Who is the course for?

This is a new course for September 2011.

Economics is a great choice for students who have an active interest in how we, as individuals and as a society, make choices. By exploring current economic issues and global factors, you will apply economic theories to the workings of markets and consumer and producer behaviour[Microeconomics].

In dealing with the whole Economy and issues such as inflation, unemployment, and economic growth, you will be studying the subject from a macroeconomic perspective. Economics is a challenging subject which is highly regarded by universities and employers. It combines well with most A Level subjects notably Politics, History, Business Studies, Law, Sociology and Mathematics. You should have a minimum of grade B in Mathematics, and grade C or above in subjects such as History or Geography would be an advantage.

Content outline

In your first year you will study two units.

Unit 1: Competitive Markets How they work and why they fail. Dealing with concepts such as supply and demand and government intervention in the economy. You will be able to apply supply and demand analysis to real world situations and to understand why markets may not allocate resources efficiently and the methods of dealing with market failure.

Unit 2: Managing the Economy. You will be introduced to the key measures of economic performance and instruments of economic policy. You will understand why demand and/or supply side policies may be seen as appropriate ways of managing an economy.

In your second year you will study a further two units that build upon the foundations of year 1, as well as analysing the pricing and output decisions of firms in different contexts and appraising government intervention. You will also analyse and evaluate economic models and examine trends and developments in the global economy.