Cambridge 9708 · counted from 51 papers
Most common topics in A Level Economics 9708
Across 51 real Cambridge 9708 papers from 2010 to 2025, the topic that carries the most questions is Methods and effects of government intervention in markets — 90 questions, 5.9% of everything, appearing on 30 of the 51 papers. Next come Policies to correct market failure (4.5%) and The interaction of demand and supply (4.3%). The ten biggest topics together account for 39% of the questions.
Cambridge publishes a syllabus, not a weighting. These figures are counted from the papers themselves: every question Quanta holds is filed under the topic it tests, and its questions are added up. That makes this the closest thing to a real answer to “what comes up most”.
Updated 28 September 2026
What comes up most on 9708 Paper 1
Counted from 30 Paper 1 sittings (2010–2024). The top topic is Methods and effects of government intervention in markets at 10% of the paper. Every Paper 1 sitting →
What comes up most on 9708 Paper 3
Counted from 21 Paper 3 sittings (2023–2025). The top topic is Policies to correct market failure at 8.9% of the paper. Every Paper 3 sitting →
By syllabus section
The same questions, grouped into the syllabus’s own sections:
Every 9708 topic, ranked
All 52 topics, most questions first. “On papers” counts how many of the 51 papers gave the topic at least one question. Topics in blue have a free Quanta guide.
| # | Topic | Marks | Share | On papers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Methods and effects of government intervention in marketsGovernment microeconomic intervention | 90 | 5.9% | 30/51 |
| 2 | Policies to correct market failureGovernment microeconomic intervention | 69 | 4.5% | 30/51 |
| 3 | The interaction of demand and supplyThe price system and the microeconomy | 66 | 4.3% | 28/51 |
| 4 | Price elasticity, income elasticity and cross elasticity of demandThe price system and the microeconomy | 63 | 4.1% | 29/51 |
| 5 | Exchange ratesInternational economic issues | 56 | 3.7% | 37/51 |
| 6 | The reasons for international tradeInternational economic issues | 56 | 3.7% | 28/51 |
| 7 | Price stabilityThe macroeconomy | 51 | 3.3% | 28/51 |
| 8 | Demand and supply curvesThe price system and the microeconomy | 51 | 3.3% | 26/51 |
| 9 | Externalities, social/private costs & benefitsThe price system and the microeconomy | 48 | 3.1% | 29/51 |
| 10 | Labour marketGovernment microeconomic intervention | 48 | 3.1% | 21/51 |
| 11 | Current account of the balance of paymentsInternational economic issues | 47 | 3.1% | 30/51 |
| 12 | ProtectionismInternational economic issues | 37 | 2.4% | 24/51 |
| 13 | Effectiveness of policy optionsGovernment macroeconomic intervention | 37 | 2.4% | 19/51 |
| 14 | Balance of payments & correction policiesInternational economic issues | 36 | 2.4% | 27/51 |
| 15 | Price elasticity of supplyThe price system and the microeconomy | 36 | 2.4% | 25/51 |
| 16 | Employment & unemploymentThe macroeconomy | 34 | 2.2% | 20/51 |
| 17 | Money & bankingThe macroeconomy | 33 | 2.2% | 27/51 |
| 18 | Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply analysisThe macroeconomy | 33 | 2.2% | 23/51 |
| 19 | Equity, poverty & redistributionGovernment microeconomic intervention | 33 | 2.2% | 19/51 |
| 20 | Classification of goods and servicesBasic economic ideas and resource allocation | 31 | 2% | 25/51 |
| 21 | Interrelatedness of macro problems (incl. Phillips curve)Government macroeconomic intervention | 31 | 2% | 20/51 |
| 22 | Circular flow & the multiplierThe macroeconomy | 30 | 2% | 18/51 |
| 23 | Market structuresThe price system and the microeconomy | 30 | 2% | 16/51 |
| 24 | Production possibility curvesBasic economic ideas and resource allocation | 29 | 1.9% | 26/51 |
| 25 | Costs, revenue, profit & productionThe price system and the microeconomy | 29 | 1.9% | 16/51 |
| 26 | Firm objectives & pricing policiesThe price system and the microeconomy | 26 | 1.7% | 18/51 |
| 27 | Consumer and producer surplusThe price system and the microeconomy | 25 | 1.6% | 22/51 |
| 28 | Characteristics of countries at different development levelsInternational economic issues | 23 | 1.5% | 17/51 |
| 29 | Efficiency & market failureThe price system and the microeconomy | 23 | 1.5% | 15/51 |
| 30 | Relationships between countries (aid, MNCs, FDI, debt, IMF/World Bank)International economic issues | 22 | 1.4% | 18/51 |
| 31 | Economic developmentInternational economic issues | 21 | 1.4% | 16/51 |
| 32 | Policies to correct imbalances in the current account of the balance of paymentsInternational economic issues | 20 | 1.3% | 17/51 |
| 33 | Factors of productionBasic economic ideas and resource allocation | 20 | 1.3% | 16/51 |
| 34 | Fiscal policyGovernment macroeconomic intervention | 20 | 1.3% | 16/51 |
| 35 | Indifference curves & budget linesThe price system and the microeconomy | 19 | 1.2% | 19/51 |
| 36 | UtilityThe price system and the microeconomy | 19 | 1.2% | 18/51 |
| 37 | Economic growth & sustainabilityThe macroeconomy | 19 | 1.2% | 15/51 |
| 38 | GlobalisationInternational economic issues | 18 | 1.2% | 17/51 |
| 39 | Growth & survival of firmsThe price system and the microeconomy | 18 | 1.2% | 14/51 |
| 40 | Economic methodologyBasic economic ideas and resource allocation | 17 | 1.1% | 15/51 |
| 41 | Scarcity, choice and opportunity costBasic economic ideas and resource allocation | 16 | 1% | 16/51 |
| 42 | Supply-side policyGovernment macroeconomic intervention | 16 | 1% | 12/51 |
| 43 | Resource allocation in different economic systemsBasic economic ideas and resource allocation | 14 | 0.9% | 14/51 |
| 44 | Monetary policyGovernment macroeconomic intervention | 12 | 0.8% | 10/51 |
| 45 | Government macroeconomic policy objectivesGovernment macroeconomic intervention | 11 | 0.7% | 8/51 |
| 46 | UnemploymentThe macroeconomy | 10 | 0.7% | 10/51 |
| 47 | Addressing income and wealth inequalityGovernment microeconomic intervention | 10 | 0.7% | 8/51 |
| 48 | Macro policy objectivesGovernment macroeconomic intervention | 9 | 0.6% | 7/51 |
| 49 | National income statisticsThe macroeconomy | 7 | 0.5% | 5/51 |
| 50 | Economic growthThe macroeconomy | 4 | 0.3% | 4/51 |
| 51 | Introduction to the circular flow of incomeThe macroeconomy | 4 | 0.3% | 3/51 |
| 52 | Reasons for government intervention in marketsGovernment microeconomic intervention | 3 | 0.2% | 3/51 |
How this was counted
Each question is filed under the one topic it mainly tests. Where a part also draws on a second topic, it counts only once, under the first — so these numbers slightly understate topics that mostly appear as support for others, and never double-count. Figures cover the 51 9708 papers Quanta has mapped, 2010–2025; they describe what those papers asked, not what a future paper will. What each paper needed for each grade →
Practise Economics against real mark schemes
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What topic comes up most in 9708?
Methods and effects of government intervention in markets, with 90 questions across 51 papers — 5.9% of the total — appearing on 30 of them. Policies to correct market failure and The interaction of demand and supply are next.
Is this the official Cambridge weighting?
No — Cambridge does not publish topic weightings. These are counted from real past papers, which makes them a measurement of what has been asked rather than an official rule. The pattern is stable year to year, which is what makes it useful for deciding where revision time goes.
Should I only revise the most common topics?
No — any syllabus topic can be examined. But the ranking tells you where marks have concentrated, and the topics near the top are the ones where being secure pays back most. The ones that appeared on every paper are the safest place to start.