Leaving Cert economics: Perfect paper for ‘students who love economics’

There was a good balance between topical issues and pure economics concepts on this year’s higher-level economics exam, teachers have said.

Keith Hannigan, an economics teacher at the Institute of Education, said the paper focused on the pure economics concepts that underlie topical issues.

“In striving to be topical, previous papers had bordered on general knowledge exams – this made the paper difficult to adequately research or prepare for, as core concepts were obscured by headlines,” he said.

“This paper, while still using relevant modern concerns, focused on the core economic principles at the heart of the world in which we live.

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“Students who love economics will love this paper – if you grasp the core principles they were clearly on display, framed by but not buried in prevailing headlines.”

Robert Kenny, ASTI subject representative and an economics teacher at Ardscoil na Mara, said that students were happy with the paper.

“It was fair and cleverly designed, with a healthy variety of current topics and no major curveballs,” he said.

Mr Kenny said students tend to find the macroeconomics section more relatable and those who had kept abreast of current topics would appreciate the paper.

“Students were required to justify their answer or give an opinion, which required critical thinking,” he said.

Máiréad O’Sullivan, an economics teacher at Glenstal Abbey School, said that well-prepared students emerged with a smile on their faces.

“It was a Goldilocks paper, unlike previous years where the paper was either too wordy or too long.

“It had the right combination of calculations, definitions, analysis style questions, questions around the application of concepts and it really gave students an opportunity to show off their knowledge of the entire specification.

“That said, students had to have a firm knowledge of all areas of the course to navigate this paper successfully and any course cutting was penalised. There was no scope for leaving any sections out for those looking for a H1 or H2 grade as most areas of the specification were examined across all questions and there was often a mix of topics which made a thorough knowledge of the course essential,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

However, he said that question ten of the short answer questions was among the more challenging aspects of the paper, requiring students to understand national income accounts.

Ms O’Sullivan said eight of the ten short questions featured a graph or a table, which would have suited most students, and that a question asking them to draw a supply graph for tickets to the Rugby World Cup would have appealed to many students.

At ordinary level, Mr Kenny said that students were rewarded for their work on a “fair” paper, particularly in the question on markets. There was a topical reference to KBC and Ulster Bank leaving the Irish market.

However, Mr Kenny said that some of the calculations required in questions 13 and 14 may have been off-putting for some students at ordinary level.

Try this one at home: Leaving Cert economics higher level

Question 11

(ii) Despite Ireland’s high HDI ranking, inequalities still exist.

Outline two economic policies which the Irish Government could consider to address inequality in Ireland. Justify your answers.

(iii) If the policies you suggested in (ii) above were introduced, outline two possible economic disadvantages of the implementation of these policies.

Question 12 (c)

Budget 2023 proposed introducing a temporary 33% windfall tax on energy companies’ profits, in line with the rest of the EU. *Note a windfall tax is a tax on excess profits. Adapted from deloitte.com

Discuss the arguments for and the arguments against this proposal.