Economics — 0455
| Topic | Overview |
| The Basic Economic Problem | This section introduces you to some of the key ideas in economics and helps you to start to think as an economist. It covers the important questions all countries have to answer, the reasons why we have to make choices and the resources used to produce goods and services. |
| The Allocation of Resources | This section examines why some products are expensive while others are cheap and why the output of some products are increasing while others are declining. You will consider why a change in price has more impact on some products than others and why the government seeks to influence what products we buy. |
| Microeconomic decision makers | This section focuses on some of the key economic agents who decide what goods and services are produced and the amount people spend, save and borrow. The section examines the role of bank, households, workers, trade unions and firms. |
| Government and the macroeconomy | In this section attention switches to the economy as a whole. It covers the key indicators of the performance of an economy which are economic growth, inflation, unemployment and the country’s international trade position. It examines the government’s aims in relation to these indicators and to the redistribution of income. It also explores the different types of policy measures a government can use to achieve these aims. |
| Economic Development | This section explores some of the influences on how the quality of people’s lives can be different in different countries and over tie. It includes the causes and consequences of changes in living standards, income distribution, poverty, population size and structure. |
| International Trade & Globalisation | In this last section, the focus is on the global economy. The benefits of countries trading between each other is examined as well as why, despite these benefits, governments impose restrictions on this trade. How foreign exchange rates are determined and the causes and consequences of exchange rate changes are explored. The last topic covered is the current account of the balance of payments. This is a record of what a country sells and buys to other countries and the income it earns form and pays abroad. |
Command words
The table below includes command words used in the assessment for this syllabus. The use of the command word will relate
to the subject context.
| Command word | What it means |
| Analyse | Examine in detail to show meaning, identify elements and the relationship between them |
| Calculate | Work out from given facts, figures or information |
| Define | Give precise meaning |
| Describe | State the points of a topic/ give characteristics and main features |
| Discuss | Write about issue(s) or topic(s) in depth in a structured way |
| Explain | Set out purposes or reasons/ make the relationships between things evident/ provide why and/ or how and support with relevant evidence |
| Give | Produce an answer from a given source or recall/ memory |
| Identify | Name / select / recognise |
| State | Express in clear terms |