A-Level Economics Resources

Clear, accessible resources for A-Level Economics students. Start with the introductory guides below, then explore the core ideas and skills that underpin the subject.

Choosing A-Level Economics

Thinking about studying A-Level Economics? These guides explain what the subject involves, how difficult it is, the maths and GCSE grades you may need, and how to choose the right combination of A-Levels.

Economics Explained

What Subjects Go Well With A-Level Economics?

Which A-Levels work well with Economics? Explore different subject combinations and find out why Maths matters for some university degrees.

Economics or Business A-Level: Which Should You Choose?

Not sure whether to choose Economics or Business? Discover how the subjects differ and which might suit your interests.

What Maths Do You Actually Need for A-Level Economics?

Explore the maths used in A-Level Economics, with worked examples covering percentages, index numbers, profit, elasticity and economic data.

Should My Child Study A-Level Economics? A Guide for Parents

A guide for parents explaining what A-Level Economics involves, which students might enjoy it and how to help them choose.

What GCSE Grades Do You Need for A-Level Economics?

Find out which GCSE grades you may need for A-Level Economics, why sixth-form requirements vary and what to do if you fall short.

Can You Study A-Level Economics Without GCSE Economics?

You don't need GCSE Economics to take A-Level Economics. Discover whether previous study helps and how to prepare for the course.

What Is A-Level Economics? What You Learn and What the Subject Is Like

Discover what A-Level Economics covers, from markets to inflation, and how students learn to explain and evaluate real-world decisions.

Why Study A-Level Economics?

Discover how studying Economics can help you understand the world, question arguments and develop useful analytical and communication skills.

Is A-Level Economics Difficult?

Find out what makes A-Level Economics challenging, how much maths is involved and how to develop the skills needed to succeed.

Do You Need Maths For A-Level Economics?

Do you need A-Level Maths to study Economics? Find out which GCSE skills matter and what to check before applying to university.

Core Resources

These guides build the foundations of A-Level Economics from the ground up. Start with why Economics exists, then explore scarcity, choice, opportunity cost and the other ideas that help the subject fit together.

Economics Explained

Why Does Economics Exist?

Economics can seem like an odd collection of subjects, from prices and pollution to banks, unemployment and government borrowing. This guide builds an economy from scratch to show how these topics fit together, why economics exists and what economists actually do.

Scarcity: A Fundamental Concept in Economics

Scarcity is one of the first and most important ideas in Economics. Discover what economists really mean by scarcity, why limited resources force individuals, businesses and governments to make choices, and how this leads to opportunity cost.

Opportunity Cost: The Cost of Choosing

Every choice means giving something else up. Economists call the value of the next best alternative opportunity cost. This article explains how opportunity cost affects everyday spending, business investment and government decisions—and why the true cost of a choice is not always its price.

Economics Isn’t Really About Money — It’s About Choices

Economics is much more than money, banks and the stock market. Discover why economists study choices, scarcity and opportunity cost, and how these ideas help explain the world around us.

A-Level Economics Skills

These guides focus on the skills students need to turn economic knowledge into strong exam answers — including analysis, evaluation, diagrams, context and judgement.

Economics Explained

How to Build a Chain of Analysis in A-Level Economics

Learn how to build clear chains of reasoning using the Clark Economics Arrow Test, spot missing or faulty links, and turn your economic understanding into concise exam answers.

How to Use Context Properly in A-Level Economics

Learn how to use context properly in A-Level economics by showing how facts, data and real-world examples should change your analysis, evaluation and judgement — not just decorate your answer.

How to Evaluate in A-Level Economics

Evaluation is not simply adding “however” or mentioning elasticity, magnitude or time lags. Learn how to test an economic argument, identify what really matters, and develop stronger evaluation using the Clark Economics Arrow Test.

How to Reach a Judgement in A-Level Economics

Learn how to reach a strong judgement in A-Level Economics by weighing arguments rather than simply listing points for and against. This guide shows how analysis, evaluation, evidence and context should shape your final conclusion.

How to Use the Short Run and Long Run in A-Level Economics

Learn how to use the short run and long run properly in A-Level economics by explaining what has time to adjust — and how that changes analysis, evaluation and judgement.

Tariffs: Start here

A four-part guide to how tariffs work, from the basic real-world mechanism through to the full welfare diagram.

1. Who Actually Pays a Tariff?
Where the money goes and who bears the cost.

2. World Price and Imports Explained
Why imports arise before a tariff is imposed.

3. The Tariff Diagram Explained
How a tariff changes price, domestic supply, demand and imports.

4. Who Gains and Who Loses?
How consumer surplus, producer surplus and welfare change.

Subsidies: Start here

A seven-part guide to understanding subsidies, beginning with Luke, a dairy farmer. Follow the economic reasoning step by step, learn how the diagrams work, explore who benefits and who pays, and discover how to apply what you've learned to unfamiliar situations and A-level exam questions.

1. How Does a Subsidy Actually Work?

Follow Luke, a dairy farmer, to understand what happens when the government subsidises milk production.

2. The Subsidy Diagram Explained: Step by Step

See how a subsidy changes supply, prices and quantity, one step at a time.

3. Who benefits from a subsidy?

Discover how price elasticity determines how the benefits are shared between producers and buyers.

4. Who pays for a subsidy?

Explore taxation, government borrowing and the opportunity cost of subsidising production.

5. Do subsidies improve economic welfare?

Learn when subsidies create welfare losses and when they can correct market failure.

6. Types of Subsidies: How Do They Work in Different Industries?

Explore production, consumer and investment subsidies, and discover how they change incentives, who benefits and why governments introduce them.

7. Subsidies in A-Level Economics Exams: Analysis and Evaluation

Join Ben, a junior economist, as he investigates an unfamiliar subsidy proposal. Learn how to apply economic reasoning, develop chains of analysis and reach convincing examination judgements.

Real-world Economics

Economics is easier to understand when you can see how it applies to real events and decisions. These articles use current and familiar examples to explain economic ideas, arguments and diagrams in practice.

Economics Explained

Who Gains and Who Loses from a Tariff? Consumer Surplus, Producer Surplus and Welfare

See who gains and who loses from a tariff, and how consumer surplus, producer surplus, government revenue and deadweight welfare loss are shown on the tariff diagram.

How Does a Tariff Work? The Tariff Diagram Explained

Learn how a tariff changes the standard world-price diagram by raising the domestic price, increasing domestic production, reducing consumption and cutting imports.

World Price and Imports Explained: The Economics Before a Tariff

Understand what economists mean by the world price, why imports arise, and how domestic demand and supply create the import gap before a tariff is introduced.

Who Actually Pays a Tariff? Where the Money Goes and Who Bears the Cost

Who actually pays a tariff, where does the money go, and does the price automatically rise? A simple example using imported tomatoes shows how tariffs work in practice — and why the person who pays the tariff is not necessarily the person who ultimately bears its cost.

The £2 Bus Fare Cap: Who Pays the Rest?

On 22 July 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that eligible single bus fares on participating services across England outside London would be capped at £2 in 2027. We examine the policy through A Level Economics concepts including subsidies, price ceilings, price elasticity of demand, externalities and opportunity cost.