Examiners’
nReportJune 2023
n n
GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0 n01
,Edexcel nand nBTEC nQualifications
Edexcel nand nBTEC nqualifications ncome nfrom nPearson, nthe nUK's nlargest nawarding
nbody. nWe nprovide na nwide nrange nof nqualifications nincluding nacademic, nvocational,
noccupational nand nspecific n programmes n for n employers. n For n further n information n visit
n our n qualifications n websitesnat nwww.edexcel.com nor nwww.btec.co.uk.
Alternatively, nyou ncan nget nin ntouch nwith nus nusing nthe ndetails non nour ncontact
nus npage natnwww.edexcel.com/contactus.
Giving nyou ninsight nto ninform nnext nsteps
ResultsPlus nis nPearson's nfree nonline nservice ngiving ninstant nand ndetailed nanalysis
nof nyournstudents' nexam nresults.
See nstudents' nscores nfor nevery nexam nquestion.
Understand nhow nyour nstudents' nperformance ncompares nwith nclass nand nnational
naverages. nIdentify npotential ntopics, nskills nand ntypes nof nquestion nwhere nstudents
nmay nneed nto ndevelop ntheir nlearning nfurther.
For nmore ninformation non nResultsPlus, nor nto nlog nin, nvisit
nwww.edexcel.com/resultsplus. nYour nexams nofficer nwill nbe nable nto nset nup nyour
nResultsPlus naccount nin nminutes nvia nEdexcel nOnline.
Pearson: n helping n people n progress, n everywhere
Pearson naspires nto nbe nthe nworld’s nleading nlearning ncompany. nOur naim nis nto nhelp
neveryone nprogress nin ntheir nlives nthrough neducation. nWe nbelieve nin nevery nkind nof
nlearning, nfor nall nkinds nofnpeople, nwherever nthey nare nin nthe nworld. nWe’ve nbeen
ninvolved nin neducation nfor nover n150 nyears,nand nby nworking nacross n70 ncountries, nin n100
nlanguages, nwe nhave nbuilt nan ninternational nreputation n for n our n commitment n to n high
n standards n and n raising n achievement n through ninnovation nin neducation. nFind nout nmore
nabout nhow nwe ncan nhelp n you nand nyour nstudents nat: nwww.pearson.com/uk.
June n2023
Publications n Code n 9EC0_01_2306_ER
All nthe n material nin n this n publication nis ncopyright
© nPearson nEducation nLtd n2023
GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0 n01
n2
, Introduction
This nwas nthe nseventh n9EC0_01 nexamination nin nthe n2015 nSpecification nseries. nIt
nproved nonce nagain nto nbe nan naccessible, nwide nranging npaper nthat nfacilitated n a nhigh
ndegree nof ndifferentiationnbetween ncandidates. nThe nquestions nwritten ncovered na nbroad
nrange nof nmicroeconomic nissuesnfrom nThemes n1 nand n3. nIt nwas nclear nthat ncandidates
nhad nprepared nwell nusing nthe npast npapers navailable nonline. nMany ncandidates nalso
ndemonstrated nclear nevidence nof ntopical nexamples nto nsupport ntheir n answers n to nthe
nlonger n questions. nCandidates nwere n also nable nto n respond nwell ntonthe ncommand nwords
nused nin nthe nquestions nand ndemonstrated neffective nuse nof ndata.
In nSection nA, nthe nmajority nof ncandidates nanswered nthe nmultiple nchoice nquestions
ncorrectly, nalthough n4(c) nproved na nchallenge nfor nsome. nIn nthis nexample nC nwas nthe
nonly ncorrect nanswer nbecause nthe narea nEKPe nwas nthe noriginal nproducer nsurplus nand
nthe nimposed nminimum nprice nwould nincrease nproducer nsurplus nto nby nGEPeP1. nThe
naddition nof nguaranteed nminimum nprice nto nthe nquestion n may nhave nhelped.
nConsideration nof nthe ndifficulty n of nthis n question nhas nbeen ntaken ninto nconsideration
nwhen nsetting nthe ngrade nboundaries nfor nthis npaper. nSection nA ncontinues nto nhighlight
nthe nrequirement nfor ncandidates nto nbe nconfident nin ntheir nuse nof nquantitative nskills.
nQuestions n2(a), n4(a), nand n5(a) nwere nvery nsignificant nin nthis nregard. nQuestionn2(a)
n asked n candidates n to n work n out n the n opportunity n cost n of n a n movement n from n point n X
n to n pointnY, nso nit nwas nclearly nasking nfor nthe nreduction nin nthe nnumber nof noats.
nCandidates noften njust ncalculated na nratio nof n2:4 nor n1:6. nIn nquestion n1(a) nthere nwere
nno nmarks nfor na ndefinition nbecausencandidates nwere nasked nfor nan nadvantage nof na nfree
nmarket neconomy. nWhen nasked nto ndraw na ndiagram, nmany ncandidates ndid nthis
nsuccessfully nfor n3(b) nbut nthere nwere nmany nerrors ndrawing nthe nshort nrun nprofit
nmaximising nequilibrium nof na nloss-making nfirm nin nmonopolistic ncompetition.
nCandidates nshould nensure nthey npractise nthe nfull nrange nof ndiagrams nin nthe
nspecification nbecause nquestions ncould nask ndirectly nfor na ndiagram, nas nwas nagain nthe
ncase nwithnthe nprice ndiscrimination nquestion, n6(e).
3 n GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0
n01
, Section nB nresponses nare nnow ndemonstrating nclear nevidence nof nthe nrecognition nto ngo
nbeyond nbasic nanalysis. nIn n6(a) nmany ncandidate neither nidentified nthe nmarket nfor nonline
nstreaming nservices nas nan noligopoly nor nlegal nmonopoly. nHowever, nmany neither
ncalculated nthe nconcentration nratio nincorrectly nor ndidn't nuse nthe ndata nto nsupport
ntheir nanswers. n6(b) nwas ngenerally nwell nanswered, nand ncandidates nhave nbecome
nmuch nmore nfamiliar nwith nthe nreasons nfor n irrational n behaviour. n There n are n three
n different n types n on n the n specification, n and n candidates nwere noften nconfident nof nhow nthey
nlinked nto nthe n situation nof nNetflix nsubscribers. n6(c), nwhich ntested nthe npractical
napplication nof nthe nconcept nof ncross nelasticity nof ndemand, nwas nwell nanswered.
nHowever, nsome ncandidates nconfused ncross nelasticity nof ndemand nwith nprice nelasticity
nor nincome nelasticity nof ndemand, nor nwrote nthe nformula nout nincorrectly. n6(d), nwhich
ntested nthe nprivate nand nexternal nbenefits nof nviewing neducational nwebsites nand nTV
nprogrammes,nrequired na nclear nassessment nof nthe nimpact nof neach. nMany ncandidates
nwere nable nto ndemonstrate n the n third n party, n for n example, n as n the n firm n gaining
n productivity n benefits n from n morenhighly nskilled nworkers. nThough na ndiagram nwas nnot
nasked nfor nin nthe nquestion, nthis nwas nan nexcellent nexample nof nwhere none nwould nhelp
nto ndevelop nthe nanalysis. nQuestion n6(e), nas nwe nmentioned nbefore, ndid nask nfor na
ndiagram nand nthe nsimple n2 nsub-market ndiagram nwas nquite nadequate, n though n many
n candidates n offered n a n whole n market n diagram n as n well. n It n is n important nto nnote nthat
nmany ncandidates nconfused nproduct ndifferentiation nwith nprice ndiscrimination.
For nSection nC, nwhere nthe ncandidates nhave na nchoice nof nwhich nquestion nto nanswer, njust
nover nhalfnwent nfor nquestion n8. nThis nquestion nexplored npolicies nto ndeal nwith ncarbon
nemissions ncaused nbynroad ntransport, nso nthose ncandidates nwho nused nemissions ntrading
nschemes nhad nto nbe ncareful nto nlink nthe npolicy nto nroad ntransport. nQuestion n7, nwhich
ntested nmethods nof n government nintervention nthat ncould nbe nused nto ncontrol nhousehold
nenergy nbills nin nthe n UK nwas n very ntopical, nand ncandidates ndemonstrated nin ndepth
nunderstanding. nQuestion n8 nwas nsimilarly nwell nanswered, nand nagain nthe ntopicality
nmade nfor ninteresting nreading. nThere nis nnow nclear nevidence nin nsection nC nof
ncandidates nfocusing nin non ntwo nto nthree nwell ndeveloped npoints. nTo nscore nfull nmarks na
njustified njudgement nis, nas never, nrequired nto nachieve nthis.
GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0 n01
n4
nReportJune 2023
n n
GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0 n01
,Edexcel nand nBTEC nQualifications
Edexcel nand nBTEC nqualifications ncome nfrom nPearson, nthe nUK's nlargest nawarding
nbody. nWe nprovide na nwide nrange nof nqualifications nincluding nacademic, nvocational,
noccupational nand nspecific n programmes n for n employers. n For n further n information n visit
n our n qualifications n websitesnat nwww.edexcel.com nor nwww.btec.co.uk.
Alternatively, nyou ncan nget nin ntouch nwith nus nusing nthe ndetails non nour ncontact
nus npage natnwww.edexcel.com/contactus.
Giving nyou ninsight nto ninform nnext nsteps
ResultsPlus nis nPearson's nfree nonline nservice ngiving ninstant nand ndetailed nanalysis
nof nyournstudents' nexam nresults.
See nstudents' nscores nfor nevery nexam nquestion.
Understand nhow nyour nstudents' nperformance ncompares nwith nclass nand nnational
naverages. nIdentify npotential ntopics, nskills nand ntypes nof nquestion nwhere nstudents
nmay nneed nto ndevelop ntheir nlearning nfurther.
For nmore ninformation non nResultsPlus, nor nto nlog nin, nvisit
nwww.edexcel.com/resultsplus. nYour nexams nofficer nwill nbe nable nto nset nup nyour
nResultsPlus naccount nin nminutes nvia nEdexcel nOnline.
Pearson: n helping n people n progress, n everywhere
Pearson naspires nto nbe nthe nworld’s nleading nlearning ncompany. nOur naim nis nto nhelp
neveryone nprogress nin ntheir nlives nthrough neducation. nWe nbelieve nin nevery nkind nof
nlearning, nfor nall nkinds nofnpeople, nwherever nthey nare nin nthe nworld. nWe’ve nbeen
ninvolved nin neducation nfor nover n150 nyears,nand nby nworking nacross n70 ncountries, nin n100
nlanguages, nwe nhave nbuilt nan ninternational nreputation n for n our n commitment n to n high
n standards n and n raising n achievement n through ninnovation nin neducation. nFind nout nmore
nabout nhow nwe ncan nhelp n you nand nyour nstudents nat: nwww.pearson.com/uk.
June n2023
Publications n Code n 9EC0_01_2306_ER
All nthe n material nin n this n publication nis ncopyright
© nPearson nEducation nLtd n2023
GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0 n01
n2
, Introduction
This nwas nthe nseventh n9EC0_01 nexamination nin nthe n2015 nSpecification nseries. nIt
nproved nonce nagain nto nbe nan naccessible, nwide nranging npaper nthat nfacilitated n a nhigh
ndegree nof ndifferentiationnbetween ncandidates. nThe nquestions nwritten ncovered na nbroad
nrange nof nmicroeconomic nissuesnfrom nThemes n1 nand n3. nIt nwas nclear nthat ncandidates
nhad nprepared nwell nusing nthe npast npapers navailable nonline. nMany ncandidates nalso
ndemonstrated nclear nevidence nof ntopical nexamples nto nsupport ntheir n answers n to nthe
nlonger n questions. nCandidates nwere n also nable nto n respond nwell ntonthe ncommand nwords
nused nin nthe nquestions nand ndemonstrated neffective nuse nof ndata.
In nSection nA, nthe nmajority nof ncandidates nanswered nthe nmultiple nchoice nquestions
ncorrectly, nalthough n4(c) nproved na nchallenge nfor nsome. nIn nthis nexample nC nwas nthe
nonly ncorrect nanswer nbecause nthe narea nEKPe nwas nthe noriginal nproducer nsurplus nand
nthe nimposed nminimum nprice nwould nincrease nproducer nsurplus nto nby nGEPeP1. nThe
naddition nof nguaranteed nminimum nprice nto nthe nquestion n may nhave nhelped.
nConsideration nof nthe ndifficulty n of nthis n question nhas nbeen ntaken ninto nconsideration
nwhen nsetting nthe ngrade nboundaries nfor nthis npaper. nSection nA ncontinues nto nhighlight
nthe nrequirement nfor ncandidates nto nbe nconfident nin ntheir nuse nof nquantitative nskills.
nQuestions n2(a), n4(a), nand n5(a) nwere nvery nsignificant nin nthis nregard. nQuestionn2(a)
n asked n candidates n to n work n out n the n opportunity n cost n of n a n movement n from n point n X
n to n pointnY, nso nit nwas nclearly nasking nfor nthe nreduction nin nthe nnumber nof noats.
nCandidates noften njust ncalculated na nratio nof n2:4 nor n1:6. nIn nquestion n1(a) nthere nwere
nno nmarks nfor na ndefinition nbecausencandidates nwere nasked nfor nan nadvantage nof na nfree
nmarket neconomy. nWhen nasked nto ndraw na ndiagram, nmany ncandidates ndid nthis
nsuccessfully nfor n3(b) nbut nthere nwere nmany nerrors ndrawing nthe nshort nrun nprofit
nmaximising nequilibrium nof na nloss-making nfirm nin nmonopolistic ncompetition.
nCandidates nshould nensure nthey npractise nthe nfull nrange nof ndiagrams nin nthe
nspecification nbecause nquestions ncould nask ndirectly nfor na ndiagram, nas nwas nagain nthe
ncase nwithnthe nprice ndiscrimination nquestion, n6(e).
3 n GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0
n01
, Section nB nresponses nare nnow ndemonstrating nclear nevidence nof nthe nrecognition nto ngo
nbeyond nbasic nanalysis. nIn n6(a) nmany ncandidate neither nidentified nthe nmarket nfor nonline
nstreaming nservices nas nan noligopoly nor nlegal nmonopoly. nHowever, nmany neither
ncalculated nthe nconcentration nratio nincorrectly nor ndidn't nuse nthe ndata nto nsupport
ntheir nanswers. n6(b) nwas ngenerally nwell nanswered, nand ncandidates nhave nbecome
nmuch nmore nfamiliar nwith nthe nreasons nfor n irrational n behaviour. n There n are n three
n different n types n on n the n specification, n and n candidates nwere noften nconfident nof nhow nthey
nlinked nto nthe n situation nof nNetflix nsubscribers. n6(c), nwhich ntested nthe npractical
napplication nof nthe nconcept nof ncross nelasticity nof ndemand, nwas nwell nanswered.
nHowever, nsome ncandidates nconfused ncross nelasticity nof ndemand nwith nprice nelasticity
nor nincome nelasticity nof ndemand, nor nwrote nthe nformula nout nincorrectly. n6(d), nwhich
ntested nthe nprivate nand nexternal nbenefits nof nviewing neducational nwebsites nand nTV
nprogrammes,nrequired na nclear nassessment nof nthe nimpact nof neach. nMany ncandidates
nwere nable nto ndemonstrate n the n third n party, n for n example, n as n the n firm n gaining
n productivity n benefits n from n morenhighly nskilled nworkers. nThough na ndiagram nwas nnot
nasked nfor nin nthe nquestion, nthis nwas nan nexcellent nexample nof nwhere none nwould nhelp
nto ndevelop nthe nanalysis. nQuestion n6(e), nas nwe nmentioned nbefore, ndid nask nfor na
ndiagram nand nthe nsimple n2 nsub-market ndiagram nwas nquite nadequate, n though n many
n candidates n offered n a n whole n market n diagram n as n well. n It n is n important nto nnote nthat
nmany ncandidates nconfused nproduct ndifferentiation nwith nprice ndiscrimination.
For nSection nC, nwhere nthe ncandidates nhave na nchoice nof nwhich nquestion nto nanswer, njust
nover nhalfnwent nfor nquestion n8. nThis nquestion nexplored npolicies nto ndeal nwith ncarbon
nemissions ncaused nbynroad ntransport, nso nthose ncandidates nwho nused nemissions ntrading
nschemes nhad nto nbe ncareful nto nlink nthe npolicy nto nroad ntransport. nQuestion n7, nwhich
ntested nmethods nof n government nintervention nthat ncould nbe nused nto ncontrol nhousehold
nenergy nbills nin nthe n UK nwas n very ntopical, nand ncandidates ndemonstrated nin ndepth
nunderstanding. nQuestion n8 nwas nsimilarly nwell nanswered, nand nagain nthe ntopicality
nmade nfor ninteresting nreading. nThere nis nnow nclear nevidence nin nsection nC nof
ncandidates nfocusing nin non ntwo nto nthree nwell ndeveloped npoints. nTo nscore nfull nmarks na
njustified njudgement nis, nas never, nrequired nto nachieve nthis.
GCE nEconomics nA n9EC0 n01
n4
