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  • Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics (9708)

Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics (9708)

Syllabus overview

Students learn how to explain and analyse economic issues and arguments, evaluate economic information, and organise, present and communicate ideas and judgements clearly.

The syllabus covers a range of fundamental economic ideas, including an introduction to the price system and government intervention, international trade and exchange rates, the measurement of employment and inflation, and the causes and consequences of inflation. Students also study the theory of the firm, market failure, macroeconomic theory and policy, and economic growth and development.

Syllabuses

The syllabus year refers to the year in which the examination will be taken.

  • 2023-2025 Syllabus (PDF, 645KB)
    • 2023-2025 Syllabus update (PDF, 139KB)

Syllabus updates

  • Summary of the changes
    • We revise our qualifications regularly to make sure that they continue to meet the needs of learners, schools and higher education institutions around the world and reflect current thinking. In response to teacher feedback, we have rebalanced the division of content between Cambridge International AS & A Level. We have considered the relevance of topics to real-life situations, as well as increasing the focus on international and global issues such as climate change. Please see the 2023-2025 syllabus document for full details on the changes.

      What are the main changes to the syllabus?

      To support teachers and learners, we have:
      • clarified the subject content structure, with six main topics at Cambridge International AS Level and five at A Level, including a new topic on ‘International economic issues’
      • refreshed and updated the subject content, adding and removing some sub-topics
      • moved content from Cambridge International AS Level to Cambridge International A Level and vice versa
      • reduced the number of assessment objectives and broadened the descriptions to make them more accessible.

      What are the main changes to the assessment?

      • We have added a new Section C to Papers 2 and 4. Section B is a microeconomics essay and Section C is a macroeconomics essay. Learners answer one question in each section.
      • Paper 2 and Paper 4 exam durations are now two hours each.

      When do these changes take place?

      The updated syllabus is for examination from June 2023 onwards. Examinations are available in March 2023 for India only. Please see the 2023-2025 syllabus above for full details.

  • Teaching and learning resources
    • Support

      We are developing a comprehensive range of materials to help you teach the updated syllabus. These resources will be available from June 2021 onwards (before first teaching) through our School Support Hub and include:

      • Scheme of work
      • Learner guide
      • Example Candidate Responses (after first examination).

      Training

      Face-to-face and online training will be available. For up-to-date information, visit our Events and training calendar.

      Endorsed resources

      View the latest resources that are being developed by our Endorsement Partners for the Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics syllabus (9708).

      Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics (Second edition) (Hodder) front cover

      Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics (Second edition) (Hodder Education)

      Build strong subject knowledge and skills and an international outlook with expert author guidance and in-depth coverage of the revised Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics syllabus (9708). 

      Read more on the Hodder Education website

      Economics for Cambridge International AS & A Level (Fourth edition) (Cambridge University Press) front cover

      Economics for Cambridge International AS & A Level (Fourth edition) (Cambridge University Press)

      Introduce students to the world of economics and apply their studies to real-life scenarios with global and local case studies. Also includes bridging content between Cambridge IGCSE and International AS & A Level, plus preparing for assessment guidance.

      Read more on the Cambridge University Press website

Subscribe to syllabus updates

Important notices

  • Grade descriptions
    • For some subjects, the syllabus states that Grade Descriptions will be made available after first assessment in 2020, 2021 or 2022.

      Publication of grade descriptions was paused in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary changes to the grading standard that have been in place for 2020, 2021 and 2022. We are currently working on producing these grade descriptions. This work will make sure that grade descriptions reflect examination outcomes appropriately and are based on the more stable grading standard that we expect to have in place for June 2023 onwards.

School Support Hub

We provide a wide range of support so that teachers can give their learners the best possible preparation for Cambridge programmes and qualifications. For teachers at registered Cambridge schools, support materials for specific syllabuses are available from the School Support Hub (username and password required).

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