AQA AS Economics May 2014 *OFFICIAL THREAD*

Original post by Parisah Maham

Can someone please explain why monopolies cause market failure??

Can someone please explain the interventions that could be used to correct market failure caused by monopolies??? And the advantages and disadvantages of the interventions used please!!

Hi I can help! Firstly there is no competition so resources are not allocated elsewhere only to the monopoly which causes market failure. To correct this you can implement a scheme called "Competition Commision" which simply stops firms merging to become a big monopoly. Secondly you can subsidise new start up firms which would encourage more new firms into the market. Finally you can implement a "Price Ceiling' so monopolies cannot charge above a certain price so their goods and services are affordable for consumers. Hope this helps. I am currently doing AS Economics Unit 2 and have revised and completed Unit 1, feel free to ask more questions if you need to!

Reply 7

You have a good week between the two exams :eek:

. We had about 2 days last year :frown:

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Original post by 08hussainf

Hi I can help! Firstly there is no competition so resources are not allocated elsewhere only to the monopoly which causes market failure. To correct this you can implement a scheme called "Competition Commision" which simply stops firms merging to become a big monopoly. Secondly you can subsidise new start up firms which would encourage more new firms into the market. Finally you can implement a "Price Ceiling' so monopolies cannot charge above a certain price so their goods and services are affordable for consumers. Hope this helps. I am currently doing AS Economics Unit 2 and have revised and completed Unit 1, feel free to ask more questions if you need to!

The "Competition Commision (CC)" are regulators who work alongside the "Office of Fair Trading (OFT)". These government implemented regulators are responsible for overseeing mergers and aquisitions. They enforce the "Enterprise Act of 2002" along with "Competition Act of 1998" to ensure firms act according to the public interest. This involves declining the right for potential mergers and in some cases de-merging firms that are too big in order to break up a monopoly. Other than that, great theory. All the best for your up coming exams. Seems you were more prepared than me, this time last year.

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Original post by Liberalists

The "Competition Commision (CC)" are regulators who work alongside the "Office of Fair Trading (OFT)". These government implemented regulators are responsible for overseeing mergers and aquisitions. They enforce the "Enterprise Act of 2002" along with "Competition Act of 1998" to ensure firms act according to the public interest. This involves declining the right for potential mergers and in some cases de-merging firms that are too big in order to break up a monopoly. Other than that, great theory. All the best for your up coming exams. Seems you were more prepared than me, this time last year.

Thanks mate how did you do last year?

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Original post by 08hussainf

Thanks mate how did you do last year?

Not too bad :lol:

. It's weird how I'm averaging better grades for A2, however. Managed to get an A over-all at AS.

Unit 1: 90
Unit 2: 78

I'm averaging A* at A2 :rolleyes:

. Once you know the exam techniques, it becomes a piece of cake.

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Original post by Liberalists

Not too bad :lol:

. It's weird how I'm averaging better grades for A2, however. Managed to get an A over-all at AS.

Unit 1: 90
Unit 2: 78

I'm averaging A* at A2 :rolleyes:

. Once you know the exam techniques, it becomes a piece of cake.

Nice im aiming for A in AS and A* overall what tips do you have for getting A and then A* overall?

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Original post by 08hussainf

Nice im aiming for A in AS and A* overall what tips do you have for getting A and then A* overall?

Assuming you gain the A this year, you'd need 90% at A2. Revise, revise, revise. A2 gets alot more technical, especially with micro. I'd recommend reading around the subjects, watching documentaries, reading news, YouTube. A2 is more content heavy and definitely a lot harder. It gets more interesting, however. As long as you keep on top of understanding theories and you are able to critisize your analysis, you should be fine. Really having outside knowledge boosts your marks with A2. Such as knowing the different types of economists..

Left wing - Keynsian ideologists etc (government interventionist)
Right wing - your Fredrick Hayek / Adam Smith / Milton friedman (more liberal economists)

Also identifying different market structures for Unit 3 and knowing applicable diagrams. Unit 4 gets more challenging due to having to take into account global events, other economies and some more advanced diagrams and theories.

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Original post by Liberalists

Assuming you gain the A this year, you'd need 90% at A2. Revise, revise, revise. A2 gets alot more technical, especially with micro. I'd recommend reading around the subjects, watching documentaries, reading news, YouTube. A2 is more content heavy and definitely a lot harder. It gets more interesting, however. As long as you keep on top of understanding theories and you are able to critisize your analysis, you should be fine. Really having outside knowledge boosts your marks with A2. Such as knowing the different types of economists..

Left wing - Keynsian ideologists etc (government interventionist)
Right wing - your Fredrick Hayek / Adam Smith / Milton friedman (more liberal economists)

Also identifying different market structures for Unit 3 and knowing applicable diagrams. Unit 4 gets more challenging due to having to take into account global events, other economies and some more advanced diagrams and theories.

Thanks for that! focussing on AS though what exam tips do you have?

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Original post by 08hussainf

Thanks for that! focussing on AS though what exam tips do you have?

God knows I only revised the morning of the exam's. :lol:

I was confident with what I was taught in class so I kind of left it last minute. I'd recommend getting to grips with all the diagrams/theories and facts about the UK economy. Start practicing some evaluation as that's what really pulls peoples grades down. For instance if you analyse a excise duty tax increase to combat the negative externalize of a demerit good such as a cigarette, you would need to scrutinise it, what are the potential downsides? Increase in Price level, may be regressive as it takes a larger proportion of income for low income households, cigarettes are fairly inelastic so may not have much effect on consumption.

Also practice writing definitions, as you don't want to be losing those easy marks (and always use relevant examples). Just do a couple past papers and see what areas you are weak on and may need to focus on. PajHolden is a youtuber, who you can class as a second teacher. He explains concepts beautifully.

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Original post by Liberalists

God knows I only revised the morning of the exam's. :lol:

I was confident with what I was taught in class so I kind of left it last minute. I'd recommend getting to grips with all the diagrams/theories and facts about the UK economy. Start practicing some evaluation as that's what really pulls peoples grades down. For instance if you analyse a excise duty tax increase to combat the negative externalize of a demerit good such as a cigarette, you would need to scrutinise it, what are the potential downsides? Increase in Price level, may be regressive as it takes a larger proportion of income for low income households, cigarettes are fairly inelastic so may not have much effect on consumption.

Also practice writing definitions, as you don't want to be losing those easy marks (and always use relevant examples). Just do a couple past papers and see what areas you are weak on and may need to focus on. PajHolden is a youtuber, who you can class as a second teacher. He explains concepts beautifully.

Great Thanks! Yh plus I will be starting exam practice next week definitely. So are at Uni now?

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Original post by 08hussainf

Great Thanks! Yh plus I will be starting exam practice next week definitely. So are at Uni now?

I'm a year older than you, hoping to start university this year. Second year of 6th form, I did AS last year :rolleyes:

. All the best.

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expatkid

Hi, I'm also studying AQA economics and it has to be the subject I enjoy the most :biggrin:

The only thing I am really concerned is the 25 mark essay. I know how the structure should go but for some questions (especially the Monetary policy topic) I think I write too much (not in timed conditions) and easily spend 1 hour writing it when it should only be 25 minutes!

Does anyone have any tips on the 25 mark essay such as how many points they give and how to condense it but still having enough time for analysis / evaluation?

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