In this section you will learn your first key concepts in Economics: Demand, Supply and Scarcity. When we bring these elements together we begin to see how you can't always get what you want and why.

To make economics work we have to make some agreements on how we view the world. These are known as assumptions. One of the assumptions is that we would all like to be as happy as this puppy.

This topic is fundamental to the study of economics. It underpins the core values of the subject exploring the theories that lie at the heart of the subject itself - Demand and Supply.

This topic takes the core ideas learned in the previous topic and expands them further. We know that changes in prices will causes changes in quantity demanded and quantity supplied of goods and services but elasticity asks the question - by how much do they change?  

This is our first foray into the world of Macroeconomics. (All Macroeconomic topics have blue "read more" buttons.) We will consider income not on an individual level but on a national level to find out how much people in Ireland produce, earn and spend. This will help us analyse a country's economic growth. 

In this topic we will explore the measures, causes, effects and solutions of inflation. Inflation is not as strict as concept as a lot of people think. It doesn't mean that the price of everything is increasing. What it means is that the general price level of the most important goods and services is increasing. 

In this topic we will explore another key macroeconomic indicator: employment/unemployment. It will consider the measures, causes, effects and solutions of unemployment. Employment is essential for the long run stable growth of an economy.

Economics works with or without money but it is hard to imagine how a modern economy would function without it. This topic considers money's origin and its development into its current format. This topic also considers our second macroeconomic policy instrument: monetary policy which is controlled on our behalf by the ECB.

This topic considers the various aims and objectives of the Irish government. Some of these we will already be familiar with as we have already encountered them as economic indicators namely: economic growth, inflation and unemployment. 

In the previous topic we considered the main economic aims and objectives of the government. In this topic we will go one step further and consider the policy instruments that are available to the government if they hope to achieve these objectives.

This is the first of our four market structures: Perfect Competition. In this market structure we will analyse how firms compete with one another if they are operating in an industry where all firms produce identical goods in insignificant quantities.

Our second market structure: Monopoly. In this market structure we will analyse an industry where only one firm is in operation and there are high barriers to entry.

Our third market structure: Imperfect Competition. In this market structure we will analyse how firms which are not identical but very similar compete with each other.

If a market when left to it's own devices creates the misallocation of resources this is known as market failure. This topic looks at how market failure is created and can potentially be fixed.

In this section you will learn about the four Factors of Production: Land, Labour, Capital and Enterprise. These factors of production are essential parts of the wealth generation of a nation.

In this section we will consider the impact which changes in the size and structure of a country's population can have on its economy. We will also consider the plight of the world's Least Developed Countries and how they can be improved externally and internally.

In this our last section we will explore how and why countries trade with one another, the benefits there are to be gained from doing so and the reasons why some countries would prefer not to trade.

This is a hub for the most topical items of the year which students should be aware of in order to be able to link their answers to real life.

tradingeconomics.com is your go to website for the most up to date economics statistics. This should be the last website you see before entering your exam. Make sure you know the most up-to-date figures for Economic Growth, Inflation, Unemployment, Debt-to-GDP Ratio and our interest rate.