You already think like an economist: The last thing you bought — why that, and not something else?
You had limited money and more than one want. So you chose.
That is economics.
It is called a social science because it studies people, not atoms. That changes what economists can actually do.
Why studying people is different
- No lab. You cannot run a country twice — once with the tax, once without.
- People notice. Announce a tax for next month and everyone buys today.
- Fairness is an opinion. Data can show what a policy did. It cannot say whether it was right.
- Everything moves at once. Prices, jobs and confidence all shift together.
Same fact, opposite verdicts: A sugar tax cuts consumption by 12%.
Economist A: a win — less obesity.
Economist B: unfair — the poorest pay the biggest share.
Neither is arguing about the 12%. They are arguing about whether it was worth it.
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Every economics question is about one of two things: one market, or the whole country. Which one it is decides the diagram you draw.
Micro — the close-up
- One market. One good, one firm, one household.
- Why did energy drinks get more expensive?
- Tools: demand and supply, elasticity, market failure.
- Unit 2.
Macro — the whole economy
- Everything at once. Output, prices, jobs.
- Why is unemployment rising?
- Tools: AD/AS, fiscal and monetary policy.
- Units 3 and 4.
A big-sounding policy can still be micro: That sugar tax applies to the whole country. It sounds macro.
But it moves the price of one thing: sugary drinks. One market, one demand and supply diagram. So it is micro.
The test: one market, or the whole country? Not: does it sound important?
Sort these in your head
- Concert tickets resell at triple the price → micro
- Inflation hits 6% → macro
- A firm cuts prices to win customers → micro
- Government raises income tax → macro
Practice with real exam questions
Answer exam-style questions and get AI feedback that shows you exactly what examiners want to see in a full-marks response.
Nine words that run through everything: Not nine more definitions to learn. These are the ideas you build an argument out of — examiners look for them in every 15-mark answer.
Tap each one for an example.
Scarcity
Limited resources, unlimited wants. Every other idea on this list comes from it.
Example: A hospital has 12 beds and 20 people who need one tonight.
Choice
Scarcity forces it. Pick one thing, lose another.
Example: The government spends €50m on a road, so the new school waits another year.
Efficiency
No waste — resources end up where they do the most good.
Example: Two bakeries get the same flour. One turns it into 500 loaves, the other into 300.
Equity
Fairness. Not the same as everyone getting the same amount — see the box below.
Example: Free school meals go to the families who need them, not to every family.
Economic well-being
How good life actually is — not just how much money a country makes.
Example: GDP goes up, but people work longer hours and the air gets worse.
Sustainability
Meeting today's needs without wrecking tomorrow's.
Example: Fish stocks regrow 100,000 tonnes a year. Catch 80,000 and there will always be fish. Catch 120,000 and one day there are none.
Change
Nothing sits still. That is why so many diagrams are about a curve moving.
Example: Oil gets more expensive, so it costs more to make everything, so supply shifts.
Interdependence
Everyone relies on everyone. One country's recession is another's lost exports.
Example: A factory shuts in China and phone shelves empty in Europe.
Intervention
Should government step in? You will argue this one in every unit.
Example: A minimum wage. A sugar tax. A ban on single-use plastic.
Equity and equality are not the same word: Equal = everyone gets the same. Equitable = the split is fair.
A progressive tax is not equal — the rich pay a bigger share — but most people call it fair. Mixing these up costs marks in Unit 3.
Nobody will ask you to list the nine concepts: They are what a 15-mark answer is built out of.
The move: pick two that pull against each other and argue the tension. That tension is the evaluation, and the evaluation is where the marks are.
Three pairs that work on almost any question
- Efficiency vs equity — it works, but who loses?
- Growth vs sustainability — good now, what about later?
- Free market vs intervention — leave it, or step in?
The trap — writing the definition and stopping: A 15-marker does not pay for the definition. It pays for what you do with it.
Definition only — "sustainability means meeting present needs without compromising future generations." True, and worth almost nothing here.
Definition put to work — "the country earns more from fishing this year, but the fish are being caught faster than they breed, so in ten years there will be far less to catch." Same idea, applied to the case. That is the mark.
Using real-world examples, discuss whether economic growth always improves living standards.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.