Pearson Edexcel GCE GCE Economics A 9EC0 03

Examiners’ ReportJune
L L L




2018

GCE Economics A 9EC0 03
L L L L

, EdexcelLandL BTECLQualifications

EdexcelLandLBTECLqualificationsLcomeLfromLPearson,LtheLUK’sLlargestLawardingLbody.LWeLprovideLaLwide
LrangeL ofL qualificationsL includingL academic,L vocational,LoccupationalL andLspecificL programmesLf or Lempl

oyers.LForLfurtherLinformationLvisitLourLqualificationsLwebsitesLatLwww.edexcel.comLorLwww.btec.co.uk
.

Alternatively,LyouLcanLgetLinLtouchLwithLusLusingLtheLdetailsLonLourLcontactLusLpageLatLwww.edexcel.com
/contactus.




GivingLyouLinsightLtoLinformLnextLsteps

ResultsPlusLisLPearson’sLfreeLonlineLserviceLgivingLinstantLandLdetailedLanalysisLofLyourLstudents’Lexa
mLresults.

SeeLstudents’LscoresLforLeveryLexamLquestion.

UnderstandL howLyourL students’L performanceL comparesL withL classL andL nationalL averages.

IdentifyLpotentialLtopics,LskillsLandLtypesLofLquestionLwhereLstudentsLmayLneedLtoLdevelopLtheirLlearni
ngLfurther.

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YourLexamsLofficerLwillLbeLableLtoLsetLupLyourLResultsPlusLaccountLinLminutesLviaLEdexcelLOnline.


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heyLareLinLtheLworld.LWe’veLbeenLinvolvedLinLeducationLforLoverL150Lyears,LandLbyLworkingLacrossL70L
countries,LinL100Llanguages,LweLhaveLbuiltLanLinternationalLreputationLforLourLcommitmentLtoLhighLst
andardsLandLraisingLachievementLthroughLinnovationLinLeducation.LFindLoutLmoreLaboutLhowLweLcanL
helpLyouLandLyourLstudentsLat:Lwww.pearson.com/uk.

JuneL 2018
PublicationsL CodeL 9EC0_03_1806_ER

AllLtheLmaterialLinLthisLpublicationLisLcopyright
©LPearsonLEducationLLtdL2018




2 GCELEconomicsLAL9EC0L03

,Introduction
TheLJuneL2018L9EC0_03LpaperLwasLseenLbyLaLlargeLofLmajorityLcandidatesLasLbeingLveryLaccessible,Lwh
oLappearedLonLtheLwholeLtoLfindLtheLtopicsLcentralLtoLtheLthemesLonLtheLspecification.LThisLwasLevide
ncedLbyLaLriseLinLtheLmeanLtoL66.3L(JuneL2017L63.5).LTheLstandardLdeviationLfell,LtoL12.0LfromL13.3LinL
2017.

TheLpaperLcomplementedLwellLtheLquestionsLonLtheLotherLpapers,LandLthereLwasLnoLobviousLoverlapL
orLlackLofLbalanceLwithLtheLspecificationLasLaLwhole.LItLwasLmoreL‘micro’LinLfeelLthanL2017,LandLthereL
wereLnoLcomplaintsLthatLitLdidLnotLmeetLbothLsidesLofLtheLspecificationLequallyLthisLyear.

1(c)LandL2(c)LbothLaskedLforLpluralLeffects,LwhichLmeantLmanyLanswersLwereLsomewhatLshallowLratherL
thanLinLdepthLinLtheirLanalysis.LInLfutureLtheLquestionLmightLbeLexpectedLtoLstateLhowLmanyLbenefitsL
orLadvantagesLtheLcandidateLshouldLuse,LasLsomeLcandidatesLgaveLfarLmoreLthanLtheLtwoLminimumLt
hatLwereLrequired.

TheLessaysLmainlyLhadLaLstandardLdeviationLofLoverL4/25LandLtheyLworkedLinLaLsimilarLfashionL(SD
3.72LonL1(e)).LTheLrelativeLpopularityLofLtheLquestionsLwasL1(d):1(e)LatLaLratioLofL3703:7047LandLforL2(
d):2(e)LitLwasL3629:6885.LTheLmeanLscoreLforLallLessaysLwasL15-
16.3/25,LwithLtheLhighestLscoringLessayLbeingL1(e)LonLtheLincreasedLdemandLforLbrandedLcoffeeLsho
ps.




GCELEconomicsLAL9EC0L03 3

, Question 1 (a) L L




ManyLcandidatesLscoredLwellLonLthisLquestionL(meanL3.8/5),LwithLtheLanalysisLmarkLbeingLtheLmainLdis
criminator.LForLtheLfifthLmark,LcandidatesLneededLtoLgoLbeyondLlistingLcharacteristicsLofLtheLmarketLstr
uctureLidentifiedLandLinsteadLdevelopLtheLexplanation,LforLexample,LbyLexplainingLinterdependenceLorL
identifyingLpriceLrigidity.LIfLtheLcandidateLchoseLmonopolyLtheyLcouldLearnLtheL5LmarksLbutLtheyLtended
LtoL beL lessL ableL toL talkL aboutL theL processLlinkingL the L marketL structureL toL the LbehaviourLorLtheLfirms,LorL

anyLotherLanalyticalLprocess.

OverL67%LofLanswersLscoredL4LorL5LoutLofL5,LmeaningLthatLmostLcandidatesLwereLconfidentLinLtheLareaL
ofLmarketLstructures.

ALsignificantLnumberLofLcandidatesLtookLtheLapproachLofLdescribingLaLlegally-
recognisedLmonopoly,LeitherLtheL25%LCMALfigureLorLtheLmoreLrelaxedLEULdefinitionL(40%LofLtheLmarketL
isLunlikelyLtoLbeLaLdominantLposition,LArticleL102LofLTFEUL–
LbothL definitionsL wereLequallyL acceptable),L althoughL the LlegalL monopolyL hadL toL beL clearly L linkedL to L the L c

onceptLofLmarketLpowerLorLdominanceLratherLthanLpureLmonopolyLpowerLtoLgainLfullLmarks.LCandidate
sLusingLtheLoligopolyLapproachLfoundLaccessingLfullLmarksLveryLstraightforwardLwhenLaccompaniedLbyL
aLcalculationLofLconcentrationLratiosLandLaLbriefLdevelopmentLofLtheLexplanationLofLtheLmarketLstruct
ure.

OligopolyLwasLtheLmostLcommonLanswerL–LandLtheLevidenceLfittedLwellLwithLthisLapproach.




4 GCELEconomicsLAL9EC0L03