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AQA A2 Economics Unit 3 - 12th June 2012 PM

Apologies in advance if there's already a thread for this!

This exam is approaching (like all the others) so I thought it would be nice to have somewhere where we could talk about this and discuss any problems we may be facing in this module.

There's a high chance that most of this paper will be based on Business Economics.
I really hope Labour Markets doesn't come up though because our teachers have just casually decided not to teach it to us! :sadnod:

Anyway, enough about me :p:
Hows your revision going guys? :smile:
(edited 11 years ago)

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Reply 1
I'm definitely worried about this exam - it's much harder than Unit 4...

What concerns me is the evaluation - for such a technical unit it is quite tricky to second guess what those examiners are looking for. How do you do it?

Out of interest, why do you think the paper is going to be business economics orientated? They always seem, especially in part B, to cover the entire syllabus - I'm thinking that this year won't be any different.

And it must be quite frustrating to not have been taught labour markets! To be fair, it is quite boring (and even more technical), so you haven't missed much. :smile:

Good luck with the revision!
Reply 2
Original post by sweetascandy
Apologies in advance if there's already a thread for this!

This exam is approaching (like all the others) so I thought it would be nice to have somewhere where we could talk about this and discuss any problems we may be facing in this module.

There's a high chance that most of this paper will be based on Business Economics.
I really hope Labour Markets doesn't come up though because our teachers have just casually decided not to teach it to us! :sadnod:

Anyway, enough about me :p:
Hows your revision going guys? :smile:


So yeah, a little bit over two weeks and i thought i wud have done A LOT more revision than I have now.

Oh wow, labour markets is a big thing, but im sure youll be alrite as thanks to aqa weve got a good choice a questions. My teacher has left out market/govt failure but im not tooo worried, as, again there shud be other questions to attempt.

So ive had this absolutely terrible cold the past week and using it as an excuse not to do anything but hopefully ill be fine about sunday/monday and then ill start properly revising then with a week to go until the exam ill hit the past papers.
Reply 3
Original post by 8Dom5
I'm definitely worried about this exam - it's much harder than Unit 4...

What concerns me is the evaluation - for such a technical unit it is quite tricky to second guess what those examiners are looking for. How do you do it?

Out of interest, why do you think the paper is going to be business economics orientated? They always seem, especially in part B, to cover the entire syllabus - I'm thinking that this year won't be any different.

And it must be quite frustrating to not have been taught labour markets! To be fair, it is quite boring (and even more technical), so you haven't missed much. :smile:

Good luck with the revision!


Ikr, I soo much preferred econ4 and just as soon as i thought i was starting to get to grips with this evaluation business, econ3 comes along and my mind is just blank, literally and i even find the concepts a bit more demanding yet many ive come across seem to prefer econ3:s-smilie:. I thought my relative macro strength was because of doing a straight year of macro, but i trully think this unit is plain difficult. Evaluation is a killer to do, a lot worse than macro:mad: and with market failure im like wtf.
Reply 4
Yeah Econ 3 is a killer. Done Econ 4 early in Jan and in all fairness that was quite easy, the thing I find with Econ 3 is that the questions are less straight forward, it's way easier to go off on a tangent. I also find there is less evaluative points as well. good luck.
Reply 5
Here are a list of questions that is everything you need to know in Unit 3 Micro.

Chapter 10

List examples of market failure.
How can the government intervene in markets to correct market failure.
Causes of government failure.
Problems with environmental taxation.
Ways to interven to solve environmental market failure.
Define the tragedy of the commons.
What is cost benefit analysis.
What are the limitations of cost benefits analysis.

Chapter 9

What are the two forms of wealth.
What are sources of wealth.
How to measure income inequality.
Types of poverty.
Causes of poverty.
How can the government intervene to tackle poverty and inequality.
What are the determinants of wage rates.
Explain economics rent and transfer earnings.
Draw a graph of a monopsonist market.
Draw a graph of a monopsonist market with trade union intervention.
What are the types of wage differentials.

Chapter 8

What are the factors that effect demand in the labour market.
Draw and explain marginal revenue product.
What determines elasticity of demand for labour.
Factors that effect supply and demand.
Factors that effect elasticity of supply of labour.
Explain the substitution and income effect.
what is the backward bending labour supply curve.

Chapter 6

What are imperfect markets.
How to monitor monopoly powers.
Which organisations are responsible for monitoring monopoly powers.
How to intervene in monopoly markets.
Why do mergers occur.
Types of restrictive trade practices.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of nationalisation.
Benefits and drawbacks of privatisation.
What are public private partnerships.
What is a private finance initiative.
Explain characteristics of contestable markets.
What are the types of barriers to entry in markets.
Benefits and drawbacks of the theory of contestable markets.

Chapter 5

How can incumbent firms in a market form barriers to entry.
What are competitive oligopolies.
Explain the kinked demand curve.
What are the forms of non price competition.
Explain game theory and the prisoners dilemma.
What are the types of collusion.
List anticompetitive trade practices.

Chapter 4

Draw a monopoly diagram.
Sources of monopoly powers.
What are the range of pricing techniques and draw them on a monopoly diagram.
Define natural monopoly.
Explain minimum efficient scale.
Benefits and drawbacks of monopoly powers.
Explain price discrimination.
What are the conditions of price discrimination.
Methods of price discrimination.
Types of price discrimination.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of price discrimination on both consumers and producers.

Chapter 3

What are the characteristics of a perfectly competitive market.
Define allocative efficiency.
Define productive efficiency.
Explain how a firm can make supernormal profits in the short run and normal profits in the long run.
Define static efficiency.
Draw a loss making firm in a graph, and explain it.
What is the structure, performance and conduct model.
What is dynamic efficiency.

Chapter 2

Define marginal, average and total revenue.
What are the assumptions of a perfectly competitive market.
Draw an imperfect market graph.
Define sales maximisation and draw it on a graph.
What are the problems with profit maximisation.
Explain the the theory of divorce of ownership, and the principle agent problem.
What are the ways in which a firm can grow.
What are the things to consider when planning to grow.
Define innovation and invention.

Chapter 1

Define the law of diminishing returns.
What are the main costs of production.
Explain marginal product using a graph.
Explain marginal cost using a graph.
What are the different returns to scales of production.



Thats about it I think. Trust me, if you know the answers to all of these questions, then you will be fine for the exam. If anyone has any problems with the questions, just let me know and I can tell you, I have all the answers.
Reply 6
Original post by tarek1
Here are a list of questions that is everything you need to know in Unit 3 Micro.

Chapter 10

List examples of market failure.
How can the government intervene in markets to correct market failure.
Causes of government failure.
Problems with environmental taxation.
Ways to interven to solve environmental market failure.
Define the tragedy of the commons.
What is cost benefit analysis.
What are the limitations of cost benefits analysis.

Chapter 9

What are the two forms of wealth.
What are sources of wealth.
How to measure income inequality.
Types of poverty.
Causes of poverty.
How can the government intervene to tackle poverty and inequality.
What are the determinants of wage rates.
Explain economics rent and transfer earnings.
Draw a graph of a monopsonist market.
Draw a graph of a monopsonist market with trade union intervention.
What are the types of wage differentials.

Chapter 8

What are the factors that effect demand in the labour market.
Draw and explain marginal revenue product.
What determines elasticity of demand for labour.
Factors that effect supply and demand.
Factors that effect elasticity of supply of labour.
Explain the substitution and income effect.
what is the backward bending labour supply curve.

Chapter 6

What are imperfect markets.
How to monitor monopoly powers.
Which organisations are responsible for monitoring monopoly powers.
How to intervene in monopoly markets.
Why do mergers occur.
Types of restrictive trade practices.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of nationalisation.
Benefits and drawbacks of privatisation.
What are public private partnerships.
What is a private finance initiative.
Explain characteristics of contestable markets.
What are the types of barriers to entry in markets.
Benefits and drawbacks of the theory of contestable markets.

Chapter 5

How can incumbent firms in a market form barriers to entry.
What are competitive oligopolies.
Explain the kinked demand curve.
What are the forms of non price competition.
Explain game theory and the prisoners dilemma.
What are the types of collusion.
List anticompetitive trade practices.

Chapter 4

Draw a monopoly diagram.
Sources of monopoly powers.
What are the range of pricing techniques and draw them on a monopoly diagram.
Define natural monopoly.
Explain minimum efficient scale.
Benefits and drawbacks of monopoly powers.
Explain price discrimination.
What are the conditions of price discrimination.
Methods of price discrimination.
Types of price discrimination.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of price discrimination on both consumers and producers.

Chapter 3

What are the characteristics of a perfectly competitive market.
Define allocative efficiency.
Define productive efficiency.
Explain how a firm can make supernormal profits in the short run and normal profits in the long run.
Define static efficiency.
Draw a loss making firm in a graph, and explain it.
What is the structure, performance and conduct model.
What is dynamic efficiency.

Chapter 2

Define marginal, average and total revenue.
What are the assumptions of a perfectly competitive market.
Draw an imperfect market graph.
Define sales maximisation and draw it on a graph.
What are the problems with profit maximisation.
Explain the the theory of divorce of ownership, and the principle agent problem.
What are the ways in which a firm can grow.
What are the things to consider when planning to grow.
Define innovation and invention.

Chapter 1

Define the law of diminishing returns.
What are the main costs of production.
Explain marginal product using a graph.
Explain marginal cost using a graph.
What are the different returns to scales of production.



Thats about it I think. Trust me, if you know the answers to all of these questions, then you will be fine for the exam. If anyone has any problems with the questions, just let me know and I can tell you, I have all the answers.



Very useful information, thanks.
Original post by tarek1
Here are a list of questions that is everything you need to know in Unit 3 Micro.

Chapter 10



Thats about it I think. Trust me, if you know the answers to all of these questions, then you will be fine for the exam. If anyone has any problems with the questions, just let me know and I can tell you, I have all the answers.


Where did you get these from ?
Reply 8
Original post by Moiraclaire
Where did you get these from ?


I made them myself using the aqa Unit 3 book.
Reply 9
Original post by tarek1
I made them myself using the aqa Unit 3 book.


Dude loving the list I'ma work through these for my revision prep, I'm so unprepared this year for exams!! ahhh!! But you said you have all the answers? Can you PM me them or something please? :biggrin:
Reply 10
Also how are you guys revising for this exam? I need tips!? I've started doing mini-essay plans of the 15/25 markers from past papers, is it worth me carrying on with this ?
Reply 11
Does anyone have the jan 2012 paper for this unit?
Original post by leej11
Also how are you guys revising for this exam? I need tips!? I've started doing mini-essay plans of the 15/25 markers from past papers, is it worth me carrying on with this ?


Probably.

I still feel like I only know about half the syllabus so am still on making notes AHHH.

I need a D to get an A, but an A* to get an A*

It's a hard life, time to get back to my revision....
Reply 13
Original post by Moiraclaire
Probably.

I still feel like I only know about half the syllabus so am still on making notes AHHH.

I need a D to get an A, but an A* to get an A*

It's a hard life, time to get back to my revision....


Yeah, Unit 3 is a killer! you done unit 4 early?
Original post by Alpha5
Yeah, Unit 3 is a killer! you done unit 4 early?


Yerh, redoing that too :L I got 79UMS
AS was so easy relative to A2.

There's just so much of it! Whereas at AS there would be loads of economics which is common sense and did not need revising, every bit of A2 needs revising :'(
Reply 15
Original post by Moiraclaire
Yerh, redoing that too :L I got 79UMS
AS was so easy relative to A2.

There's just so much of it! Whereas at AS there would be loads of economics which is common sense and did not need revising, every bit of A2 needs revising :'(


Yeah unit 3 requires a lot of revision, but in all fairness I have done quite a few of the papers and I get the sense they don't really expect you to be all that technical, if anything the Mark schemes seem really dumbed down, they prefer all the logical chain of reason and evaluation over intense theory.

I done Econ 4 in Jan as well...it was good.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Alpha5
Yeah unit 3 requires a lot of revision, but in all fairness I have done quite a few of the papers and I get the sense they don't really expect you to be all that technical, if anything the Mark schemes seem really dumbed down, they prefer all the logical chain of reason and evaluation over intense theory.

I done Econ 4 in Jan as well...it was good.


I did the stupidest things in Econ 4
I got no marks for the 5 mark question and misread the last essay question .
Reply 17
Original post by Moiraclaire
I did the stupidest things in Econ 4
I got no marks for the 5 mark question and misread the last essay question .


that's unlucky, with that extra 5 plus marks you would be on an A*.
Why is hairdressing an example of a monopolostically competitive market ?
Reply 19
Ha only a D for an A!? Aha yeah that A* grade is sooooooooooooooo annoying... imagine all the people in years before us where if they did well in AS they could get the highest possible grades at A2 with.. yes a D... or easier... I want that! I mean I only need 72.5% in each A2 unit for my A which is comforting to know :smile:. I'm not bothering with going for the A* for once! Too much effort because I'm gonna put all my focus into getting A* Maths because its part of my uni offer ugghhh! :'(

But yeah good luck with it guys... and ummm I would've thought if anything hairdressing would be more toward other end of the spectrum... i.e. toward perfect competition end since it is a fairly homogenous service? Low barriers to entry, no few large firms? You see loads of different ones?

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