1. Statement of intent Key Stage: 5 Subject: Economics
Academic Year:
Economics is about resources and the decisions we make about how to use them to meet the needs of the people in a society. Resources are scarce relative to wants so decisions have to be made:
What to produce
How much to produce
How to produce
How to allocate
The fundamental concept in economics is opportunity cost. Once a decision is made about resource allocation there will be an opportunity cost i.e. the next best alternative foregone once a decision has been made. Economists see the world with an ‘opportunity cost’ perspective. They respond to issues and events by considering what next best alternative has been foregone.
Example: The 1980s … are coal mines ‘uneconomic’?
A business person would want to know the costs of running the coal mine compared with the revenue it generates.
An economist would ask ‘what are all the costs of keeping it open compared with all the costs of closing it?’
If the coal mine is not making a profit a business person would close it.
An economist would consider:
Unemployment benefit paid to the former coal miners who have lost their jobs
Lost tax revenue from unemployed coal miners
The impact on other local businesses as increased unemployment reduces spending power in the area (cafes, pubs, shops may go out of business)
Unemployment in firms which supply components to coal mines
By the end of Key Stage 5, the intention is that students learn to think, speak and write like an economist.
They will respond to real world issues of resource allocation by asking what alternative has been foregone.
They will have a good understanding of economic concepts and economic models and will be able to use these to predict the behaviour of economic agents.
At the same time, they will recognise the situations in which these predictions may not become a reality.
They will understand that economic modelling is based on sets of assumptions; and will learn to manipulate these assumptions and see whether/how this changes the predictions.
They will be able to apply economic concepts and models to both macroeconomic and microeconomic situations in the real world.
Written work will be clear, accurate and detailed; and will be structured in the following way: identify / explain / analyse / evaluate / judgement. Students as economists will be able to identify and explain relevant economic theories, to analyse what the theory predicts in given situations, to evaluate why this may not happen and to make judgements about the circumstances in which it is more or less likely to occur. A clear chain of reasoning will run through all written work using the PEEL framework. Economic terminology will be used with confidence.

2. Subject: Economics (micro) Academic Year 2019-20
Curriculum Overview
Key Stage: 5
Subject: Economics (micro)
Academic Year
Year
Unit content
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Year 12
Introduction:
The economic problem
Opportunity cost
Production possibility frontiers
Specialisation and trade
Types of economy
Rational decision making
Markets:
Demand
Supply
Elasticities
Price determination
Markets: Interrelationships between markets
Behavioural economics
Price mechanism
Market failure:
Externalities
Public goods
Merit and demerit goods
Information gaps
Government intervention
Government failure
Production and market structure:
Production
Costs
Revenue
Profit
Assessment
Multiple choice questions
Data response questions
Essays
Tests
Past papers
Text book questions
Mocks

3. Subject: Economics (macro) Academic Year 2019-20
Curriculum Overview
Key Stage: 5
Subject: Economics (macro)
Academic Year
Year
Unit content
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Year 12
Aggregate demand and aggregate supply:
The circular flow of income
Aggregate demand
Aggregate supply
The interaction of aggregate demand and aggregate demand and supply
The multiplier and the accelerator
Economic policy objectives:
Economic growth
Development
Inflation
Balance of payments
Employment
Income distribution and welfare
The Phillips Curve
Trends in macroeconomic indicators
Implementing policy:
Fiscal policy
Monetary policy
Supply side policy
Policy conflicts
Assessment
Multiple choice questions
Data response questions
Essays
Tests
Past papers
Text book questions
Mocks

4. Subject: Economics (micro) Academic Year 2019-20
Curriculum Overview
Key Stage: 5
Subject: Economics (micro)
Academic Year
Year
Unit content
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Year 13
Market structure:
Perfect competition
Monopoly
Monopsony
Monopolistic competition
Oligopoly
Contestability
Business objectives
Economic efficiency
Business growth
Technological change
Market failure
Government intervention and product markets
Cost Benefit Analysis
Labour markets:
Demand for labour
Supply of labour
Wage determination
Economic rent
Government intervention in labour markets
Equality and equity
Assessment
Multiple choice questions
Data response questions
Essays
Tests
Past papers
Text book questions
Mocks
Mocks in lessons

5. Subject: Economics (macro) Academic Year 2019-20
Curriculum Overview
Key Stage: 5
Subject: Economics (macro)
Academic Year
Year
Unit content
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Year 13
The global context:
International trade
Exchange rates
Globalisation
Trade policies and negotiations
The financial sector:
Money and interest rates
The financial sector
Financial regulation
Assessment
Multiple choice questions
Data response questions
Essays
Tests
Past papers
Text book questions
Mocks
Mocks in lessons