Cambridge O Level Economics Tutors Online

Cambridge O Level Economics is syllabus 2281. This page works from the syllabus for exams in 2027, 2028 and 2029. Exams are available in the June and November series.

All candidates take two papers, and all candidates are eligible for grades A* to E. The grade range stops at E, and anything below it is ungraded. There is no Core and Extended tier.

Several things changed for candidates sitting from 2027, and they matter if a family is working from older papers. Paper 1 now lasts 1 hour and carries 40 marks, with candidates answering 40 multiple-choice questions. For candidates sitting in 2026 it was 45 minutes with 30 marks and 30 questions. Paper 2 is now 2 hours with 80 marks, and it is split into two sections: Section A is one compulsory question with six parts, and Section B offers three questions from a choice of four. For 2026 it was 2 hours 15 minutes with 90 marks and no section structure.

The balance of the assessment objectives also changed, and this is the most important change of the three. AO1 knowledge and understanding is now 43 per cent, AO2 analysis is 47 per cent and AO3 evaluation is 10 per cent. Under the 2026 syllabus the figures were 40, 40 and 20. Evaluation has halved, so a revision plan built around weighing up and concluding is now aimed at a smaller share of the marks than it was.

The paper weightings have not changed. Paper 1 is worth 30% of the qualification and Paper 2 is worth 70%, so the qualification is decided by structured written answers rather than by multiple choice.

Paper 1 is Multiple Choice. Within it the split is 50 per cent AO1 and 50 per cent AO2, with nothing at all on AO3. Paper 2 is 40 per cent AO1, 45 per cent AO2 and 15 per cent AO3.

So every mark for evaluation in this qualification comes from Paper 2, and the multiple choice paper cannot award one. A student who learns definitions and diagrams thoroughly can score well on Paper 1 and still need to build the evaluation skill separately for the written paper.

There is no coursework and no practical assessment. Both components are externally assessed written papers.

The subject content is organised into six topics: The basic economic problem, The allocation of resources, Microeconomic decision-makers, Government and the macroeconomy, Economic development, and International trade and globalisation.

Topic 1 introduces the fundamental ideas: the nature of the basic economic problem, starting from finite resources and infinite wants, then factors of production, opportunity cost, and production possibility curve diagrams. Topic 2 is the largest, covering the role of markets in allocating resources, demand, supply, price determination, price changes, price elasticity of demand, price elasticity of supply, the market economic system, market failure, and the mixed economic system.

Topic 3 covers microeconomic decision-makers: money and banking, households, workers, firms, firms and production, firms' costs, revenue and objectives, and types of markets. Topic 4 covers government and the macroeconomy: government macroeconomic intervention, fiscal policy, monetary policy, supply-side policy, economic growth, employment and unemployment, and inflation.

Topic 5 covers economic development: living standards, poverty, population, and the differences in economic development between countries. Topic 6 covers international trade and globalisation: specialisation and free trade, globalisation and trade restrictions, foreign exchange rates, and the current account of the balance of payments.

That structure is worth knowing because it is the order in which the written paper's questions are built. A student who is strong on Topic 2 but weak on Topic 4 will find the choice of questions in Section B matters a great deal.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge and understanding, covering economic definitions, formulas, concepts and theories, and the use of economic terminology. AO2 is analysis, and AO3 is evaluation.

The syllabus asks candidates to apply their understanding to economic issues and to reason about them rather than only to recall, which is what the 47 per cent weighting on analysis is measuring. A student who describes what happens without explaining why, or why it matters, is leaving the largest share of the paper untouched.

The qualification is graded A*, A, B, C, D or E, with A* the highest and E the lowest. A candidate whose performance does not meet the standard required for grade E is ungraded, which is reported on the statement of results but not on the certificate.