Cambridge AS Level Economics Tutors Online

Cambridge AS Level Economics is syllabus 9708. This page works from the syllabus for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028, version 2. Exams are available in the June and November series, and also in the March series in India.

An AS Level candidate sits two papers in the same exam series, and candidates following an AS Level route are eligible for grades a to e. Candidates following an A Level route are eligible for grades A* to E. The AS grade scale stops at e and uses lower case letters.

Paper 1 is AS Level Multiple Choice. It lasts 1 hour, carries 30 marks as 30 multiple choice questions on the AS Level subject content, and is worth 33% of the AS Level and 17% of the A Level.

Paper 2 is AS Level Data Response and Essays. It lasts 2 hours, carries 60 marks, and is worth 67% of the AS Level and 33% of the A Level.

That weighting is the first thing to understand about this qualification. Two thirds of the AS grade comes from one written paper, so a candidate who is quick at multiple choice but slow at writing will find Paper 1 flatters them and Paper 2 decides the result.

Paper 2 has a fixed three section shape. Section A is one data response question worth 20 marks. Section B is one essay from a choice of two focusing mainly on microeconomics, and there are two parts to each essay question, worth 20 marks. Section C is one essay from a choice of two focusing mainly on macroeconomics, also with two parts to each essay question and worth 20 marks.

So the paper is three equal pieces of 20 marks each, and only two of the three involve a choice. The data response is compulsory.

The essay structure is where the AS and the A Level diverge most. At AS Level each essay has two parts, which guides the candidate to deal with the question in stages. At A Level the syllabus states that the essay questions are unstructured with no parts, so a candidate has to build the structure themselves.

That difference matters for a student planning to carry the AS forward. The skill that earns an AS essay mark is partly the skill of answering parts (a) and (b) in turn, and that scaffolding is removed in Year 2.

The AS Level content is six topic areas with twenty nine numbered sub-topics. The first is basic economic ideas and resource allocation, covering scarcity, choice and opportunity cost; economic methodology; factors of production; resource allocation in different economic systems; production possibility curves; and classification of goods and services.

The second is the price system and the microeconomy, covering demand and supply curves; price elasticity, income elasticity and cross elasticity of demand; price elasticity of supply; the interaction of demand and supply; and consumer and producer surplus.

The third is government microeconomic intervention, covering reasons for government intervention in markets; methods and effects of government intervention in markets; and addressing income and wealth inequality.

The fourth is the macroeconomy, covering national income statistics; an introduction to the circular flow of income; aggregate demand and aggregate supply analysis; economic growth; unemployment; and price stability.

The fifth is government macroeconomic intervention, covering government macroeconomic policy objectives; fiscal policy; monetary policy; and supply-side policy.

The sixth is international economic issues, covering the reasons for international trade; protectionism; the current account of the balance of payments; exchange rates; and policies to correct imbalances in the current account of the balance of payments.

The AS year therefore runs from the basic problem of scarcity all the way to exchange rates and the balance of payments. That is a wide sweep, and it means an AS candidate is examined on international economics as well as on microeconomics, which is more than some school schemes of work manage to fit in.

A Level candidates go on to topics 7.1 to 11.6, which deepen the same ground rather than replace it: utility, indifference curves and budget lines, efficiency and market failure, private costs and benefits with externalities and social costs and benefits, types of cost, revenue and profit with short run and long run production, different market structures, growth and survival of firms, and differing objectives and policies of firms, then further government policy, labour market forces, the circular flow, economic growth and sustainability, employment, money and banking, and the effectiveness of policy options.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge and understanding, which includes showing knowledge of syllabus content by recalling facts, formulae and definitions, demonstrating understanding with appropriate explanations and examples, and applying knowledge and understanding to economic information using written, numerical and diagrammatic forms.

AO2 is analysis, which includes examining economic issues and relationships using relevant economic concepts, theories and information; selecting, interpreting and organising economic information in written, numerical and diagrammatic form; using economic information to recognise patterns, relationships, causes and effects; and explaining the impacts and consequences of changes in economic variables.

AO3 is evaluation, which includes recognising assumptions and limitations of economic information and models.

The overall weightings are AO1 at 35 per cent, AO2 at 40 per cent and AO3 at 25 per cent, and they are identical at AS Level and A Level. Analysis is the largest single objective, so a candidate who defines and describes but never explains cause and effect will plateau.

The per paper weightings show how differently the two papers behave. Paper 1 is 47 per cent AO1, 40 per cent AO2 and 13 per cent AO3. Paper 2 is 33 per cent AO1, 37 per cent AO2 and 30 per cent AO3.

So evaluation is worth less than half as much on the multiple choice paper as on the written paper, and knowledge is worth far more. This is worth saying plainly to a family: multiple choice questions here largely test whether a student knows the material, while the essays are where judgement is rewarded.

Diagram work runs through the whole qualification. The assessment objectives refer explicitly to written, numerical and diagrammatic forms, so a candidate is expected to draw and use economic diagrams, not only describe them in prose.

Three routes are available. Route 1 is AS Level only, taking Papers 1 and 2 in the same series. Route 2 is the A Level staged over two years, taking Papers 1 and 2 in Year 1 and Papers 3 and 4 in Year 2, with the AS result carried forward subject to Cambridge Handbook rules and time limits. Route 3 is the A Level with all four papers in one series.

The qualification is graded a, b, c, d or e for an AS Level candidate.