www.studyguide.pk
UNIT 1 Introductory ideas and the price system
Recommended Prior Knowledge This unit starts the course by introducing basic ideas and tools of analysis. Students’ personal experiences as consumer,
worker and observer can be drawn into the exposition of the content.
Context The material includes demand and supply which will be developed in the following unit and also used to explain the setting of exchange rates and the
effects of some types of government intervention. Comparative advantage is introduced and will form the basis of international trade in a later unit.
Outline The unit considers the basic ideas of economics and its methods with introductory models of demand and supply and comparative advantage explored.
1e
1d
Learning Outcomes
The outcomes indicate the abilities and skills
candidates need to develop in relation to each
section of the syllabus
Suggested Teaching Activities
The following activities may be incorporated into
standard exposition of the subject content.
The activities are intended to encourage student
involvement.
Candidates should:
• understand the context of economics
• be aware of the skills involved
• consider the ‘economist’s toolkit’
Candidates should distinguish between a positive
and normative statement
Candidates should understand the concept of the
margin and relate decisions to marginal changes
•
•
•
•
survey the weeks news items to establish
economic content
review past exam papers to establish nature
of approach and content
survey press headlines to identify and
contrast positive and normative statements
Contrast marginal and average idea by use of
numerical data e.g. weekly film attendances,
golf round scores
Resources
Book references:
Bamford refers to Bamford AS Level and A Level
Economics (first edition) (CUP)
Anderton refers to Anderton Economics (third
edition) (Causeway Press)
Anderton* refers to Anderton the Student’s
Economy in Focus (Causeway Press)
Economics 16-19 refers to Economics 16-19
Project Core Economics (Heinemann)
national press and tv reports
Bamford introduction
national newspapers
Bamford Chap 1
http://www.xtremepapers.net
www.studyguide.pk
1g
1a
1c
1i
1h
Candidates should:
• be familiar with the economist’s classification
of resources
• apply the classification to economic activities
•
Candidates should:
• understand the nature of wants and
resources and the resulting economic
problems
• recognise the operation of opportunity cost
• apply opportunity cost to different choices
•
Candidates should:
• understand the nature of the production
possibility curve
• employ production possibility curves to
illustrate the basic economic problem and
opportunity cost
• interpret the production possibility curve
diagram
Candidates should:
• understand the functions and characteristics
of money and its importance for economic
progress
• recognise the drawbacks of barter
Candidates should:
• understand the nature, benefits and limits of
division of labour
• contrast the operation of division of labour in
different settings
•
•
•
•
•
•
analyse inputs in contrasting production
activities eg manufacturing and farming
activity
Cotton choices activity
Bamford Chap 1,
Anderton Unit 2
Webster The Real Price of Cotton (jusbiz)
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 1 Introductory micro-economics,
role play e.g. shipwreck, survival (EBEA
resource},
analyse scarcity for individual, company and
nation
apply opportunity cost to family e.g. holiday
and government e.g. public spending
decisions
introduce plotting graphs of ppcs
examine alternative shapes of curves and
significance of movements
analyse effects of range of changes moving
between and within curves
Bamford Chap 1,
Anderton Unit 1
www.oheschools.org unit 1 The problems of
health care
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 1, Introductory micro-economics
8708/2 M/J 2001
Bamford Chap 1,
Anderton Unit 1,
Anderton* Unit 1
www.oheschools.org unit 1 The problems of
health care
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 1 Introductory micro-economics
8708/2 M/J 2001
Bamford Chap 1,
Anderton Unit 82
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 8 Money,
8708/2 O/N 2001
Bamford Chap 1,
Anderton Unit 2,
Anderton * Unit 1
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 1 Introductory micro-economics, topic 3
Firms + virtual developing country copper field trip
•
•
role play exchange without money
analyse suitability of selected items to serve
as money highlighting weaknesses
•
pin factory, Ford model T and automated
production case studies
student research on division of labour within
a selected organisation with report back
discussion of modern working conditions and
motivation
•
•
www.studyguide.pk
4a
Candidates should:
• distinguish between absolute and
comparative advantage
• apply the principle to demonstrate the
benefits of division of labour
•
•
•
apply to individual’s employment
work numerical example
translate to production possibility curve
approach
2a/b
Candidates should understand the nature of
individual and market demand curves
analyse the factors which influence demand
curves
distinguish between a shift in and move along a
curve
•
collate student observation of demand/price
relationship
survey factors underlying demand for
specified products e.g. oil, holidays, C Ds
etc
graph demand schedules and their
movements
Candidates should:
• understand the nature of individual and
market supply curves
• analyse the factors which influence supply
curves
• show the effect of the introduction of an
indirect tax or subsidy
• distinguish between a shift in and move along
a curve
Candidates should:
• appreciate the need for ‘ceteris paribus’ in
supply and demand analysis
• identify the elements left unchanged in the
application of the assumption
•
•
c
d
2f
g
1f
•
•
•
•
examine producer maximisation motivation
analyse changing supply conditions for
different products
graph supply schedules and their movements
consider range of outcomes without
assumption
Bamford Chap 4,
Anderton Unit 14,.
Anderton* Unit 12,
Economics 16-19 Unit 8
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 11 International economics + virtual
developing country trade field trip
8708/2 O/N 2001, 9074/2 N 2000, 9074/2 N 1998
Bamford Chap 2,
Anderton Unit 4,
Anderton * Unit 12
www.oheschools.org unit 2 The free market
approach,
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 2 Markets,
8708/2 M/J 2001, 9074/2 J 2000
Bamford Chap 2,
Anderton Unit 5,
Anderton* Unit 2
www.oheschools.org unit 2 The free market
approach,
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 2 Markets
9074/2 J 2000
Bamford Chap 2
www.studyguide.pk
2i
Candidates should:
• understand the setting of an equilibrium price
• use diagrams to represent changing
conditions
• analyse the effects of changes in variables
• apply the analysis to different products and
markets
• recognise the relationships between different
products and services e.g. joint demand and
joint supply
2j
Candidates should understand the concept of
consumer surplus
illustrate consumer surplus
recognise consumer surplus in diagrams
•
discuss operation of familiar market eg
produce or shares
• study price behaviour in a commodity market
• plot changes to equilibrium
• student analysis of given changes on
equilibrium and interrelationships between
products with report back
• determining the price of a house simulation
{vla}
• the interrelationship between markets
simulation in bized virtual learning arcade{vla}
discuss consumer behaviour
examine the demand curve diagram
Bamford Chap 2,
Anderton Unit 6,
Anderton* Unit 2,
Economics 16-19 Unit 1
www.oheschools.org unit 2 The free market
approach,
www.bized.ac.uk learning materials economics
topic 2 Markets + virtual learning arcade + virtual
developing country rural life field trip
9074/2 J 2000, 9074/2 N 1999, 9074/2 N 1997
Bamford Chap 2 ,
Anderton Unit 4,
Economics 16-19 Unit 1