CSEC Economics study plan

Define the three basic economic questions (what, how, for whom) and explain how scarcity forces every society to answer them

Distinguish between needs and wants, and between microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives, using at least two original examples of each

Classify the four factors of production (land, labour, capital, enterprise) and match each to its reward (rent, wages, interest, profit)

Sketch and label a production possibility frontier, then explain what points inside, on, and outside the curve represent

State the difference between positive and normative statements and label five statements correctly

Construct demand and supply schedules and convert them into accurately labelled curves

Explain the difference between a movement along a curve and a shift of a curve, listing at least three shift factors for demand and three for supply

Locate equilibrium price and quantity algebraically and graphically, then predict the effect of a given change in a determinant

Distinguish price elasticity of demand, income elasticity, and cross elasticity, and compute each from simple numerical data

Interpret elasticity values (elastic, inelastic, unitary, inferior, complementary, substitute) and link them to total revenue outcomes

Explain how price ceilings and price floors create shortages, surpluses, and black markets, using a labelled diagram for each

Describe the effects of indirect taxes and subsidies on equilibrium price, quantity, and the sharing of burden between consumers and producers

Define market failure and distinguish it from government failure

Explain externalities (positive and negative), public goods, merit goods, and demerit goods with a Caribbean-relevant example for each

Outline two policy responses to a named externality and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each

Compute price index numbers and inflation rates from a small basket of goods

Distinguish nominal from real values and adjust a wage figure for inflation

Outline the causes of inflation (demand-pull, cost-push, imported) and its effects on savers, borrowers, wage earners, and exporters

Explain the stages and causes of the business cycle and identify the characteristics of a boom, recession, trough, and recovery

Interpret unemployment and inflation data to describe a country's macroeconomic position

Define GDP, GNP, and per capita income, and explain why they are imperfect measures of living standards

Compare GDP per capita, the Human Development Index, and the poverty line as measures of development

Explain the main causes of unemployment and classify them by type (frictional, structural, seasonal, cyclical)

Describe the roles of commercial banks and a central bank, and explain how interest rates affect borrowing, saving, and investment

Distinguish fiscal policy from monetary policy and state two instruments of each

Explain the functions of a price mechanism in allocating resources and contrast it with a planned economy

Describe the objectives of government economic policy and identify conflicts between them (for example, inflation versus unemployment)

Outline the arguments for and against free trade and identify at least three forms of trade protection

Explain the purpose of a balance of payments account and distinguish the current account from the capital and financial accounts

Describe the role of a regional trading bloc and state two benefits and two costs of membership

Answer a full past paper under timed conditions, allocating time proportionally across sections

Self-mark using the official mark scheme and categorise every lost mark as knowledge, application, analysis, or evaluation

Rewrite the three weakest answers to the standard of a full-mark response

Practise interpreting data, tables, and diagrams under time pressure without external help

Build a personal error log listing recurring mistakes and the concept behind each

Review the error log from week 7 and close each listed gap with a written correction

Rehearse diagram drawing from memory for supply and demand, externalities, price controls, and the PPF

Practise structuring evaluative conclusions using a consistent framework (short run versus long run, stakeholders, priorities)

Complete a second timed paper and compare the score with week 7

Compile a final one-page formula and definition sheet for last-minute revision