Please write clearly in block capitals.
Centre number Candidate number
A-level
ECONOMICS
Surname
Forename(s)
Candidate signature
I declare this is my own work.
7136/3
Paper 3 Economic Principles and Issues
A-level
Mark scheme
ECONOMICS June 2026
Paper 3 Economic Principles and Issues Version: 1.0 Final
Thursday 4 June 2026 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours
Materials
For this paper you must have: For Examiner’s Use
• the Insert
• a calculator. Section Mark
A
Instructions B
• Answer all questions.
• Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Pencil should only be used for drawing. TOTAL
• Fill in the boxes at the top of this page.
• You will need to refer to the Insert provided to answer Section B.
• You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write outside the box around each
page or on blank pages.
• If you need extra space for your answer(s), use the lined pages at the end of
this book. Write the question number against your answer(s).
• Do all rough work in this answer book. Cross through any work that you do not want to be marked.
Information
• The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
• No deductions will be made for wrong answers.
*JUN *
IB/M/Jun26/G4002/V6 7136/3
, 2
MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ECONOMICS – 7136/3 – JUNE 2026
Do not write
outside the
Section A box
Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant
Answer all questions in this section. questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the
standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in
this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’
responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way.
Only one answer per question is allowed. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative
answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the
For each question completely fill in the circle alongside the appropriate answer. standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are
required to refer these to the Lead Examiner.
CORRECT METHOD WRONG METHODS
It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and
If you want to change your answer you must cross out your original answer as shown. expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark
schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of
If you wish to return to an answer previously crossed out, ring the answer you now wish to select assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination
as shown. paper.
No student should be disadvantaged on the basis of their gender identity and/or how they refer to the
gender identity of others in their exam responses.
0 1 Which one of the following is a normative statement?
[1 mark] A consistent use of ‘they/them’ as a singular and pronouns beyond ‘she/her’ or ‘he/him’ will be credited in
exam responses in line with existing mark scheme criteria.
A A fall in Bank Rate will cause a rise in home ownership.
Further copies of this mark scheme are available from
B All homeowners purchase their home with a mortgage.
C Increased home ownership is good for the economy.
D Mortgage costs fall when Bank Rate decreases.
0 2 Which one of the following is the best definition of ‘external economies of scale’?
[1 mark]
A The range of output over which a firm achieves productive efficiency.
B The reduction in the long-run average costs as the size of a firm increases.
C When a firm benefits from an expansion of the industry to which it belongs.
D When the growth of a firm leads to a fall in the price it pays suppliers for
raw materials.
information
retains the on all its publications. Ho r, registered schools/colleges for are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own
al use, wit ing important exception: cannot give permission to schoo leges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third
party even for internal use within the centre.
and its licensors. All rights reserved.
*02* 2
IB/M/Jun26/7136/3
, 3
MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ECONOMICS – 7136/3 – JUNE 2026
Do not write
outside the
0 3 Figure 1 shows how a change in the price of 1kg of beef affects the quantity of lamb a box
SECTION A KEY LIST
butcher sells each day.
C A D
Figure 1 1 (Increased home ownership is 11 (Demand for Good Y is derived 21 (M to N)
good for the economy.) from the demand for Good X)
C D B
2 (When a firm benefits from an 12 (Supply-side reforms) 22 (a movement towards the
expansion of the industry to economy's production possibility
which it belongs.) curve.)
A C B
3 (£6 to £8) 13 (4.27%) 23 (B)
A B B
(Funds raised by borrowing) (The country's firms will have (the number of checkout staff
4 14 lower transaction costs when 24 looking to retrain.)
(Funds provided by the owners they trade inside the currency
of a business) union)
C D A
5 (rise in nominal national 15 (171.9%) 25 (One person's consumption of a
income.) public good does not reduce the
amount available to others)
D D C
(The discovery of large deposits (The firm is in short-run (7)
6 of copper within the country and 16 equilibrium because its MC is 26
an increase in saving by equal to MR at Q1)
According to Figure 1, the cross elasticity of demand for lamb with respect to a change in households.)
the price of beef is +1.5 when the price of 1kg of beef changes from
B D D
[1 mark]
(85.3%) (is bought regularly to use with a (0.75)
7 17 much more expensive 27
A £6 to £8 complement)
B £8 to £6 C B C
(Shoppers judge the value of (3.65%) (Is not affected by economic
C £8 to £10 suits inside a shop against the agents’ expectations of future
8 price of a suit in the shop 18 28 inflation)
D £10 to £8 window.)
(Are likely to be anchored by
current inflation)
C B C
9 (a misallocation of resources.) 19 (0.37%) 29 (Rises)
Turn over for the next question
(Falls)
C A A
10 (lower for the poorest 40% of the 20 (A price cap on public transport 30 (A reduction in Bank Rate and a
population than for the poorest fares) fall in overseas demand for UK
80% of the population.) government bonds)
Turn over ►
*03* 3
IB/M/Jun26/7136/3
, 4
MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ECONOMICS – 7136/3 – JUNE 2026
Do not write
outside the
0 4 Which combination, A, B, C or D, best identifies the difference between debt and equity? box
[1 mark]
Level of response marking instructions
Debt Equity Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The
descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level.
Funds provided by the owners of a
A Funds raised by borrowing
business
Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it (as
B Securities that represent a loan to The price of a company's shares in instructed) to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the mark scheme.
the government financial markets
Step 1 Determine a level
C The amount of interest due on Assets that can be quickly
borrowed funds converted to cash Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the
descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in
D The loss made by a business Dividends paid to shareholders the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it
meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With
practice and familiarity you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the
lower levels of the mark scheme.
0 5 According to Fisher’s equation of exchange, if there is no change in the money supply, an
increase in the velocity of circulation will lead to a When assigning a level you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in
[1 mark] small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If
the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit
approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within
A fall in real national income. the level, ie if the response is predominantly level 3 with a small amount of level 4 material it would be
placed in level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the level 4 content.
B fall in the price level.
Step 2 Determine a mark
C rise in nominal national income.
Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. The descriptors on how to allocate
D rise in the value of the currency. marks can help with this. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will help. There will be an
answer in the standardising materials which will correspond with each level of the mark scheme. This
answer will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer
with the example to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse than the example. You can then
use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the example.
You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and
assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate.
Indicative content in the mark scheme is provided as a guide for examiners. It is not intended to be
exhaustive and you must credit other valid points. Students do not have to cover all of the points
mentioned in the Indicative content to reach the highest level of the mark scheme.
An answer which contains nothing of relevance to the question must be awarded no marks.
*04* 4
IB/M/Jun26/7136/3
Centre number Candidate number
A-level
ECONOMICS
Surname
Forename(s)
Candidate signature
I declare this is my own work.
7136/3
Paper 3 Economic Principles and Issues
A-level
Mark scheme
ECONOMICS June 2026
Paper 3 Economic Principles and Issues Version: 1.0 Final
Thursday 4 June 2026 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours
Materials
For this paper you must have: For Examiner’s Use
• the Insert
• a calculator. Section Mark
A
Instructions B
• Answer all questions.
• Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Pencil should only be used for drawing. TOTAL
• Fill in the boxes at the top of this page.
• You will need to refer to the Insert provided to answer Section B.
• You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write outside the box around each
page or on blank pages.
• If you need extra space for your answer(s), use the lined pages at the end of
this book. Write the question number against your answer(s).
• Do all rough work in this answer book. Cross through any work that you do not want to be marked.
Information
• The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
• No deductions will be made for wrong answers.
*JUN *
IB/M/Jun26/G4002/V6 7136/3
, 2
MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ECONOMICS – 7136/3 – JUNE 2026
Do not write
outside the
Section A box
Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant
Answer all questions in this section. questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the
standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in
this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’
responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way.
Only one answer per question is allowed. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative
answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the
For each question completely fill in the circle alongside the appropriate answer. standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are
required to refer these to the Lead Examiner.
CORRECT METHOD WRONG METHODS
It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and
If you want to change your answer you must cross out your original answer as shown. expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark
schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of
If you wish to return to an answer previously crossed out, ring the answer you now wish to select assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination
as shown. paper.
No student should be disadvantaged on the basis of their gender identity and/or how they refer to the
gender identity of others in their exam responses.
0 1 Which one of the following is a normative statement?
[1 mark] A consistent use of ‘they/them’ as a singular and pronouns beyond ‘she/her’ or ‘he/him’ will be credited in
exam responses in line with existing mark scheme criteria.
A A fall in Bank Rate will cause a rise in home ownership.
Further copies of this mark scheme are available from
B All homeowners purchase their home with a mortgage.
C Increased home ownership is good for the economy.
D Mortgage costs fall when Bank Rate decreases.
0 2 Which one of the following is the best definition of ‘external economies of scale’?
[1 mark]
A The range of output over which a firm achieves productive efficiency.
B The reduction in the long-run average costs as the size of a firm increases.
C When a firm benefits from an expansion of the industry to which it belongs.
D When the growth of a firm leads to a fall in the price it pays suppliers for
raw materials.
information
retains the on all its publications. Ho r, registered schools/colleges for are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own
al use, wit ing important exception: cannot give permission to schoo leges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third
party even for internal use within the centre.
and its licensors. All rights reserved.
*02* 2
IB/M/Jun26/7136/3
, 3
MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ECONOMICS – 7136/3 – JUNE 2026
Do not write
outside the
0 3 Figure 1 shows how a change in the price of 1kg of beef affects the quantity of lamb a box
SECTION A KEY LIST
butcher sells each day.
C A D
Figure 1 1 (Increased home ownership is 11 (Demand for Good Y is derived 21 (M to N)
good for the economy.) from the demand for Good X)
C D B
2 (When a firm benefits from an 12 (Supply-side reforms) 22 (a movement towards the
expansion of the industry to economy's production possibility
which it belongs.) curve.)
A C B
3 (£6 to £8) 13 (4.27%) 23 (B)
A B B
(Funds raised by borrowing) (The country's firms will have (the number of checkout staff
4 14 lower transaction costs when 24 looking to retrain.)
(Funds provided by the owners they trade inside the currency
of a business) union)
C D A
5 (rise in nominal national 15 (171.9%) 25 (One person's consumption of a
income.) public good does not reduce the
amount available to others)
D D C
(The discovery of large deposits (The firm is in short-run (7)
6 of copper within the country and 16 equilibrium because its MC is 26
an increase in saving by equal to MR at Q1)
According to Figure 1, the cross elasticity of demand for lamb with respect to a change in households.)
the price of beef is +1.5 when the price of 1kg of beef changes from
B D D
[1 mark]
(85.3%) (is bought regularly to use with a (0.75)
7 17 much more expensive 27
A £6 to £8 complement)
B £8 to £6 C B C
(Shoppers judge the value of (3.65%) (Is not affected by economic
C £8 to £10 suits inside a shop against the agents’ expectations of future
8 price of a suit in the shop 18 28 inflation)
D £10 to £8 window.)
(Are likely to be anchored by
current inflation)
C B C
9 (a misallocation of resources.) 19 (0.37%) 29 (Rises)
Turn over for the next question
(Falls)
C A A
10 (lower for the poorest 40% of the 20 (A price cap on public transport 30 (A reduction in Bank Rate and a
population than for the poorest fares) fall in overseas demand for UK
80% of the population.) government bonds)
Turn over ►
*03* 3
IB/M/Jun26/7136/3
, 4
MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL ECONOMICS – 7136/3 – JUNE 2026
Do not write
outside the
0 4 Which combination, A, B, C or D, best identifies the difference between debt and equity? box
[1 mark]
Level of response marking instructions
Debt Equity Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The
descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level.
Funds provided by the owners of a
A Funds raised by borrowing
business
Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it (as
B Securities that represent a loan to The price of a company's shares in instructed) to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the mark scheme.
the government financial markets
Step 1 Determine a level
C The amount of interest due on Assets that can be quickly
borrowed funds converted to cash Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the
descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in
D The loss made by a business Dividends paid to shareholders the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it
meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With
practice and familiarity you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the
lower levels of the mark scheme.
0 5 According to Fisher’s equation of exchange, if there is no change in the money supply, an
increase in the velocity of circulation will lead to a When assigning a level you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in
[1 mark] small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If
the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit
approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within
A fall in real national income. the level, ie if the response is predominantly level 3 with a small amount of level 4 material it would be
placed in level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the level 4 content.
B fall in the price level.
Step 2 Determine a mark
C rise in nominal national income.
Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. The descriptors on how to allocate
D rise in the value of the currency. marks can help with this. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will help. There will be an
answer in the standardising materials which will correspond with each level of the mark scheme. This
answer will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer
with the example to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse than the example. You can then
use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the example.
You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and
assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate.
Indicative content in the mark scheme is provided as a guide for examiners. It is not intended to be
exhaustive and you must credit other valid points. Students do not have to cover all of the points
mentioned in the Indicative content to reach the highest level of the mark scheme.
An answer which contains nothing of relevance to the question must be awarded no marks.
*04* 4
IB/M/Jun26/7136/3
