A Level Economics at BLACKPOOL SIXTH A big …...come up with strategies to overcome these issues. You will also investigate the causes of You will also investigate the causes of market

Getting ready to Study

A Level Economics at

BLACKPOOL SIXTH

A big welcome from the

Business and IT department

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Examples of Topics studied

Theme 1 - Introduction to Markets & Market Failure

In the first theme you will look at how markets work, looking at how supply and demand interact to allocate resources in local, national and international markets. You will investigate the causes of consumer behaviour and experiment as to why some people may not react the way you expect.

Having investigated how markets work, you will then look at market failure, studying the nature and causes of market failure before considering the strengths and weaknesses of possible government intervention to remedy market failures.

Theme 2 - The UK Economy

In this theme you will look at the UK economy and its strengths and weaknesses compared to other countries around the world. You will investigate problems the UK experiences from economic growth, unemployment and inflation. Using these indicators you will suggest ways in which the government could improve parts of the economy using specific policies. You will examine and predict the likely impact and effectiveness of such policies; and consider these in an historical context.

Theme 3 - Business Behaviour & the Labour Market

This theme examines how the number and size of market participants, and the level of contestability, affect the pricing and nature of competition among firms.

You will look at the rational assumption that firms are profit maximisers and then challenge this by looking at alternative business objectives. Revenues, costs and profits are explored before linking these ideas to different market structures. What you then will do is analyse and evaluate the pricing and output decision of firms in different contexts and understand the role of competition in business decision making.

You will investigate complex labour market issues ranging from why some industries pay such small wages but why footballers earn beyond what is reasonable. You will also look at ways to improve and to promote a skilled and healthy workforce

Theme 4 - The Global Economy

In this theme, you will learn the intricacies of trade and why it’s so important to everyday life and to businesses. You will then delve into the causes of poverty and inequality and come up with strategies to overcome these issues. You will also investigate the causes of market failure in the financial sector and how global recessions from this occur.

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For more information check out the COURSES page on the Blackpool Sixth website https://www.blackpoolsixth.ac.uk/courses/ It’s all about gaining skills for you to use in the future

Throughout the course you will need to use and improve upon a range of skills, including:

● Internet research – being discerning and selective https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/134479?hl=en

● Word processing using Google Docs – the coursework will need to be

presented, often as a business report

● Presentation using Google Slides – some class tasks will need you to create presentations to present to the class

● Email using GMail – using this in a professional manner to liaise with staff

and businesses

● Working on the ‘CLOUD’ - using the Google Suite of Apps, including Google Drive and Google Classroom

● Teamwork - Most of time you will be working with others in the class to complete tasks

● Independence - Work will be set for you to complete outside of the classroom

● Organisation - This is a 2 year course so you will have a lot of notes to make and revise from - keep these organised and ready to use.

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Recommended Resources

These resources will help aid your knowledge of the subject and give you a real insight into what you will be studying

Economics Websites

🖥 Tutor2u economics - https://www.tutor2u.net/economics

🖥 Financial Times - https://www.ft.com/

🖥Economics Help https://www.economicshelp.org/

🖥 TED https://www.ted.com/talks?sort=newest&topics%5B%5D=economics

Economics on Netflix

🖥 Dirty Money - stories of corporate corruption, securities fraud and creative accounting

for example the VW Emission Scandal

🖥 Rotten - Travel deep into the heart of the food supply chain to reveal unsavoury truths

and expose hidden forces that shape what we eat.

🖥 There are many great Economics series/documentaries if you search

‘Economics’ in your Netflix search.

Films

🎥 The Big Short

Podcasts

★ https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money/

★ https://freakonomics.com/archive/

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Preparatory Activities for September

To help prepare you for studying A Level Economics at Blackpool Sixth Form, have a go at completing these activities.

Description

Task 1: Key Definitions Fill in the following table in detail – these key terms will be used frequently throughout the course.

Key Term Definition UK figure How does a change impact on the UK Economy

Interest rates

Exchange rates

Inflation

Income tax

Corporation tax

VAT

Unemployment

Economic growth

Demand

Supply

PED

Monetary Policy

Fiscal Policy

Task 2: BREXIT Do a little research into BREXIT and what it means for the UK Write a short report explaining how BREXIT could impact UK businesses. Example Structure; a) Introduction- Briefly outline the European Union and the recent BREXIT

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b) Explain the potential negative impacts of BREXIT for UK businesses (use examples of businesses) c) Explain the potential positive impacts of BREXIT for UK businesses (use examples of businesses) d) Conclusion- give your own personal view in regards to the impacts to UK Businesses.

Task 3 - Covid-19 Crisis Complete an ongoing fact file/report which focuses on how the covid-19 crisis will impact the UK and global economy. Here is a good link to tutor 2 U containing lots of video and clips. This looks at some of the key concepts we will cover in terms of behavioral economics, micro and macro effects, innovation, impact on business and inequalities. https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/collections/coronavirus-crisis Consider the following areas: -

● What packages have the government implemented to try and help the UK economy. Consider employment, health, education and any other impacts.

● Impact on businesses both in the short term and long term. (e.g. travel, hospitality, retail)

● Impact on global economy (Consider the G7 countries and China)

We hope you enjoyed the challenge

CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE

https://www.blackpoolsixth.ac.uk/

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