AQA IAS-Level · Analysis & Prediction

2024 AQA IAS-Level Economics (9640) Past Paper Analysis

A highly comprehensive analysis of the January 2024 Oxford AQA International AS Economics (9640) Unit 1 and Unit 2 exams, highlighting a major focus on externalities, government policy interventions, fiscal dynamics, and supply-side growth.

Updated: 12 Jun 2026

Analysis Sample paper

Difficulty 3.5/5

Total marks

160

Duration

210 mins

Most tested

Government Intervention, Externalities, and Supply-Side Policies

Paper breakdown

Unit 1: The Operation of Markets, Market Failure and the Role of Government: 80 marks · 105 minsUnit 2: The National Economy in a Global Environment: 80 marks · 105 mins

Top chapters

Government intervention in markets · 21 marksPositive and negative externalities in consumption and production · 21 marksSupply-side policies · 21 marks

Verdict on Paper Difficulty

The January 2024 International AS Economics series presented a very balanced assessment across both Unit 1 (Markets and Market Failure) and Unit 2 (The National Economy). Overall, the papers rate as a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of difficulty, providing an accessible pathway for prepared candidates while integrating rigorous evaluative essays to stretch top-tier students. Unit 1 focused on contemporary environmental challenges, using plastic waste as an anchor context. Unit 2 tested core macroeconomic aggregates with a strong emphasis on fiscal structures and development policy.

Where the Marks are Won and Lost

High marks were secured by students who mastered the precise micro-foundations of market failures and macroeconomic indicators. Specifically:

Precise Definitions: Scoring full marks on definitions of free market economy and unemployment rate requires specific terminology rather than colloquial explanations.
Calculation Precision: The 4-mark PED calculation in Unit 1 required careful negative sign inclusion (\( -0.21 \)) and exact rounding.
Clear Diagrammatic Analysis: In Unit 1 Q19, candidates who accurately contrasted the marginal private benefit (\( MPB \)) and marginal social benefit (\( MSB \)) curves to illustrate overconsumption won major marks. In Unit 2, showing a leftward shift in short-run aggregate supply (\( SRAS \)) with price level rising was critical.

Examiner Pitfalls and Misconceptions

A common error was the confusion of disinflation (a reduction in the rate of inflation) with deflation (a sustained decrease in the average price level). Additionally, in the essay questions, many candidates failed to clearly separate national debt from the annual government budget deficit, which limited their analytical depth in Unit 2 Q20. Many students also overlooked the significance of negative signs in elasticities, failing to indicate negative values for PED.

Strategies and Predictions

To prepare for future series, students must practice constructing complete economic transmission chains. Avoid jumping directly from policy to economic growth without explaining intermediate steps such as productivity gains, cost changes, and international competitiveness. Given the patterns of this paper, we predict that globalisation, monetary policy tools (such as interest rate manipulation or exchange rate targets), and labour market interventions are highly likely to feature prominently in upcoming examinations.

Charts

Marks by chapter

See where the marks were concentrated so revision time goes to the highest-value topics.

Question type mix

Compare the mark share of each paper section and question type.

Multiple Choice30 marks · 30 questions
Definition12 marks · 4 questions
Calculation12 marks · 4 questions
Short Explanation / Data Interpretation24 marks · 4 questions
Diagrammatic Explanation18 marks · 2 questions
Analytical Essay24 marks · 2 questions
Evaluative Essay40 marks · 2 questions

Mark accessibility

Estimate which marks were basic, mid-level, or high-difficulty.

75%within easy or medium reach

easy: 40 marksmedium: 80 markshard: 40 marks

Difficulty trend

Compare difficulty across recent years.

Command word frequency

Spot common command words so answers match the expected response style.

Skill weighting

Shows the skill mix this paper tested most heavily.

Study ROI

Bigger bubbles recur more often; higher bubbles carry more marks, helping you rank revision priorities.

Government intervention in markets

21 marks · Difficulty 2.5 · recurrence 90%

Positive and negative externalities in consumption and production

21 marks · Difficulty 3 · recurrence 85%

Supply-side policies

21 marks · Difficulty 2.8 · recurrence 80%

Price, income and cross elasticities of demand

18 marks · Difficulty 3.2 · recurrence 95%

Fiscal policy

14 marks · Difficulty 3 · recurrence 85%

Time vs marks

Compare marks with suggested time allocation to plan exam pacing.

marksmins

Next-year prediction

Topics worth watching next year, with the reason shown directly below each bar.

Globalisation85%

Globalisation was omitted from major long-form questions in this series, making it highly likely to return as a core focus in upcoming papers.

Monetary policy75%

Only a single multiple-choice question on monetary policy tools was included. Upcoming papers are likely to evaluate quantitative easing vs traditional interest rate manipulation.

Labour market interventions70%

Minimum wage laws and labour supply dynamics did not appear in Unit 1 long-form prompts, leaving them overdue for a prominent feature.

Cumulative marks ladder

The line is your running mark total question by question; dashed lines are the estimated grade cut-offs. See which question the line crosses your target grade at, so you know how far you must answer cleanly and which questions decide a band.

Topic-year heatmap

Compare topic weight by year to spot recurring and returning areas.

Jan 2023

Jun 2023

Jan 2024

Scarcity, choice and the allocation of resources

The supply of goods and services

Average revenue, total revenue and profit

Price elasticity of supply

The economic problem and methodology

The interrelationship between markets

Economies and diseconomies of scale

Government intervention in markets

Price, income and cross elasticities of demand

Costs of production

Examiner insights

Official report

Common pitfalls

Missing the negative sign in elasticity calculations (e.g., PED for plastic bags was -0.21).
Failing to round the calculation to the requested format (e.g., 'nearest whole number' or 'two decimal places').
Drawing the wrong supply shock diagram (confusing SRAS shift with LRAS shift, or drawing an AD shift instead).
Vague or incomplete definitions of macroeconomic indicators, such as forgetting the 'actively seeking work' part of the unemployment rate.

Misconceptions

Believing that disinflation means prices are falling, rather than prices rising at a slower rate.
Confusing composite demand (multiple uses) with joint demand (consumed together).
Assuming national debt and government budget deficit are the same concept, rather than debt being the accumulation of deficits.

Where marks are lost

Under-developing chains of reasoning in 12-mark analytical essays, leaving gaps in economic transmission mechanisms.
Failing to write a balanced evaluation with a final supported judgment in the 20-mark questions.
Inaccurate labeling of axes or curves in market failure (externality) diagrams (e.g., confusing MPB/MSB and MPC/MSC).

Estimated grade cut-off

Updated: 12 Jun 2026

Source: Oxford AQA International grade boundaries (UMS)

Level	Mark	Percentage
A	—	80%
B	—	70%
C	—	60%
D	—	50%
E	—	40%

Official grade boundaries published by Oxford AQA International grade boundaries (UMS).

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