Cambridge International AS & A Level · syllabus 9708

Cambridge International A Level Economics (9708)

Cambridge 9708 is examined in four papers: at AS Level, Paper 1 (multiple choice) and Paper 2 (data response and essays); at A2, Paper 3 (multiple choice) and Paper 4 (data response and essays). The multiple-choice papers are 30 questions in 1 hour 15 minutes, one mark each, and they reward exactly one thing — knowing which part of the syllabus a question is really testing.

Quanta currently holds 21 Paper 3 sittings (2023–2025), every question tagged to its A2 syllabus section, plus a Paper 4 essay bank. The AS papers are not mapped yet.

Updated 15 September 2026

Paper 3: what the multiple-choice paper actually tests

Across all 21 Paper 3 sittings Quanta has mapped — 630 questions in total — this is how the questions distribute across the A2 syllabus. It is the closest thing to a published weighting, and it comes from the papers themselves rather than the syllabus document:

The price system and the microeconomy
192 q · 30%
Government microeconomic intervention
137 q · 22%
International economic issues
119 q · 19%
The macroeconomy
105 q · 17%
Government macroeconomic intervention
77 q · 12%

Every sitting has its own page showing the same breakdown for that paper alone. All 9708 Paper 3 sittings by series →

Guides

Market structuresPerfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly for Cambridge 9708 A Level Economics: the assumptions, short-run and long-run equilibrium diagrams, efficiency, and how Paper 3 multiple choice tests each one — with the traps examiners set.Market failure and externalitiesExternalities, public goods, information failure and the welfare-loss diagram for Cambridge 9708 Economics, with the government interventions that correct each failure and the multiple-choice patterns on Paper 3 that test them.ElasticityPrice, income, cross and supply elasticity for Cambridge 9708 Economics: the formulas, what the signs and values mean, the effect on total revenue, the determinants, and how Paper 3 multiple choice tests each one.Aggregate demand and supplyAD/AS for Cambridge 9708 A Level Economics: the components of aggregate demand, the multiplier, short and long-run aggregate supply, and how fiscal and monetary policy shift each curve — with the Paper 3 traps.

How to practise multiple choice so it counts

The trap in a 30-question paper is treating a wrong answer as one lost mark. It is a diagnosis: the question was tagged to a syllabus section, and getting it wrong is evidence about that section, not about that question. Practising a paper on Quanta records exactly that — each answer is explained after you commit, and the mistakes accumulate against the section they belong to, so a set of three sittings tells you which of the five A2 sections is costing you marks rather than giving you three percentages.

Practise Economics against real mark schemes

Quanta has real Cambridge A Level Economics 9708 past-paper questions, with every answer explained after you commit to it and each question tied to the syllabus section it tests — and it tracks which skills you’re missing. Free for individual students.

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Common questions

Which 9708 papers does Quanta cover?

Paper 3 (A2 multiple choice) from 2023 to 2025 — 21 sittings — and a Paper 4 essay bank organised by topic. Papers 1 and 2 (AS) are not mapped yet.

How is 9708 Paper 3 marked?

One mark per question, 30 questions, no negative marking. The paper is 1 hour 15 minutes, so a little over two minutes a question — most of the difficulty is in reading the stem precisely rather than in the economics.

Is a calculator allowed in 9708 Paper 3?

Yes. Some questions involve simple calculation — elasticities, index numbers, national income arithmetic — but none require more than a scientific calculator.