Economics Coombe Sixth Form Compulsory Summer Work Introduction Economics is a deeply logical subject that will enable you to be aware and critical of the decisions being made each day. It is a fantastic subject and congratulations for getting onto the course! This pack consists of resources, links and activities to give you a glimpse of the course you will be studying. It is also to prepare you for the Economics A level course so it s necessary for it to be completed throughout your summer holidays. 1
Contents What is economics? 3 Books! Articles! News! TV! 4 Independent research: Who are they? 6 The EU: What? Why? And How? 7 All the Gs and Summits 7 Equipment 8 2
What is economics? Economics is not just about money or to get rich! It is the study of how resources on the planet can be used most efficiently and effectively. It explains how and why over 700 million people can live in the world by earning less than $2 a day. It is the reason why Bhutan aims to maximise its citizen s happiness and not their wealth. Also it is the reason why the US spends more money on its military than all the other countries in the world added together. Activity: This short video is an introduction to Economics. While watching (or after) please answer the following questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ez10adr_gm#t=1m45s Questions: 3
a) What is the cost of doing this summer work now? b) What do economists call this cost? c) What are the two assumptions that economists make? d) What is scarcity? Books! Articles! News! TV! Books There is a huge range of books and articles to read for every branch of economics. However I have listed a few recommendations below. There will be full list available when you start your course. Author Harford, Tim Krugman, Paul Levitt, Stephen & Dubner, Stephen Moyo, Dambisa Name of Book The Undercover Economist The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 Freakonomics Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa 4
Articles! News! It is vital that you are well informed of the news. This includes topics on immigration, education, the environment, politics, business, healthcare, and the national defence and so on. This is not just because all these aspects are affected by economics but also your exam will be based on these recent events. These are a list of websites where you can catch up on the latest news and events. www.bbc.co.uk https://theconversation.com/uk https://www.project-syndicate.org/ http://www.scoop.it/ ScoopIt is an excellent website where all the news sites are combined and you can choose which topics to be shown. Activity: Please create an account (it is free!) and play around with the site and customise it to your liking. At Coombe Girls School you will also have access to the Economics Review and the Economics Today. These are magazines that are tailored to economics and also examiners write articles and gives tips on how to answer questions for your exam. It will be free to access in the school library. TV! It is not often teachers will advise you to watch TV, but economics is one of the few! Here is a list of few programmes that are excellent to watch: 5
Activity: As part of your summer work, you are to watch these programmes and briefly write about the topics that were focused on. Question Time The Andrew Marr Show BBC News Channel 4 News Have I Got News for You Newsnight Independent research: Who are they? From time to time you may have heard of figures and statistics being quoted by politicians, journalists and news presenters from certain organisations. For example The IFS figures show wage growth may slow down from Brexit. There are quite a lot of these organisations and it is now time to find out who or what they are as you will be hearing these names constantly. Activity: Google the organisations below and find out what their acronym stands for and what the group s purpose is: The IFS: Purpose: The OBR: Purpose: 6
The OECD: Purpose: The WTO: Purpose: There are also organisations without acronyms! The World Bank: The Bank of England: The EU: What? Why? And How? The EU has been the main topic of the news recently due to the referendum and the UK public has voted to leave. Understandably, it is a big part of economics and it is important to understand the EU and how it affects the UK s economy. Activity: a) Research when the EU was created and for what purpose. b) Name all the countries that are in the EU c) List three decisions the EU has recently made d) Outline three advantages and disadvantages of staying in the EU All the Gs and Summits 7
It is a must that countries get together to discuss and negotiate with each other to make deals and try to tackle global problems. This is what are the Gs (and the summits) are for! Activity: Find out what the G4, G5, G6, G7, G8 and G20 is! Also to tackle truly global issues such as climate change vast summits are organised. One of the most important on is the Kyoto Protocol. Activity: Find out: a) When the Kyoto Protocol was held b) What its main objectives are c) What other summits or conventions have there been to tackle global warming? Equipment There are a few items needed that is going to be vital when studying economics. It is absolutely necessary for you to have these throughout your course. Please have them ready to bring to the first lesson in September. There are four themes you will learn during this course. Themes 1&3 are Microeconomics; Themes 2&4 are Macroeconomics. In year 12 you will be doing Themes 1&2 Equipment needed: 2 Folders or 1 big folder: We recommend you get one folder for Theme 1 and one folder for Theme 2. Pad of 80gsm lined paper: There will be a lot of writing and note taking! Calculator: Preferably the Casio calculator 8
Comfortable pen: This is very important as during exams you will be pushed for time and a comfortable pen makes a huge difference. Pencil, ruler and rubber: You will also be drawing many graphs. These are the necessary equipment. Of course others such as highlighters and different colour pens, you can bring and use. And finally Well done for getting through GCSE s and choosing Economics! Hope you have a great holiday and we are looking forward to seeing you in September! 9