Edexcel AS Economics Unit 2 (19th May 2015) - Managing the Economy Exam Thread

Alright guys, we've got 6 days left before the Unit 2 Exam. I hope everyone is starting to prepare themselves and that your Micro papers went well


Attached I've included several useful resources to help you revise for the Unit 2 paper:

-Edexcel Revision Sheets for Unit 2 (starts from Page 38)
http://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/A%20Level/Economics/2013/Teaching%20and%20learning%20materials/UA037281_GCE_GS_Econom_Issue_4.pdf

-Study Notes by Geoff Riley (from Tutor2u)
http://beta.tutor2u.net/economics/reference/as-macroeconomics-study-notes-topic-listing

-Playlist of topic-related videos by 'pajholden' on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNvKmlvacNk&list=PL70BA877E3D53D77A


It may also be useful to remind you that Geoff Riley is also active on Twitter (@tutor2u_econ) and will answer questions as well as present live webinars covering specific units of the course leading up to exam day.
https://twitter.com/tutor2u_econ

With that I wish everyone the best of luck for the next couple of days, be sure to get lots of exam practice (especially for the 30-marker)!

any thoughts on the 30 markers? like what hasn't come up for a while etc? x

If anyone has questions regarding kAA or evaluation points feel free to post ill give you a quick answer.

I have literally no idea as to how I should answer any of the questions for Unit 2. Struggled with the 14 markers in Unit 1 and I'm fearing the same will happen again

Anyone ask away before the exam, I will answer your questions regarding exam technique, easy evaluation to access marks for specific economic concepts and KAA

Peace

Are the go to evaluations from unit 1 still applicable in unit 2? i.e.
Different groups affected in different ways
Opportunity cost
Government spending
Magnitude of effects
Elasticities
Time lags

Thanks

Magnitude is applicable, so are time lags, for example when pursuing a supply side policy there will be time lags as it expansionary fiscal policy, thus the policy can only take place every fiscal year or education will take a number of years before the individual can use his/her skills in the job market.

Opportunity cost yes, especially when deciding what the government should spend funds on, education or an improvement in health services to boost AS.

Elasticities are used rarely, but mostly when talking about the BoP deficit and exports being elastic or inelastic, would not recommend talking as you can get quite confused.

Different groups did not come across, but possibly can come up when talking about inequality e.g the how the rich and poor may be affected.

Emphasise evaluating all macro economic policies both Monetary and Fiscal, also for easy evaluation marks suggest using the Keynesian curve that shows spare capacity, so you can evaluate what effect AD will have depending on the state of the economy, I can easily explain this who does not understand to have one extra evaluation weapon when sitting the exam.

thank you

another thing, in unit 1 i found it fairly easy to know when using a diagram may be applicable, could you suggest any prompts which would suggest drawing and explaining a diagram as i am finding it more difficult to know when to include one

Can someone draw and upload an example of an AS/AD curve please. I have been taught to make AS curved and AD a straight line, i have seen in textbooks mentions of SRAS and LRAS but have not been taught this...

Ive drawn a basic AD/AS above to show you what it generally looks like and what you should do in the exam. Some useful tips:
-Be sure to put 'Price Level' on the y-axis and 'real GDP' on the x-axis
-The equilibrium point on the x-axis must be labelled as 'Y1' and not 'Q1' like its done in a Micro Demand and Supply graph
-AS is an upward curved slope and AD is straight downward line
-(And obviously) You shift AD or AS respectively to the question and draw the new equilibrium point, stating the shifts in the Price Level and Real GDP

In terms of your LRAS and SRAS concern, its not an issue that needs to be addressed in a graph. Yes you can talk about it in your context when you are evaluating the effects of a policy in the long run, however as far as I am aware, stick to writing 'AS' all the time as you'll never get marked down for it (from what my Economics teacher said).

Hope thats help solve any issues

Are the go to evaluations from unit 1 still applicable in unit 2? i.e.
Different groups affected in different ways
Opportunity cost
Government spending
Magnitude of effects
Elasticities
Time lags

Thanks

Thanks for replying, looks similar to what I've been taught so is very reassuring.

And thank god about not having to learn LRAS/SRAS, I thought I was going to have to teach it to myself over the weekend!

Hi joshharris96,

Yes and no. Some are similar, but if you want a tidy list they're covered in my unit 2 evaluation video, which also covers the 30 mark evaluation question.

https://youtu.be/1W3buwcvCBc

Hope this helps, good luck!

Tom (IDK-tuition.com, free online economics videos and resources)