in the labour market including minimum wage, equal pay legislation and trade unions
- Labour market flexibility
- Analysis of monopsony
- The demographic time bomb, analysis of the problem and an evaluation of potential solutions including immigration, higher taxation, privatised pension schemes, lower state pension, redefining working population, increasing economic growth
- Factors influencing the distribution of wealth and income in the United Kingdom
- Causes, and possible consequences, of changes in recent years
- Policy issues associated with poverty and inequality
- Measuring distribution through the Lorenz curve and Gini co-efficient
- Review of past questions set on this unit
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OR
Unit 5B - Economic Development
- Indicators of development in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Absolute and relative poverty
- The causes of economic growth in developing countries
- The significance of economic growth for development:
- The role of both physical and human capital
- Technological progress
- Differences between developing countries
- The costs of economic growth
- Constraints on economic growth
- Development strategies
- The development of particular sectors of the economy:
- Agriculture
- Industry
- Tourism
- Sources of external finance
- Private sector finance especially from multinational firms: the impact of foreign direct investment
- Official development assistance (aid)
- The IMF and IBRD (World Bank)
- Structural adjustment policies and conditionalities
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Unit 6 - The UK in the global economy
- Factors contributing to globalisation
- Trade liberalisation, protectionism and non-tariff barriers
- Sources of possible conflict between trading blocs and the WTO
- The Balance of Payments, understanding of main elements and analysing the UK trend
- International competitiveness and the changing competitiveness of the UK
- Policy remedies including exchange rate adjustment
- Fixed v floating exchange rates in the UK experience
- Factors affecting the exchange rate including capital flows
- European monetary union, costs and benefits
- The impact of the Euro on the Eurozone
- The US economy
- Global imbalances
- The UK economy and its performance since 1997
- Public expenditure and taxation
- Public Sector Borrowing, the cause and significance of the growing deficit
- International comparisons of the public finances
- Fiscal policy, an understanding and review
- Monetary policy, an understanding and review
- Supply Side policies, theory and practice in the UK with some reference to the Eurozone
- Conflict between objectives with particular reference to unemployment and inflation,
including Augmented Phillips curve, [NAIRU]
- The growing impact of China and India on the global economy
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The intention is to cover the above topics but it is unlikely that all areas of the units will be given equal time. Much will depend on the abilities and requirements of the group.
Timetable & dates
This subject is available in Week Two ONLY:
| Week Two |
Saturday 5 April – Wednesday 9 April |
| |
|
| Week Two morning course: |
Sat - Wed 09.00 – 13.00 daily |
| Week Two afternoon course: |
Sat - Wed 14.00 – 18.00 daily |
| Total hours (excluding breaks): |
17 ½ hours |
Please note that where classes are available in the mornings or afternoons, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to fulfil any requests for either mornings or afternoons due to scheduling and class sizes. We will confirm whether your classes are in the mornings or afternoons either one week before courses start, or at Registration, depending on which courses you have booked to attend.
Timetable
| Morning classes |
Afternoon classes |
| 09.00 |
Tuition |
14.00 |
Tuition |
| 10.45 |
Break |
15.45 |
Break |
| 11.15 |
Tuition and testing |
16.15 |
Tuition and testing |
| 13.00 |
Lunch |
18.00 |
Finish |
There is an evening supervised study period of one and a half hours for resident students every evening. Non-resident students will also be expected to do at least this amount of private study every evening.
Fees
The course tuition fees are £395 for the five half days of classes, for applications made before 25th February 2008. For applications made after 25th February 2008, course tuition fees are £415. Course fees include all tuition, insurance cover, stationery, photocopying, past papers and end of course report. Lunch is included for all students. Residential students may also use the Sports Centre at designated hours.
Any confirmed alterations to your bookings made after 25th February 2008 will incur an administrative fee of £25.
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