For many learners, Economics is a new and exciting sounding subject to choose at A-Level. As a new sixth form student, you may not wholly grasp what Economics involves at the start. For parents of new year 12s and those supporting resuming year 13s, this mini blog outlines overlaps with other A-Level subjects, the required breadth of thinking, and the role of Economics in our present world…
Interestingly, the modern study of Economics did not commence until the times of the Industrial Revolution. Before that, it was simply an expression that was coined by the Greek Philosopher Aristotle. Oikonomics simply meant “household management” and stemmed from Aristotle’s observations in how different households go about their daily business of managing their affairs.
Modern Economics, or the “Science of Wealth”, examines the small interactions between people and business and also examines the macro relationships between whole countries. This subject can be a perfect complement to many other A-levels, whether it be History and the desire to better understand why some countries will cooperate together and why some countries may not. Perhaps it could be the subject of Psychology, and exploring how governments can better influence their citizens in making improved life choices that benefit the health of the economy. It may also be Mathematics, whereby you can numerically measure the cause and effect of political decision making on households and businesses.
As well as the obvious link between Economics and the study of money, Economics is about so much more; it is about how groups of people on our planet ration the scarce resources and use them to create wealth and prosperity. Economics is about the “Art of Allocation” so why not allocate some time to reading into this fascinating subject of human behaviour? If anything, you will certainly become richer in mind.
Hopefully, this passage of writing has steered you away from the traps of misconception, that Economics is solely focussed on the topic of money and people dying to pay less tax and earn more leisure time. It is simply about finding creative solutions that can better shape the future, as we see it.
If you would like to know more about A-level Economics tuition, please complete our short form and Andy Gardner, Tutor Director, will be in touch.