Just in case there was any misunderstanding, I was not arguing that Biz or
Econ is better or worse. I was merely observing the fact that to my great
disappointment, A level Economics entries have nose- dived from their peak
in the 1980s and is now dwarfed by Biz - at least in a national context,
although there are honourable exceptions of which your school Richard is
one. Just to be controversial I would suggest that the dehumanising
approach to Economics , seeing it as a branch of mathematics fostered by
some universities, and lingering in some A level syllabuses, has been and
to some extent continues to be a major turn off factor. I suspect the other
turn off factor is that there is now very little economic debate at
political level, such as existed in the 1980s.
Regards
Adrian Lyons
Head of GTP
Anglia Polytechnic University
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Young [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 11 May 2003 19:36
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Oh no economics v business studies revisited.
Oh dear Adrian... you touch on another one of my hobby horses.
I teach both Biz & Econ. We have pupils doing both. We have students better
suited to one.
In my view, A level Biz is A level problem solving. I have had really good
economists who cannot for the life of them identify and evaluate options in
the context of firm in a case study in less than 400 words. And I have Biz
students who struggle with the nuances of aggregate supply & demand.
Interestingly my A2 students doing both subjects are more engaged with
Economics than with Biz this last few weeks Very small biased sample.
Probably more to do with my teaching of the two?
Biz can be really interesting but then so can Economics. Both are about
seeing the world with new analytical eyes.
I really challenge the notion that A level Econ is a dry arid subject. It
can be if you chose a board like London with m/c and the emphasis on
dry-as-dust theory. But then some kids love that academic stuff and it is a
good preparation for university economics courses.
But those of you still reading this email musing will know I am a great fan
of OCR Economics. It does not get any better than teaching A2 Development
Economics and I like the final synoptic pre issued stimulus materials on
Europe that brings it all together.
No need at all to worry about point PES. Every emphasis on using economic
concepts to understand analyse and evaluate real world problems.
Horses for courses my friend. Next year at WGS we have equal numbers for
econ and biz and both courses are seen as relevant and good choices.
Regards
Richard Young
AST Teacher of Business Studies, Economics & ICT
Deputy Head of VI Form - Year 12
Wood Green School
Woodstock Road
Witney OX28 1DX
Tel 01993 702355
Fax 01993 774961
www.woodgreen.oxon.sch.uk
BECTa/Guardian Secondary School Web Site of the Year 2001
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Economics, business, and related subjects
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Adrian Lyons
Sent: 11 May 2003 16:31
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Price Elasiticity of supply
While recognising the need to encourage student enquiry, independent
learning and intellectual stimulation, it just occurs to me that this issue
is a wonderful example of the reasons for the very sad decline in Economics
and its replacement by what is perceived to be the more relevant subject of
business studies.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Sowden [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 11 May 2003 10:30
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Price Elasiticity of supply
I followed the link Duncan provided and discovered this on page 18
"- the more inelastic is supply - the greater the burden to buyers."
Now I confess I did not follow John's original posting too closely but I
have always understood that defining tax incidence as Change in
Price/Change
in Tax, allows us to deduce that
Tax Incidence = Elasticity of Supply/Elasticity of Supply + Elasticity of
Demand
Thus as Elasticity of Demand increases, the burden of taxation on the
consumer decreases. On the other hand as the Elasticity of Supply
increases
and ultimately approaches infinity, Elasticity of Demand becomes very small
in comparison, and the consumer has to bear the entire burden of taxation.
In other words, cet par, the more elastic supply is, the greater the burden
on consumers.
Dave Sowden
Raffles Junior College
Singapore
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