A-level Economics Year 12 · AQA
AQA A-level Economics Year 12 revision
Every topic of the AQA A-level Economics (7136) specification (Year 12) in order, with notes and practice questions. Subtopics marked free have their notes and questions on this site.
Topic 1: Economic methodology and the economic problem
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Economic foundations and Resource allocation, and takes it further.
There are 6 parts: we start with economics as a social science, and finish with rational decision making and behavioural economics (bounded rationality, nudge, heuristics).
- 1.1Economics as a social science: positive and normative statements, ceteris paribus and the scientific method21 questions
- 1.2The economic problem and price determinationFree 13 questions
- 1.3Scarcity, choice, opportunity cost and production possibility frontiers43 questions
- 1.4Factors of production, specialisation, division of labour, trade and money27 questions
- 1.5Economic systems: free market, mixed and command economies and the allocation of resources24 questions
- 1.6Rational decision making and behavioural economics (bounded rationality, nudge, heuristics)37 questions
Topic 2: Price determination in a competitive market
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in How prices are determined, and takes it further.
There are 8 parts: we start with utility, diminishing marginal utility and the demand curve, and finish with consumer and producer surplus.
- 2.1Utility, diminishing marginal utility and the demand curveFree 30 questions
- 2.2Price elasticity of demand: calculation, determinants and total revenue22 questions
- 2.3Income and cross elasticity of demand23 questions
- 2.4Price elasticity of supply: calculation and determinants25 questions
- 2.5Changes in market equilibrium and the effects on price, quantity and resource allocation36 questions
- 2.6The price mechanism: rationing, signalling and incentive functions27 questions
- 2.7Joint, composite and derived demand; competitive supply31 questions
- 2.8Consumer and producer surplus27 questions
Topic 3: Production, costs and revenue
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Production, costs, revenue and profit, and takes it further.
There are 7 parts: we start with production, costs and market failure, and finish with profit.
- 3.1Production, costs and market failure37 questions
- 3.2Production, productivity and the short run versus the long runFree 27 questions
- 3.3The law of diminishing returns19 questions
- 3.4Costs of production: fixed, variable, average and marginal cost curves33 questions
- 3.5Economies and diseconomies of scale, long-run average cost and minimum efficient scale29 questions
- 3.6Revenue: total, average and marginal revenue and the link to elasticity18 questions
- 3.7Profit: normal and supernormal profit, and profit maximisation (MC = MR)21 questions
Topic 4: Competitive and concentrated markets
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Competitive and concentrated markets, and takes it further.
There are 9 parts: we start with market structures and concentration ratios, and finish with efficiency.
- 4.1Market structures and concentration ratiosFree 30 questions
- 4.2Firms' objectives: revenue maximisation, sales maximisation, satisficing and other aims27 questions
- 4.3Perfect competition22 questions
- 4.4Monopolistic competition26 questions
- 4.5Oligopoly: interdependence, collusion, kinked demand curve and game theory33 questions
- 4.6Monopoly, natural monopoly and monopoly power30 questions
- 4.7Price discrimination29 questions
- 4.8Contestable markets, barriers to entry and monopsony61 questions
- 4.9Efficiency: allocative, productive, dynamic and X-inefficiency35 questions
Topic 5: The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Market failure, and takes it further.
There are 14 parts: we start with types of market failure and welfare loss, and finish with government failure.
- 5.1Types of market failure and welfare lossFree 41 questions
- 5.2Externalities: negative and positive externalities in production and consumption28 questions
- 5.3Public goods, quasi-public goods and the free-rider problem32 questions
- 5.4Merit and demerit goods27 questions
- 5.5Information failure and asymmetric information33 questions
- 5.6Common access resources, the tragedy of the commons and environmental sustainability29 questions
- 5.7Other market failures: factor immobility, unstable commodity markets, inequity and market power84 questions
- 5.8Indirect taxes and subsidies: effects, incidence and evaluationFree 27 questions
- 5.9Maximum and minimum price controls24 questions
- 5.10Buffer stocks and stabilising commodity prices27 questions
- 5.11Tradable pollution permits, carbon taxes and regulation25 questions
- 5.12Provision of information, nudges and direct provision of goods and services34 questions
- 5.13Nationalisation, privatisation, regulation and competition policy31 questions
- 5.14Government failure26 questions
Topic 6: The measurement of macroeconomic performance
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Introduction to the national economy, and takes it further.
There are 7 parts: we start with measuring performance and AD/AS, and finish with measuring income and wealth distribution.
- 6.1Measuring performance and AD/ASFree 13 questions
- 6.2Macroeconomic objectives and indicators of economic performance58 questions
- 6.3Measuring economic growth: GDP, GNI, real vs nominal, per capita and PPP28 questions
- 6.4Measuring inflation: CPI, RPI, price indices, weights and limitations53 questions
- 6.5Measuring employment and unemployment: claimant count, Labour Force Survey and inactivity60 questions
- 6.6The balance of payments and the current account29 questions
- 6.7Measuring income and wealth distribution: Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient and poverty33 questions
Topic 7: How the macroeconomy works
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Introduction to the national economy, and takes it further.
There are 8 parts: we start with the circular flow of income, injections and withdrawals, and finish with demand-side and supply-side shocks.
- 7.1The circular flow of income, injections and withdrawalsFree 64 questions
- 7.2Aggregate demand: components and the AD curve48 questions
- 7.3Determinants of consumption, saving and investment25 questions
- 7.4Aggregate supply: short-run and long-run AS and factors shifting them31 questions
- 7.5Macroeconomic equilibrium: Keynesian and classical views of LRAS65 questions
- 7.6The multiplier effect61 questions
- 7.7Actual and potential growth, output gaps and the economic cycle26 questions
- 7.8Demand-side and supply-side shocks30 questions
Topic 8: Economic performance
This topic examines how well the economy performs on growth, inflation, jobs, trade and fairness.
We will look at the causes, costs and benefits of economic growth, and the causes and effects of inflation and unemployment.
Then we cover current account imbalances, exchange rates, inequality and poverty, and wider measures of living standards and sustainability.
- 8.1Causes of economic growthFree 31 questions
- 8.2Costs and benefits of economic growth33 questions
- 8.3Causes and effects of inflation, deflation and disinflation55 questions
- 8.4Unemployment: types, causes and effects66 questions
- 8.5Causes and consequences of current account deficits and surpluses18 questions
- 8.6Exchange rates and their effect on the economy62 questions
- 8.7Causes and effects of inequality and poverty36 questions
- 8.8Environmental sustainability and wider measures of living standards33 questions
Topic 9: Macroeconomic policy
It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Government objectives and interventions, and takes it further.
There are 9 parts: we start with economic policy, and finish with evaluating the policy mix.
- 9.1Economic policy11 questions
- 9.2Policy objectives, conflicts and trade-offsFree 32 questions
- 9.3Fiscal policy: government spending, taxation, budget deficits and national debt75 questions
- 9.4Fiscal policy: automatic stabilisers, effectiveness and limitations74 questions
- 9.5Monetary policy: interest rates, inflation targeting, the MPC and transmission mechanism58 questions
- 9.6Quantitative easing and other unconventional monetary tools34 questions
- 9.7Supply-side policies: market-based approaches29 questions
- 9.8Supply-side policies: interventionist approaches35 questions
- 9.9Evaluating the policy mix: time lags, uncertainty, conflicts and external constraints28 questions
Topic Q: Quantitative skills
There are 7 parts: we start with percentages, index numbers and real versus nominal values, and finish with interpreting data.
- Q.1Percentages, index numbers and real versus nominal valuesFree 42 questions
- Q.2Calculating and interpreting elasticities (PED, YED, XED, PES)11 questions
- Q.3Linear demand and supply equations, equilibrium and shifts26 questions
- Q.4Reading and drawing graphs: gradients, areas, surplus and tax incidence calculations63 questions
- Q.5Cost, revenue and profit calculations21 questions
- Q.6Macro calculations: growth rates, inflation, multiplier and weighted averages42 questions
- Q.7Interpreting data: tables, time series, Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients63 questions