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A-level · Last updated November 2026

A-level Economics Exam: free practice test

A-level Economics is a two-year linear qualification covering microeconomics and macroeconomics. With AQA (7136) you sit three 2-hour papers of 80 marks: Markets and market failure, National and international economy, and Economic principles and issues, which includes 30 marks of multiple-choice questions. Edexcel (9EC0) and OCR (H460) also use three 2-hour papers, and all exams are in the May/June series at the end of the course.

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About the A-level Economics exam

A-level Economics is a two-year linear qualification covering microeconomics and macroeconomics. With AQA (7136) you sit three 2-hour papers of 80 marks: Markets and market failure, National and international economy, and Economic principles and issues, which includes 30 marks of multiple-choice questions. Edexcel (9EC0) and OCR (H460) also use three 2-hour papers, and all exams are in the May/June series at the end of the course.

What's on the exam

A-level Economics
The Economic Problem, Demand and Supply
8 key facts
Production, Costs and Market Structures
8 key facts
Labour Markets and Inequality
8 key facts
Market Failure and Government Intervention
8 key facts
Measuring the Macroeconomy and AD/AS
8 key facts
Growth, Unemployment and Inflation
8 key facts
Monetary, Fiscal and Supply-Side Policy
8 key facts
The International Economy
8 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the A-level Economics exam

  • AQA gives you 120 minutes for 80 marks, so 1 minute 30 seconds per mark. A 25-mark essay deserves about 35 minutes including planning; do not let a 9-mark question eat that time.
  • Draw a diagram whenever it helps your analysis: label both axes, every curve and both equilibria, and refer to the diagram in your writing. An unexplained diagram earns little.
  • Show your working in calculations. Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100; elasticity = % change in quantity ÷ % change in the variable. A points change in an index number is not a percentage change.
  • Evaluation (AO4) separates the top grades: weigh up short run versus long run, the size of elasticities, time lags and the assumptions in the data, then reach a supported judgement.
  • In the AQA Paper 3 multiple-choice section, sketch quick diagrams on the question paper and check the units in every calculation before choosing an option.

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Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the complete study notes for the first topic, flashcards and the GCSE Maths Formula Sheet.

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What's in the premium A-level Economics prep

Premium A-level Economics prep is studied one topic at a time. Each step starts with that topic's key notes and flashcard deck, then its own question sets of 25, so you master one topic before you move to the next. When every topic is strong, the 6 full mock exams show you're ready.

3,000practice questions, every answer explained
6full-length mock exams, 50 questions each, timed
800flashcards with spaced repetition, sorted by topic
60comprehensive key notes across 8 topics

Your step-by-step study path

  1. 1
    The Economic Problem, Demand and Supply8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Notes free with an account
  2. 2
    Production, Costs and Market Structures8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  3. 3
    Labour Markets and Inequality8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  4. 4
    Market Failure and Government Intervention8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  5. 5
    Measuring the Macroeconomy and AD/AS7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  6. 6
    Growth, Unemployment and Inflation7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  7. 7
    Monetary, Fiscal and Supply-Side Policy7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  8. 8
    The International Economy7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  9. Final step: 6 full mock exams50 questions each, timed like exam day. Hit your target on them before your first paper.
    Premium
Free with an account

Read the complete A-level Economics study notes for “The Economic Problem, Demand and Supply”

Our first full set of comprehensive notes, about 15 minutes of reading: Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost · Production possibility frontiers · How economists think: methodology and decision making · Demand · Supply and equilibrium · The four elasticities · The price mechanism and surplus, a worked exam example, the traps examiners use and a one-minute recap. Create a free account to read it and see how premium notes work before you decide.

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Study tools included

3,000 practice questions

3,000 exam-style questions per exam, organised topic by topic in sets of 25. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

6 full mock exams

6 full-length timed mock exams per exam, with real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

Exam Readiness Score

One 0 to 100 number that tells you when you're ready for exam day. Reach 80 and you're covered by our Pass Guarantee.

800 flashcards + spaced repetition

800 flashcards per exam, in a deck for each topic, that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

60 comprehensive key notes

60 key notes per exam, split across its topics and each explained in full: the concepts, worked exam examples, the traps examiners use and a quick recap. Your first set is free with an account.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. The price of a good rises from £10 to £12 and the quantity demanded falls from 500 to 400 units. What is the price elasticity of demand?
Answer: −1.0. %ΔQd = (400 − 500) ÷ 500 × 100 = −20%. %ΔP = (12 − 10) ÷ 10 × 100 = +20%. PED = −20 ÷ 20 = −1.0, so demand is unit elastic over this price change. Always divide by the original values.
2. A 10% rise in the price of coffee causes a 4% rise in demand for tea. What is the cross elasticity of demand and what does it show?
Answer: +0.4, so the goods are substitutes. XED = %ΔQd of tea ÷ %ΔP of coffee = 4 ÷ 10 = +0.4. A positive XED means substitutes; the low value means they are weak substitutes.
3. A firm sells 50 units at £10 each. Its average total cost (including normal profit) is £8 and its total fixed cost is £150. What is its supernormal profit?
Answer: £100. Supernormal profit = (AR − ATC) × Q = (10 − 8) × 50 = £100. Fixed costs are already inside ATC, so adding them again is double counting; £500 is total revenue and £400 is total cost.
4. A firm aiming to maximise profit should produce the output where:
Answer: Marginal cost equals marginal revenue. Profit is maximised where MC = MR: producing one more unit would add more to cost than to revenue. MR = 0 is revenue maximisation and AC = AR is sales maximisation.
5. In a competitive labour market, a firm's demand curve for labour is given by:
Answer: The marginal revenue product of labour. Labour is a derived demand. A firm hires up to the point where the wage equals MRP = marginal physical product × marginal revenue, so the MRP curve is the demand curve.
6. If a country's Lorenz curve moves further away from the line of perfect equality, its Gini coefficient will:
Answer: Rise towards 1. The Gini coefficient measures the area between the Lorenz curve and the line of equality as a share of the total area below that line. A bigger gap means more inequality, so the Gini rises towards 1.
7. In a market with a negative production externality and no government intervention, the free market will:
Answer: Overproduce, because marginal social cost is above marginal private cost. Firms ignore the external cost, so MSC > MPC. The market produces where MPC = MPB, which is above the social optimum where MSC = MSB, causing a welfare loss.
8. A specific tax of £2 per unit is placed on a good, and the market price rises from £5.00 to £6.50. How is the burden of the tax shared?
Answer: Consumers £1.50, producers £0.50. Consumers pay £6.50 − £5.00 = £1.50 more per unit. Producers receive £6.50 − £2.00 = £4.50, which is £0.50 less than before. Consumers bear 75% of the tax, which suggests demand is relatively price inelastic.
9. Nominal GDP rises from £2,000bn to £2,100bn while the GDP deflator rises from 100 to 103. What is the approximate rate of real GDP growth?
Answer: 1.9%. Real GDP in year 2 = 2,100 ÷ 103 × 100 = about £2,039bn. Growth = (2,039 − 2,000) ÷ 2,000 × 100 = about 1.9%. A quick check: 5% nominal growth minus about 3% inflation.
10. The marginal propensity to save is 0.1, the marginal rate of tax is 0.15 and the marginal propensity to import is 0.25. If government spending rises by £10bn, what is the final change in national income?
Answer: £20bn. MPW = 0.1 + 0.15 + 0.25 = 0.5. Multiplier = 1 ÷ 0.5 = 2. Change in national income = 2 × £10bn = £20bn. Using only the MPS (1 ÷ 0.1 = 10) wrongly gives £100bn.
11. The consumer prices index is 125.0 in one year and 130.0 the next. What is the rate of inflation?
Answer: 4.0%. Inflation = (130 − 125) ÷ 125 × 100 = 4.0%. The index rose 5 points, but a points change is not a percentage change; 3.8% wrongly divides by the new value.
12. A factory worker loses her job when her plant is automated, and her skills are not wanted by other local employers. This is an example of:
Answer: Structural unemployment. Structural unemployment is a long-term mismatch between workers' skills or location and the jobs available, here caused by technological change. Cyclical unemployment would be caused by a fall in AD.
13. If the Bank of England raises Bank Rate, which effect is most likely in the short run?
Answer: The pound appreciates, reducing net exports. Higher interest rates attract hot money inflows, raising demand for the pound. A stronger pound makes exports dearer and imports cheaper, so net exports and AD fall, which helps reduce inflation.
14. Which of the following is an example of an automatic stabiliser?
Answer: Higher spending on unemployment benefits during a recession. Automatic stabilisers change without a new policy decision: in a recession benefit spending rises and tax revenue falls, supporting AD. A VAT cut is discretionary fiscal policy; Bank Rate and QE are monetary policy.
15. One worker in Country A can make 10 units of cloth or 5 units of wheat. One worker in Country B can make 6 units of cloth or 4 units of wheat. Which statement is correct?
Answer: Country B has a comparative advantage in wheat. Opportunity cost of 1 wheat: A = 10 ÷ 5 = 2 cloth; B = 6 ÷ 4 = 1.5 cloth. B gives up less, so B has the comparative advantage in wheat and A in cloth. A has the absolute advantage in both, which is the trap.

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Exam guide

A-level Economics exam guide (2027): A-level Economics in England is offered by AQA (7136), Pearson Edexcel (Economics A, 9EC0) and OCR (H460). All three boards assess it with three 2-hour written papers at the end of the two-year course, with no coursework. This guide uses AQA as the main example and shows how the other boards differ, what each paper tests, the calculations you need and how to plan your revision.

A-level Economics exam FAQ

How many questions are on the A-level Economics exam?

AQA: 3 written papers, 80 marks each (240 marks in total), each worth 33.3%, with a time limit of 6 hours in total (3 × 2 hours). Format: written exams with data-response, essay, multiple-choice (aqa paper 3) and case-study questions; a calculator is allowed. no coursework.

What is the passing score for A-level Economics?

Grades run A* to E, and grade E is a pass. Boundaries are set after every exam series, so aim for 70% in practice.

How much does the A-level Economics exam cost?

No fee for school and college students (the school pays). Private candidates pay the exam centre; fees vary by centre. School and college students don't pay exam fees themselves. Private candidates pay the exam centre, and fees vary by centre and board.

Which languages is the A-level Economics exam offered in?

English.

Where do I take the A-level Economics exam?

At your school or college, or as a private candidate at an exam centre that accepts them.

Is this A-level Economics practice test free?

Yes. The 15-question practice test on this page is free, with an explanation for every answer and no signup. A free account also unlocks the complete study notes for the first topic. The full A-level Economics prep is Premium at £29 a month for this exam.

What's in the premium A-level Economics prep?

3,000 practice questions organised topic by topic (The Economic Problem, Demand and Supply: 375; Production, Costs and Market Structures: 375; Labour Markets and Inequality: 375; Market Failure and Government Intervention: 375; Measuring the Macroeconomy and AD/AS: 375; Growth, Unemployment and Inflation: 375; Monetary, Fiscal and Supply-Side Policy: 375; The International Economy: 375), 6 full-length timed mock exams of 50 questions, 800 flashcards and 60 comprehensive key notes split across all 8 topics, plus a mistakes bank and the Readiness Score.

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Exam details are summarised from the exam boards' published specifications available in November 2026. the exam boards changes formats and fees, so confirm with AQA (7136), Pearson Edexcel (Economics A, 9EC0) and OCR (H460) before you book. Kennington College is not affiliated with any exam board or with Ofqual.

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