Economics
IGCSE · 31 topics available
Chapter 1 · The Basic Economic Problem
The Nature of the Economic Problem
Human wants are unlimited but resources are scarce, so everyone must make choices about how to use what little there is.
OpenFactors of Production
The four factors of production are land, labour, capital and enterprise, each earning a reward and each in limited supply.
OpenOpportunity Cost
Opportunity cost is the next best alternative given up when a choice is made, and it applies to consumers, firms and governments.
OpenProduction Possibility Curves
A production possibility curve shows the maximum combinations of two goods an economy can produce when resources are fully used.
OpenChapter 2 · The Allocation of Resources
Demand
Demand is the quantity of a good consumers are willing and able to buy at each price, and it normally falls as price rises.
OpenSupply
Supply is the quantity of a good producers are willing and able to sell at each price, and it normally rises as price rises.
OpenPrice Determination and Changes
The market price is set where demand equals supply; shifts in either curve change the equilibrium price and quantity.
OpenPrice Elasticity of Demand
How much quantity demanded responds to a change in price, and why it matters for revenue.
OpenPrice Elasticity of Supply
How much quantity supplied responds to a change in price, and what makes supply flexible.
OpenMarket Economic System
How the price mechanism, not the government, allocates resources in a market economy.
OpenMarket Failure
When the price mechanism misallocates resources, and why externalities and public goods matter.
OpenChapter 3 · Microeconomic Decision Makers
Money and Banking
The four functions of money and the roles of commercial banks and the central bank.
OpenHouseholds
How households earn income and decide between spending, saving and borrowing.
OpenWorkers and Trade Unions
How wages are set by labour demand and supply, and how trade unions bargain for workers.
OpenFirms and Production
How firms differ in size, why some stay small, and how they combine factors of production to make goods and services.
OpenFirms' Costs, Revenue and Objectives
How firms measure fixed and variable costs, total and average revenue, and the different goals they may pursue.
OpenMarket Structure
How the number of firms and level of competition in a market shape prices, choice and firm behaviour.
OpenChapter 4 · Government and the Macroeconomy
The Role of Government
The main roles government plays in an economy: as producer, employer, regulator and provider of essential services.
OpenMacroeconomic Aims and Fiscal Policy
The main aims a government sets for the whole economy, and how fiscal policy uses taxes and spending to reach them.
OpenMonetary and Supply-Side Policy
How central banks use interest rates and money supply, and how supply-side policies raise the economy's productive capacity.
OpenEconomic Growth
What economic growth means, how it is measured by GDP, and the benefits and costs of a growing economy.
OpenEmployment and Unemployment
How economies measure who is working, why people become unemployed and what governments do about it.
OpenInflation and Deflation
What rising and falling price levels mean, how they are measured and the problems each can cause.
OpenChapter 5 · Economic Development
Living Standards
How economists compare well-being between countries and over time using both money and quality-of-life measures.
OpenPoverty
The difference between absolute and relative poverty, why poverty exists and how governments try to reduce it.
OpenPopulation
What drives population change, how age structure differs between countries and why it matters for the economy.
OpenDifferences in Economic Development
Why living standards differ so widely between countries and what factors drive economic development.
OpenChapter 6 · International Trade and Globalisation
International Specialisation
Why countries specialise in what they produce and trade, and the benefits and risks this brings.
OpenFree Trade and Protection
Free trade removes barriers between countries, while protection uses tariffs, quotas and subsidies to shield home industries.
OpenForeign Exchange Rates
An exchange rate is the price of one currency in another; floating rates move with demand and supply, changing export and import prices.
OpenThe Balance of Payments
The balance of payments records a country's transactions with the rest of the world; the current account covers trade in goods and services.
OpenNeed help with Economics? A verified JomKelas tutor can guide you through any topic.
Find a verified tutor