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ISBN: 978 1 4718 6584 8
eISBN: 978 1 4718 6586 2

© David Horner and Steve Stoddard 2016

First published in 2016 by

Hodder Education,

An Hachette UK Company

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.hoddereducation.co.uk

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Year     2020  2019  2018  2017  2016

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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.

Track your progress

Use the revision planner on pages 4 and 5 to plan your revision, topic by topic. Make a note 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 noting 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 mistakes

The authors identify the typical mistakes candidates make and explain 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.

Debates

Debates are highlighted to help you assess arguments and use evidence appropriately.

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

Paper 1 The operation of markets and market failure

1 Economic methodology and the economic problem

Economic methodology

The nature and purpose of economic activity

Economic resources

Scarcity, choice and the allocation of resources

2 Price determination in a competitive market

The meaning of a competitive market

The determinants of the demand for goods and services

Price, income and cross elasticities of demand

The determinants of the supply of goods and services

Price elasticity of supply (PES)

The determination of equilibrium market prices

The interrelationship between markets

3 Production, costs and revenue

Production and productivity

Specialisation, division of labour and exchange

Costs of production

Economies and diseconomies of scale

Average revenue, total revenue and profit

4 Competitive and concentrated markets

Market structures

The objectives of firms

Competitive markets

Monopoly and monopoly power

The competitive market process

5 The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets

How markets and prices allocate resources

The meaning of market failure

Public goods, private goods and quasi-public goods

Merit and demerit goods

Market imperfections

An inequitable distribution of income and wealth

Government intervention in markets

Government failure

Paper 2 The national economy in a global context

6 The measurement of macroeconomic performance

The objectives of government economic policy

Macroeconomic indicators

7 How the macroeconomy works

The circular flow of income

Aggregate demand and aggregate supply

Aggregate demand and aggregate supply analysis

8 Economic performance

Economic growth and the economic cycle

Employment and unemployment

Inflation and deflation

The balance of payments on current account

Possible conflicts between macroeconomic policy objectives

9 Macroeconomic policy

Monetary policy

Fiscal policy

Supply-side policies

Now test yourself answers

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 also allow you time for relaxation. Set aside days and times for all the subjects 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.

2–5 weeks to go

•  Read through the relevant sections of this book and refer to the exam tips, summaries, typical mistakes and key terms. Tick off the topics as you feel confident about them. Highlight those 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 to practise your exam skills. Write or prepare planned answers to the ‘Exam practice’ questions 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 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 exam tips, 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:....................