Pearson Edexcel GCE GCE Economics A 8EC0 02

Examiners’ ReportJune
R R




2018
R




GCE Economics A 8EC0 02
R R R R

, EdexcelRandRBTECRQualifications

EdexcelRandRBTECRqualificationsRcomeRfromRPearson,RtheRUK’sRlargestRawardingRbody.RWeR provideRaRwid
eRrangeRofRqualificationsRincludingRacademic,Rvocational,RoccupationalRandRspecificRprogrammesRforRem
ployers.RForRfurtherRinformationRvisitRourRqualificationsRwebsitesRatRwww.edexcel.comRorR www.btec.co.
uk.

Alternatively,RyouRcanRgetRinRtouchRwithRusRusingRtheRdetailsRonRourRcontactRusRpageRatRwww.edexcel.co
m/contactus.




GivingRyouRinsightRtoRinformRnextRsteps

ResultsPlusRisRPearson’sRfreeRonlineRserviceRgivingRinstantRandRdetailedRanalysisRofRyourRstudents’Rexa
mRresults.

SeeRstudents’RscoresRforReveryRexamRquestion.

UnderstandR howR yourR students’R performanceR comparesR withR classR andR nationalR averages.

IdentifyRpotentialRtopics,RskillsRandRtypesRofRquestionRwhereRstudentsRmayRneedRtoRdevelopRtheirRlear
ningRfurther.

ForRmoreRinformationRonRResultsPlus,RorRtoRlogRin,RvisitRwww.edexcel.com/resultsplus.
YourRexamsRofficerRwillRbeRableRtoRsetRupRyourRResultsPlusRaccountRinRminutesRviaREdexcelROnline.


Pearson:R helpingR peopleR progress,R everywhere

PearsonRaspiresRtoRbeRtheRworld’sRleadingRlearningRcompany.ROurRaimRisRtoRhelpReveryoneRprogressRin
RtheirRlivesRthroughReducation.R WeR believeRinReveryRkindR ofRlearning,RforR allR kindsR ofR people,R whereverR

theyRareRinRtheRworld.RWe’veRbeenRinvolvedRinReducationRforRoverR150Ryears,RandRbyRworkingRacrossR7
0Rcountries,RinR100Rlanguages,RweRhaveRbuiltRanRinternationalRreputationRforRourRcommitmentRtoRhigh
Rstandards R andR raisingR achievementR throughRinnovationRinR education.R FindRoutR moreRaboutRhowRweRc

anRhelpRyouRandRyourRstudentsRat:Rwww.pearson.com/uk.

JuneR 2018
PublicationsR CodeR 8EC0_02_1806_ER

AllRtheRmaterialRinRthisRpublicationRisRcopyright
©RPearsonREducationRLtdR2018




2 GCEREconomicsRAR8EC0R02

,Introduction
ThisRreportRprovidesRfeedbackRonR8EC02R'TheRUKREconomyR-
RPerformanceR andR Policies'.R Candidates’R
responsesRtoRtheRquestionsRhaveRlargelyRbeenRofRanRexpectedR
standard.

SectionRARhighlightsRtheRneedRforRcandidatesRtoRbeRaccurateRinRtheirRdefinitions.RManyRcandidatesRareRl
osingRmarksRbecauseRtheyRcannotRclearlyRdefineRkeyReconomicRconceptsRsuchRasRgrossRdomesticRprod
uctR (GDP)R andR recession.R QuantitativeR skillsR areR alsoR anR importantR skillR and,R whilstR thereRappearsRtoRh
aveRbeenRsomeRprogressRinRthisRareaRcomparedRtoRlastRyear’sRpaper,RthereRisRstillRanRopportunityR forR i
mprovementR here.R ItR isR vitalR thatR candidatesR canR calculateR keyR quantitativeRmeasuresR suchR asR percent
ageR changeR asR wellR asR beingR ableR toR correctlyR interpretR dataR presentedR inRaRvarietyRofRforms.

InRsectionRBRitRisRessentialRthatRtheRcandidatesRreadRtheRquestionRcarefully.RManyRhaveRevaluatedRquesti
onsRwhichRdoRnotRnecessitateRthemRtoRdoRso.RThisRmeantRtheyRwereRunableRtoRdevoteRtheRrightRamount
R ofR timeRforR higherR markR questions.R CandidatesR mustR ensureR theyR areR answeringR theR preciseR questionR

set.R ForR example,RforRQ6(c)R candidatesR neededR toR explainR onlyRoneRfactorR andRforR Q6(d)RtheyRhadRtoRe
xplainRtwoRfactors.RSeveralRcandidatesRhaveRspentRtimeRexplainingRoneRadditionalRfactorRforReachRofRth
eseRquestions;RhenceRtheyRwereRnotRableRtoRmaximiseRtheirRefficiencyRinRtermsRofRmanagingRtheirRtim
e.

ForRtheRquestionsRwhereRcandidatesRhadRaRchoice,RQ6(f)RandRQ6(g)RwereRnearlyRasRpopularRasReachRothe
r.RInRQ6(f)RmanyRcandidatesRfailedRtoRfocusRonR‘governmentRpolicies’RreferredRtoRinRtheRquestionRand,Ras
Rsuch,R lackedR contextR requiredRtoR accessR theR topRlevel.R ThisR wasR anRissue RinR general,R withRcandidatesR wr

itingRanswersRthatRwereRtooRgenericRorRwhereRtheyRclearlyRhadRnotRfullyRreadRandRunderstoodRtheRdataRt
heyR hadRbeenRprovidedR with.RInRQ6(g)RcandidatesRwhoRfocusedRtheirR answerRconvincinglyRonRtheRimpact
RonR UK’sR macroeconomicRobjectivesR wereR likelyRtoRachieveR moreR highlyR asR theyRofferedRaRclearRperspecti
veRtoRtheirRanswer.RAnotherRsignificantRpointRtoRrecallRinRbothRQ6(f)RandRQ6(g)Ris,RtoRquoteRtheRLevelR4Rkn
owledge,RapplicationRandRanalysisRcriteria,RthereRneedsRtoRbeR‘logicalRandRcoherentRchainsRofRreasoning’.
RThisRcontrastsRto RtheRLevelR2RcriteriaRwhichRdescribes RaR‘two-stage RchainRofRreasoningRonly’.




GCEREconomicsRAR8EC0R02 3

, Question 1 (a) R R




ThisRquestionRrequiresRaRshortRbutRpreciseRdefinitionRofRgrossRdomesticRproductR(GDP).RItRisRi
mportant RthatRcandidatesRareRclearRinRtheirRanswers.




ThisRcandidateRgivesRanRaccurateRdefinitionRofRGros
sR DomesticR ProductR andR asR suchR achievesR theR1Rmar
kRavailable.




ThisRcandidateRdoesRnotRdefineRGrossRDomesticRPro
ductR accuratelyR andR henceR doesR notR attainRtheR 1Rmar
kRavailable.




4 GCEREconomicsRAR8EC0R02