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ISBN: 978-1-4718-4198-9
eISBN: 978-1-4718-4200-9

© Quintin Brewer and Rachel Cole 2015

First published in 2015 by

Hodder Education,
An Hachette UK Company
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
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www.hoddereducation.co.uk

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Year    2019  2018  2017  2016  2015

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Typeset in Bembo Std Regular 11/13 by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd, Pondicherry, India

Printed in Spain

A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

Get the most from this book

Everyone has to decide his or her own revision strategy, but it is essential to review your work, learn it and test your understanding. These Revision Notes will help you to do that in a planned way, topic by topic. Use this book as the cornerstone of your revision and don’t hesitate to write in it — personalise your notes and check your progress by ticking off each section as you revise.

Tick to track your progress

Use the revision planner on pages 4 and 5 to plan your revision, topic by topic. Tick each box when you have:

•  revised and understood a topic

•  tested yourself

•  practised the exam questions and gone online to check your answers and complete the quick quizzes

You can also keep track of your revision by ticking off each topic heading in the book. You may find it helpful to add your own notes as you work through each topic.

Features to help you succeed

Examiners’ tips and summaries

Expert tips are given throughout the book to help you polish your exam technique in order to maximise your chances in the exam. The summaries provide a quick-check bullet list for each topic.

Typical mistake

The author identifies the typical mistakes candidates make and explains how you can avoid them.

Now test yourself

These short, knowledge-based questions provide the first step in testing your learning. Answers are at the back of the book.

Definitions and key words

Clear, concise definitions of essential key terms are provided where they first appear.

Key words from the specification are highlighted in bold throughout the book.

Revision activities

These activities will help you to understand each topic in an interactive way.

Exam practice

Practice exam questions are provided for each topic. Use them to consolidate your revision and practise your exam skills.

Online

Go online to check your answers to the exam questions and try out the extra quick quizzes at www.hoddereducation.co.uk/myrevisionnotes

My revision planner

Theme 1 Introduction to markets and market failure

1 The nature of economics

Economics as a social science

Positive and normative economic statements

The economic problem

Production possibility frontiers (PPFs)

Specialisation and the division of labour

Free market economies, mixed economy and command economy

2 How markets work

Rational decision making

Demand

Price elasticity of demand (PED)

Cross elasticity of demand (XED)

Income elasticity of demand (YED)

Supply

Price elasticity of supply (PES)

Price determination

The price mechanism

Consumer and producer surplus

Indirect taxes and subsidies

Alternative views of consumer behaviour

3 Market failure

Types of market failure

Externalities

Public goods

Information gaps

4 Government intervention

Government intervention in markets

Government failure

Theme 2 The UK economy: performance and policies

5 Measures of economic performance

Economic growth

Inflation

Employment and unemployment

Balance of payments

6 Aggregate demand (AD)

The characteristics of AD

Consumption (C)

Investment (I)

Government expenditure (G)

Net trade (X – M)

7 Aggregate supply (AS)

The characteristics of AS

Short-run AS

Long-run AS

8 National income

The concept

Injections and withdrawals

Equilibrium levels of real national output

The multiplier

9 Economic growth

Causes of growth

Output gaps

Trade (business) cycle

The impact of economic growth

10 Macroeconomic objectives and policies

Possible macroeconomic objectives

Demand-side policies

Supply-side policies

Conflicts and trade-offs between objectives and policies

Now test yourself answers

Glossary

Exam practice answers and quick quizzes at

www.hoddereducation.co.uk/myrevisionnotes

Countdown to my exams

6–8 weeks to go

•  Start by looking at the specification — make sure you know exactly what material you need to revise and the style of the examination. Use the revision planner on pages 4 and 5 to familiarise yourself with the topics.

•  Organise your notes, making sure you have covered everything on the specification. The revision planner will help you to group your notes into topics.

•  Work out a realistic revision plan that will allow you time for relaxation. Set aside days and times for all the subjects that you need to study, and stick to your timetable.

•  Set yourself sensible targets. Break your revision down into focused sessions of around 40 minutes, divided by breaks. These Revision Notes organise the basic facts into short, memorable sections to make revising easier.

2–6 weeks to go

•  Read through the relevant sections of this book and refer to the examiners’ tips, examiners’ summaries, typical mistakes and key terms. Tick off the topics as you feel confident about them. Highlight those topics you find difficult and look at them again in detail.

•  Test your understanding of each topic by working through the ‘Now test yourself’ questions in the book. Look up the answers at the back of the book.

•  Make a note of any problem areas as you revise, and ask your teacher to go over these in class.

•  Look at past papers. They are one of the best ways to revise and practise your exam skills. Write or prepare planned answers to the exam practice questions provided in this book. Check your answers online and try out the extra quick quizzes at www.hoddereducation.co.uk/myrevisionnotes

•  Use the revision activities to try out different revision methods. For example, you can make notes using mind maps, spider diagrams or flash cards.

•  Track your progress using the revision planner and give yourself a reward when you have achieved your target.

One week to go

•  Try to fit in at least one more timed practice of an entire past paper and seek feedback from your teacher, comparing your work closely with the mark scheme.

•  Check the revision planner to make sure you haven’t missed out any topics. Brush up on any areas of difficulty by talking them over with a friend or getting help from your teacher.

•  Attend any revision classes put on by your teacher. Remember, he or she is an expert at preparing people for examinations.

The day before the examination

•  Flick through these Revision Notes for useful reminders, for example the examiners’ tips, examiners’ summaries, typical mistakes and key terms.

•  Check the time and place of your examination.

•  Make sure you have everything you need — extra pens and pencils, tissues, a watch, bottled water, sweets.

•  Allow some time to relax and have an early night to ensure you are fresh and alert for the examinations.

My exams

AS Economics Paper 1

Date:…………………

Time:…………………

Location:…………………

AS Economics Paper 2

Date:…………………

Time:…………………

Location:…………………