Commercials
Cambridge AS & A Level Economics
Syllabus topics
71 topics and subtopics in the 2026-2028 syllabus, examined from 1 Jan 2026.
ASAS Level subject content
Topics 1-6: studied by all candidates; examined in Papers 1 and 2 and assumed knowledge for Papers 3 and 4.
AA Level subject content
Topics 7-11: A Level only; examined in Papers 3 and 4 (AS content is assumed knowledge and is not the direct focus).
- 7
The price system and the microeconomy (A Level)
- 7.1 Utility
- 7.2 Indifference curves and budget lines
- 7.3 Efficiency and market failure
- 7.4 Private costs and benefits, externalities and social costs and benefits
- 7.5 Types of cost, revenue and profit, short-run and long-run production
- 7.6 Different market structures
- 7.7 Growth and survival of firms
- 7.8 Differing objectives and policies of firms
SKExamination skills
Not a content section of the syllabus: our grouping of the assessment objectives (AO1 knowledge and understanding, AO2 analysis, AO3 evaluation), the command…
About this syllabus
Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics (9708) is a two-stage course. The AS Level content (topics 1-6) covers basic economic ideas and resource allocation, the price system (demand, supply, elasticity, equilibrium, surplus), government microeconomic intervention, the macroeconomy (national income, the circular flow, AD/AS, growth, unemployment, price stability), macroeconomic policy (fiscal, monetary and supply-side) and international trade, protectionism, the current account and exchange rates. The A Level content (topics 7-11) adds utility and indifference curves, efficiency and market failure, costs, revenue and market structures, the growth and objectives of firms, policies to correct market failure, equity and labour markets, the multiplier, growth and sustainability, unemployment, money and banking, policy interrelationships and effectiveness, the balance of payments and exchange rate systems, economic development, aid, multinational companies and globalisation.
How you are assessed
AS Level candidates take Paper 1 Multiple Choice (1 hour, 30 marks) and Paper 2 Data Response and Essays (2 hours, 60 marks). A Level candidates also take Paper 3 A Level Multiple Choice (1 hour 15 minutes, 30 marks) and Paper 4 A Level Data Response and Essays (2 hours, 60 marks), either in the same series or in a later one, carrying forward their AS result.
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