Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics 9708 · exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028
The 9708 syllabus, topic by topic
The current Cambridge International AS & A Level Economics 9708 syllabus is for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. It is examined in 4 papers and lists 53 numbered topics. AS Level: Papers 1 and 2 in the same series. A Level: All four papers — in one series, or Papers 1 and 2 first with Papers 3 and 4 in a later series.
Cambridge publishes the syllabus, not how often each topic is examined. Beside the topics below is what Quanta measured on 51 real 9708 papers (Papers 1 and 3): the share of the questions each topic carried. The biggest is Methods and effects of government intervention in markets, at 10% of Paper 1.
Source: Cambridge AS & A Level Economics 9708 syllabus, 2026–2028 (PDF, version 2, published December 2025).
Updated 5 October 2026
The 9708 papers
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: AS Level Multiple Choice30 multiple-choice questions on the AS content1 hour · 33% of AS · 17% of A Level | 1 hour | 30 | 33% of AS · 17% of A Level |
| Paper 2: AS Level Data Response and EssaysOne data response (20), one micro essay and one macro essay from a choice of two each (20 each)2 hours · 67% of AS · 33% of A Level | 2 hours | 60 | 67% of AS · 33% of A Level |
| Paper 3: A Level Multiple Choice30 multiple-choice questions on the A Level content1 hour 15 minutes · 17% of A Level | 1 hour 15 minutes | 30 | 17% of A Level |
| Paper 4: A Level Data Response and EssaysOne data response (20), one micro and one macro essay, unstructured (20 each)2 hours · 33% of A Level | 2 hours | 60 | 33% of A Level |
- AS Level: Papers 1 and 2 in the same series.
- A Level: All four papers — in one series, or Papers 1 and 2 first with Papers 3 and 4 in a later series.
AS Level is graded a to e; A Level A* to E. Exams run in the June and November series; schools in India can also enter in March. When each series’ papers come out →
AS Level topics (1.1–6.5)
“In past papers” is each topic’s share of all the questions on 30 Paper 1 sittings from 2010 to 2024, and how many of those sittings it appeared on. Each question is counted once, under the topic it mainly tests.
Basic economic ideas and resource allocation
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost | 1.8% · 16 qon 16/30 |
| 1.2 | Economic methodology | 1.9% · 17 qon 15/30 |
| 1.3 | Factors of production | 2.2% · 20 qon 16/30 |
| 1.4 | Resource allocation in different economic systems | 1.6% · 14 qon 14/30 |
| 1.5 | Production possibility curves | 3.2% · 29 qon 26/30 |
| 1.6 | Classification of goods and servicesMarket failure and externalities guide | 3.4% · 31 qon 25/30 |
The price system and the microeconomy
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Demand and supply curvesDemand and supply guide | 5.7% · 51 qon 26/30 |
| 2.2 | Price elasticity, income elasticity and cross elasticity of demandElasticity guide | 7% · 63 qon 29/30 |
| 2.3 | Price elasticity of supplyElasticity guide | 4% · 36 qon 25/30 |
| 2.4 | The interaction of demand and supplyDemand and supply guide | 7.3% · 66 qon 28/30 |
| 2.5 | Consumer and producer surplusDemand and supply guide | 2.8% · 25 qon 22/30 |
Government microeconomic intervention
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Reasons for government intervention in marketsMarket failure and externalities guide | 0.3% · 3 qon 3/30 |
| 3.2 | Methods and effects of government intervention in marketsMarket failure and externalities guide | 10% · 90 qon 30/30 |
| 3.3 | Addressing income and wealth inequality | 1.1% · 10 qon 8/30 |
The macroeconomy
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | National income statistics | 0.8% · 7 qon 5/30 |
| 4.2 | Introduction to the circular flow of incomeAggregate demand and supply guide | 0.4% · 4 qon 3/30 |
| 4.3 | Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply analysisAggregate demand and supply guide | 3.7% · 33 qon 23/30 |
| 4.4 | Economic growth | 0.4% · 4 qon 4/30 |
| 4.5 | Unemployment | 1.1% · 10 qon 10/30 |
| 4.6 | Price stabilityAggregate demand and supply guide | 5.7% · 51 qon 28/30 |
Government macroeconomic intervention
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Government macroeconomic policy objectives | 1.2% · 11 qon 8/30 |
| 5.2 | Fiscal policy | 2.2% · 20 qon 16/30 |
| 5.3 | Monetary policy | 1.3% · 12 qon 10/30 |
| 5.4 | Supply-side policy | 1.8% · 16 qon 12/30 |
International economic issues
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | The reasons for international trade | 6.2% · 56 qon 28/30 |
| 6.2 | Protectionism | 4.1% · 37 qon 24/30 |
| 6.3 | Current account of the balance of payments | 5.2% · 47 qon 30/30 |
| 6.4 | Exchange ratesExchange rates guide | 4.2% · 38 qon 24/30 |
| 6.5 | Policies to correct imbalances in the current account of the balance of payments | 2.2% · 20 qon 17/30 |
63 of the 900 questions counted sit outside these topics: papers set between 2010 and 2022 tested externalities, social/private costs & benefits; policies to correct market failure; balance of payments & correction policies; money & banking; globalisation at this level, and the current syllabus places them in the A Level content.
A Level topics (7.1–11.6)
“In past papers” is each topic’s share of all the questions on 21 Paper 3 sittings from 2023 to 2025, and how many of those sittings it appeared on. Each question is counted once, under the topic it mainly tests.
The price system and the microeconomy
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Utility | 3% · 19 qon 18/21 |
| 7.2 | Indifference curves and budget lines | 3% · 19 qon 19/21 |
| 7.3 | Efficiency and market failureMarket failure and externalities guide | 3.7% · 23 qon 15/21 |
| 7.4 | Private costs and benefits, externalities and social costs and benefitsMarket failure and externalities guide | 4.4% · 28 qon 18/21 |
| 7.5 | Types of cost, revenue and profit, short-run and long-run production | 4.6% · 29 qon 16/21 |
| 7.6 | Different market structuresMarket structures guide | 4.8% · 30 qon 16/21 |
| 7.7 | Growth and survival of firms | 2.9% · 18 qon 14/21 |
| 7.8 | Differing objectives and policies of firms | 4.1% · 26 qon 18/21 |
Government microeconomic intervention
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | Government policies to achieve efficient resource allocation and correct market failureMarket failure and externalities guide | 8.9% · 56 qon 21/21 |
| 8.2 | Equity and redistribution of income and wealth | 5.2% · 33 qon 19/21 |
| 8.3 | Labour market forces and government intervention | 7.6% · 48 qon 21/21 |
The macroeconomy
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | The circular flow of incomeAggregate demand and supply guide | 4.8% · 30 qon 18/21 |
| 9.2 | Economic growth and sustainability | 3% · 19 qon 15/21 |
| 9.3 | Employment/unemployment | 5.4% · 34 qon 20/21 |
| 9.4 | Money and banking | 3.5% · 22 qon 16/21 |
Government macroeconomic intervention
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Government macroeconomic policy objectives | 1.4% · 9 qon 7/21 |
| 10.2 | Links between macroeconomic problems and their interrelatednessAggregate demand and supply guide | 4.9% · 31 qon 20/21 |
| 10.3 | Effectiveness of policy options to meet all macroeconomic objectivesAggregate demand and supply guide | 5.9% · 37 qon 19/21 |
International economic issues
| # | Topic | In past papers |
|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | Policies to correct disequilibrium in the balance of payments | 3.8% · 24 qon 16/21 |
| 11.2 | Exchange ratesExchange rates guide | 2.9% · 18 qon 13/21 |
| 11.3 | Economic development | 3.3% · 21 qon 16/21 |
| 11.4 | Characteristics of countries at different levels of development | 3.7% · 23 qon 17/21 |
| 11.5 | Relationship between countries at different levels of development | 3.5% · 22 qon 18/21 |
| 11.6 | Globalisation | 1.7% · 11 qon 10/21 |
What changed in this syllabus
This is version 2, published December 2025, for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028.
- Cambridge states there are no significant changes which affect teaching; version 2 updated a web link.
- Textbooks endorsed for exams from 2023 are still suitable.
Revising for 9708
- 9708 grade boundaries — the raw mark every paper needed for each grade, all 11 series since 2023.
- Most common topics in 9708 — every topic ranked by what it carried across 51 real papers.
- 9708 topical past papers — every question filed under the syllabus topic it tests, with its paper and marks.
- All 51 mapped 9708 past papers — each with its code, filename and its own topic breakdown.
- How Cambridge paper codes work — what 0580/42/O/N/25 and 9709_s25_qp_12 each mean.
- How to revise from mark schemes and how to find your weak topics.
- Source: Cambridge AS & A Level Economics 9708 syllabus, 2026–2028 (PDF, Cambridge International).
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 topic it tests — and it tracks which skills you’re missing. Free for individual students.
Start practising freeCommon questions
What topics are in A Level Economics 9708?
53 numbered topics: AS Level topics (29), A Level topics (24). The full list is above in Cambridge’s numbering, with the share of the questions each one has carried on the papers Quanta has mapped.
How many papers are there in 9708?
4: Paper 1 (AS Level Multiple Choice, 30 marks), Paper 2 (AS Level Data Response and Essays, 60 marks), Paper 3 (A Level Multiple Choice, 30 marks), Paper 4 (A Level Data Response and Essays, 60 marks). AS Level: Papers 1 and 2 in the same series. A Level: All four papers — in one series, or Papers 1 and 2 first with Papers 3 and 4 in a later series.
Which 9708 topic comes up most?
On the 30 Paper 1 papers Quanta has mapped, Methods and effects of government intervention in markets (3.2) carried the most: 10% of the questions, appearing on 30 of them. The full ranking →
Is the 9708 syllabus changing?
This syllabus covers exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Cambridge states there are no significant changes which affect teaching; version 2 updated a web link. For later years, check the syllabus page for 9708 on Cambridge International’s website — Cambridge publishes the next syllabus well before it is first examined.