Revising current affairs and doing practice questions are recommended for revising for Edexcel Economics A A Level Paper 1 2024.
Real world examples will benefit preparation for section C 25 markers. Doing practice questions, from past papers or practice papers on current affairs, will also help with the section B and section A questions.
Here are some of the key topics from the specification, that have also appeared in current affairs. For each topic, I’ve presented some practice question ideas. You can also find full practice questions, with extracts, in the links on the right column.
See this blue link for the Paper 2 style practice questions.
Key topics, current affairs and finding practice questions
| Topic | Details and practice question ideas | Sources of full practice questions for this topic |
| 1. Market failure and government intervention – demerit goods | A) Cigarettes and e-cigarettes The UK Government’s new cigarette policy is that minimum legal age for buying cigarettes rises over time. This coincides with taxes on e-cigarettes, a substitute. How do regulatory approaches compare with taxation in terms of effectiveness? Should cigarette taxes be higher than e-cigarette taxes? B) Junk food With the success of the UK tax on sugary drinks, some health professionals have called for taxes to be expanded to sugary and salty food. What are the health and inequality consequences of such a tax? C) Fossil fuels The UK has been approving new licences for oil and gas, as well as supporting a new coal mine. Will this help secure the UK’s energy supply and prevent “carbon leakage”? Or will it make it harder to achieve the UK’s emissions targets? How will the UK’s tradable pollution permits scheme diverge from the EU’s scheme? Will the changing UK energy mix result in higher or lower energy bills for households? More generally, to what extent will households and firms have to pay for the UK’s transition to net zero emissions? D) Water and sewage There have been complaints about leakage of untreated sewage into rivers and other water bodies. This carries risks for farmers, fish and open water swimmers. Should water and sewage companies be nationalised? Or face greater fines for leakage of untreated sewage? E) Waste and greenwashing Metal and battery waste have led to calls for greater recycling. The EU has imposed minimum recycling percentages – should the UK follow? Companies such as clothing companies have faced “greenwashing” accusations. A company could claim their product is eco-friendly when that may not be the case. Consider the materials used for clothing as well as the dumping of unsold clothes. Is fast fashion harmful for the environment or can it be regulated? | A) + B) Cigarettes and junk food Practice Paper 2024 1B Q6 C) Fossil fuels Practice Paper 2024 1C Q6 D) Water and sewage Practice Paper 1B 2023 Q6 E) Waste and greenwashing Practice Paper 1A 2024 Q6 |
| 2. Market failure and government intervention – merit goods | A) Care markets This includes health, social, dental and child care, as well as pharmaceuticals. In the NHS, long waiting lists have persisted. How should the UK Government reduce waiting lists, through more funding or preventative measures to improve population health? Childcare market intervention has featured heavily in recent UK Government budgets. Childcare provision can help parents and guardians enter the labour force. Yet childcare is expensive. Will current subsidies prove sufficient? Should childcare be allowed to be run for profit? Dental care is not accessible in some parts of the UK. Areas have been labelled “dental deserts”. Dentists can choose to take on NHS dental work or work privately and increasingly, dentists are going private. How should dental care provision be increased in the UK? B) Education The UK Government is considering whether to regulate universities more closely. One idea is to limit student numbers on courses that do not offer good graduation prospects. Meanwhile, universities worry about a lack of funding from domestic students, incentivising universities to take on more students from abroad who pay higher fees. Do universities receive too little or too much government funding? There have been reports in the UK of poor quality school buildings, school waiting lists, inequality in attainment across schools and recruitment challenges. Has government intervention in education been successful? To what extent has intervention in education led to government failure? C) Renewable energy and decarbonisation Renewable energy prices have fallen significantly over time. Nevertheless, there are still barriers to increasing the amount of renewable energy in the energy mix. The UK Government is offering support for the installation of energy efficient heat pumps. However such support may not be enough to cover the cost for some households. Should the Government intervene further to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix? New battery factories, “gigafactories“, are being built in the UK. These factories will support progress towards net zero carbon emissions. Yet the UK has far fewer gigafactories compared to competing economies. How much government support is needed to support the building of gigafactories? | A) Care markets Practice Paper 1B 2024 Q6 B) Education Practice Paper 1A 2024 Q8 C) Renewable energy and decarbonisation Practice Paper 1C 2024 Q6 |
| 3. Business objectives | A) The business model of technology startups With technology startups often maximising sales or revenue and the increasing popularity of environmental business objectives (ESG), is profit maxmisation still a relevant objective for firms? B) Greenwashing Even though some firms claim to be pursuing eco-friendly production methods, certain sectors have faced “greenwashing” accusations. C) Principal-agent problem Principal-agent problems between shareholders and CEOs have contributed to the hiring and firing of CEOs. See OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, for an example of this. How should shareholders design CEO pay to best align incentives? | A) Business model of tech startups Practice Paper 1B 2024 Q7 B) Greenwashing Practice Paper 1A 2024 Q6 C) Principal-agent problem Practice Paper 1C 2024 Q1 |
| 4. Market power, firm integration and competition policy | The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has investigated several mergers and acquisitions. A) Big tech CMA investigations The CMA and EU competition authorities have been investigating markets related to phones. Is there market power in app stores? Should countries have separate charging wires or the same wires? Should firms be able to push related products such as their own apps? The CMA looked into Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. Initially, the CMA blocked the merger, citing competition concerns and creating a global news story. However with some concessions from the companies, the merger has now been approved. How much action should the CMA take against global tech companies? B) CMA investigations in other sectors The CMA is not only investigating big technology companies. It has also looked into construction companies, clothing companies and fuel companies. What types of CMA interventions are the most effective in promoting competition? Should the CMA go for information provision and fines to deter anti-competitive behaviour? Or should the CMA enforce price or profit caps? | A) Big tech CMA investigations Practice Paper 1C 2024 Q6; Practice Paper 1A 2023 Q6 B) CMA investigations in other sectors Practice Paper 1C 2024 Q8; Practice Paper 1C 2023 Q7 |
| 5. Other market structures | A) More competitive markets This includes: – High-street businesses such as hairdressers and monopolistic competition. – Global food markets and their proximity to perfect competition. What are the properties of these market structures? Do these markets serve consumers better than monopolistic or oligopolistic markets? B) Changes in concentration and contestability Several markets in the UK have seen a fall in concentration and a rise in contestability. This particularly applies to banking and energy companies. Online websites and apps have made it easier to enter banking and clothing markets in particular. Is the move to online shopping beneficial? C) Monopsony Monopsony appears in several different industries: – Labour markets: NHS, state education, dominant employers in small towns. – Product markets: Amazon and buying books; supermarkets and buying food; NHS and pharmaceutical products. D) Nationalisation and privatisation There has been significant debate about whether water companies and Channel 4 should be nationalised or privatised. | A) More competitive markets Practice Paper 1B 2024 Q5 B) Changes in market structure Practice Paper 1A 2024 Q6 C) Monopsony Practice Paper 1B 2024 Q6 D) Nationalisation Practice Paper 1B 2023 Q6 |
| 6. Labour markets | A) Pay gaps The Economics Nobel Prize in 2023 went to Claudia Goldin. This was for her research into gender pay gaps over time. More recently, Goldin suggests the main reason for remaining gender pay gaps is the effect of having children. Care responsibilities, all else equal, are statistically more likely to be taken up by women. Re-entering the labour force can be difficult and Goldin cites flexible working arrangements as a way to encourage re-entry of carers into the labour force. Should governments be making it easier for workers to request flexible working? Or should this be left to the free market? B) Home / remote working Workers are increasingly seeking flexibility in their working arrangements. This can include compressed hours, doing ten days of work in nine days, enabling an extra day off every fortnight. It can also cover working from home. How do such non-monetary benefits influence labour supply, as well as labour demand? In contrast some firms are encouraging or forcing workers to come back into the office. What are the merits and drawbacks of getting workers in the office for firms? C) Immigration Net migration into the UK reached 745,000 in 2022 and has remained high in 2023. This is driven by higher inward migration from non-EU countries. What are the economic benefits and drawbacks of high net migration? What are the effects of the government’s announced changes to visa policies? D) Automation ChatGPT and other natural language processing chatbots have renewed concerns about the effect of AI on jobs, workers and inequality. Yet automation may raise productivity. AI may benefit workers whose skills complement AI. How does AI positively and negatively affect workers, firms and consumers? The UK held an AI summit in 2023, where tech leaders and politicians met to discuss how to regulate AI. Should governments intervene to regulate AI, or leave it to the free market? E) Trade unions, strike activity and labour shortages Labour shortages and strike activity in the NHS raise questions about the monopsony role of the NHS and what should happen to wages in the sector. F) Rising minimum wages, especially in the US Some US states have introduced higher minimum wages, such as New York’s $15 an hour. Other US states have kept the minimum wage much lower at $7.25 an hour. What will be the effects of these differences in minimum wages on workers and firms? | A) + B) Pay gaps and remote working Practice Paper 1B 2024 Q8 C) Immigration Practice Paper 1C 2024 Q7 D) Automation Practice Paper 1A 2024 Q7 E) Trade unions and labour shortages Practice Paper 1A 2023 Q7 |
| 7. Market trends that affect supply and demand or cost and revenue | Some trends across different markets have been mentioned above. Some other trends include: A) Automation / Artificial intelligence (AI) While we mentioned labour market effects above, automation can also affect product markets. What are the benefits and risks for consumers, firms and the wider economy from adopting AI? B) Commodity price volatility. This includes volatility in energy and food prices, as well as construction material prices and steel. Rare metal prices are also volatile but critical for batteries and computer chips. International organisations have highlighted poor working conditions for mining such metals. C) High street closures. Shopping has increasingly moved away from the high street and towards online shopping (or retail parks). What are the causes of this? How does this affect consumers, workers and firms? We have seen the failure of some high street stores, including concerns in 2023 over Wilko. Why have some firms struggled to adapt to changing consumer habits? D) Subscription businesses This includes video / music streaming or gym memberships. Are loyal customers being penalised for sticking with memberships? What are the effects of price discrimination in subscription businesses? | A) Automation / AI Practice Paper 2024 1A Q7 B) Commodity prices Practice Paper 2024 1C Q6; Practice Paper 2023 1C Q6. C) High street closures Practice Paper 2024 1A Q6. D) Subscription businesses Practice Paper 2024 1B Q3 |
I recommend not using these questions as “predictions”. You should revise all topics and not look for shortcuts.
Instead I recommend using the questions as additional practice. Use the questions to work on your exam technique, practise real world examples.
[Disclaimer: Make sure to revise all microeconomics parts of the Edexcel Economics A specification ahead of Paper 1. This includes topics not mentioned above. Including but not limited to public goods, revenues and costs and command vs mixed economics.]
Revision tips summarised for Edexcel Economics A Paper 1 2024
1. Revise parts of the course content you do not understand
Use revision notes, videos or other resources to try to understand core concepts.
Then try to commit them to memory, either through practice questions (see below) or flashcards.
2. Attempt past papers and practice papers
The Edexcel Economics A past papers are a great resource.
You can also attempt practice papers, such as those on this website. You don’t have to use my practice papers. Alternatively, make up your own questions and get practising!
You should do as much of the practice as possible in timed conditions. Timing can be tight for Edexcel Economics A Paper 1. So time management is worth practising.
3. Learn from your mistakes
Combine doing extra questions with learning from your mistakes. For most students, this should boost the effectiveness of doing practice questions.
To learn from your mistakes, mark your work and/or get feedback from teachers.
If you can’t get feedback, try to find model answers. For example, on this website or in examiner’s reports.
Write down what you’re getting wrong and how to fix it. This can be in a quick spreadsheet or just a piece of paper.
Do more past papers and practice questions and repeat this process.
4. Learn real world examples for the 25 markers
You should have some case studies / key facts prepared for paper 1 section C.
I recommend making a list and memorising.
You can use past papers and/or practice papers to practise putting the examples into your answers. This will also aid memorisation.
Extra exam technique tips for Edexcel Economics A Paper 1
1. How to evaluate government intervention
Government failure is often a great way to evaluate government intervention points. Government failure can include:
- The Government sets the wrong level of a tax or subsidy. Perhaps because the government estimates the level of market failure (e.g. size of externality) incorrectly.
- Regulatory capture.
- Unintended consequences (such as underground markets following price controls).
- Administrative costs of policy exceeding welfare gain.
2. Check your diagrams!
Make sure your diagrams are correctly labelled. You can review a list of key microeconomics diagrams here. One way to remember how to label diagrams well is to check for SCALE:
- S for shift. Show the shift of curve in your diagram if a shift is needed (it often is)
- C for coordinates. Show the coordinates of any key points e.g. equilibria.
- A for axes – make sure the axes are labelled (price, quantity for example)
- L for label – label all lines or curves e.g. S and S1.
- E for explanation – describe what happens in the diagram in the text and explain why this happens.
3. A tip for discussing market structures
When discussing the desirability of a market structure or methods to regulate market power, you can often refer to the efficiencies.
This includes productive, allocative and dynamic efficiency. Is the market structure allocatively efficient for example? Why or why not?
What is allocative efficiency? Who loses or gains as a result of allocative (in)efficiency?
For government interventions to regulate market power, such as breaking up large firms, consider whether this moves the market closer to or further from a particular efficiency.
4. Expanding analysis on producer effects
For effects on producers of a policy, change in prices or market structure, remember the acronym PIES: profits, investment, efficiency / employment, (producer) surplus.
5. Expanding on consumer effects
If you are stuck on the effects on the consumer, consider consumer surplus, quality, variety and inequality.
6. Another key evaluation point for supply and demand shifts or policies
Elasticities can matter for a lot of outcomes of policies. This can make a great evaluation point for instance for taxes, subsidies, maximum prices and minimum prices.
7. Answer the question given!
Make sure your paragraphs link back to the question asked, not the question you wanted.
8. How to improve your diagrams and analysis in 25 markers
Aim for high level diagrams in your 25 markers where possible. Especially if you plan to stick to two long KAA paragraphs in your 25 markers.
A simple supply and demand diagram can be elevated by showing the price mechanism on the diagram. Then refer to the price mechanism while explaining the diagram.
A tax diagram can be elevated by labelling the area of the tax revenue or the change in consumer surplus.
Make sure to label one or two key areas of the diagram for cost/revenue diagrams (supernormal profits) and externality diagrams (welfare loss).
Thanks for reading and good luck with your Paper 1 exam!
For more A-Level Economics Edexcel A style resources, click the blue button below:
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