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Economics

The module introduces students to the study of Economics providing the tools to understand and contextualise contemporary economic structures and issues:

Knowledge and understanding

This module gives students a solid grounding in Economics, in preparation for Social Science and Business courses at undergraduate level. No prior knowledge is assumed. The module develops students’ knowledge and understanding of key concepts in economics, as well as economic structures, issues and events, providing them with the tools to analyse contemporary economic issues and evaluate the effectiveness of a range of solutions.
The module covers core themes in both microeconomics and macroeconomics. It familiarises students with the rationale behind economic decisions and the role of government in shaping the economy whilst also being directed towards societal and environmental challenges with which students will be familiar. The module has an international flavour, pursuing the following themes: economic growth, unemployment, inflation and international trade as well as the main themes in microeconomics such as demand and supply, elasticity and market structures.

Key skills

This module develops students’ skills in a variety of areas, including but not limited to, interpretation, analysis and evaluation of data, and communication in both oral and written forms. Students will be able to interpret and analyse data in range of forms, most notably economic diagrams, and will be able to draw their own diagrams to illustrate various economic problems and how they may be resolved. Students will use critical thinking skills to explore the nature of economic issues and suggest appropriately contextualised solutions, whilst recognising that different ideological positions may lead to conflict between different approaches.

Learning Aims (include but are not limited to)

Students will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and models;
  • Apply knowledge and understanding of economic issues using verbal, written, numerical and diagrammatic forms;
  • Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of economic models and instruments in the context of providing workable solutions to contemporary economic problems;
  • Evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a range of tools to address contemporary economic problems.

Assessment Objectives

These are set in line with those for use in UK A-Level Economics.

 

The assessment tasks will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.

 

AO 1: Demonstrate knowledge of terms/concepts and theories/models to show an understanding of the behaviour of economic agents and how they are affected by and respond to economic issues.

 

AO 2: Apply knowledge and understanding to various economic contexts to show how economic agents are affected by and respond to economic issues.

 

AO 3: Analyse issues within economics, showing an understanding of their impact on economic agents.

 

AO 4: Evaluate economic arguments and use qualitative and quantitative evidence to support informed judgements relating to economic issues.

Assessment Tasks

All AOs are assessed in each task, with content designed to match the specific LOs within the specification:

Assessment Indicative weighting Indicative length
1. Paper 1
Controlled assessment(extended response to economic problem, data provided for analysis/evaluation)
Data pack released 1 week prior to assessment, students may annotate data pack, 4 hours available for write-up.
EITHER LOs 1-39
OR LOs 40-87 		10 credits 4 hours
2. Individual Presentation
(response to stimulus material released 24 hours ahead)
EITHER LOs 1-39
OR LOs 40-87 		5 credits 10-15 minutes
3. Paper 2
Written exam(MCQs and essay questions) ALL LOs 		15 credits 2.5 hours