Is AP Economics the same as A-Level Economics?

No, but the economic theory overlaps heavily. AP splits into Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and is US-centric (the Federal Reserve, US fiscal policy), assessed mostly with multiple choice and short structured free-response questions. A-Level (AQA, Edexcel) is UK-centric (the Bank of England, UK policy), spans micro and macro across every paper, and is assessed with data response and extended 25-mark evaluation essays. The diagrams and models are nearly identical; the exam skills and national context are not.

Can I use AP resources for A-Level Economics?

Yes, for the theory and especially the graphs. EconLearn's draggable sandboxes cover the supply and demand, elasticity, market structure, cost curve, AD-AS, money market, loanable funds, Phillips curve, trade and exchange-rate diagrams that AQA and Edexcel test, so it is excellent for learning how curves shift. Do not rely on it for UK institutions, UK policy examples, development economics, or the essay and evaluation technique that A-Level marks reward. Use AP resources for the models, your board's resources for the exam craft.

What is the difference between AQA and Edexcel A-Level Economics?

They test almost the same economics but organise and label it differently. AQA (7136) splits content into two sections, micro (Individuals, firms, markets and market failure) and macro (The national and international economy); note that AQA's own spec numbers these 3.1 and 3.2, while many teaching resources use the 4.1 / 4.2 convention this page follows. Edexcel (A) uses four Themes: Theme 1 markets and market failure, Theme 2 the UK economy, Theme 3 business behaviour and the labour market, Theme 4 a global perspective. Edexcel front-loads business behaviour and development economics; AQA weaves behavioural economics into micro. Both use 25-mark essays and both examine synoptically across topics at A-Level. EconLearn's mapping above covers both boards.

Will EconLearn help with the 25-mark evaluation essay?

Not directly. EconLearn builds the raw material for a good essay, the diagrams, definitions, models and the ability to explain how a change ripples through a market, which is the analysis (AO2/AO3) part of your answer. But it does not teach essay structure, chains of reasoning, the 'to what extent' judgement or the evaluation (AO4) that separates a top-band answer. Use EconLearn to master the theory and the graphs, then practise past 25-mark questions with your board's mark schemes to learn the technique.

For A-Level students and teachers

EconLearn for A-Level Economics (AQA & Edexcel)

EconLearn is a free, no-account AP Economics site, but its interactive graph sandboxes, practice questions and glossary cover most of the A-Level micro and macro theory in AQA and Edexcel. Use it to drill the diagrams and models. It will not teach you 25-mark essay technique, UK institutions like the Bank of England, or the UK-specific policy and development content your board tests.

Try the graphs Browse the glossary

The honest version

Here is the honest version. EconLearn is built for the US AP Economics exams, so what transfers to A-Level is the pure economic theory, not the exam skills or the national context. It is solid for the diagram-heavy core that AQA and Edexcel share with AP: supply and demand, all four elasticities, the four market structures, labour and factor markets, market failure and externalities, cost and revenue curves, the PPC/PPF, and the AD-AS, money market, loanable funds, Phillips curve and exchange-rate models. The 17 draggable sandboxes let you see exactly how a curve shifts, which is hard to grasp from a static textbook diagram. What it does NOT do: it teaches US institutions (the Federal Reserve, not the Bank of England and the MPC; US fiscal machinery, not HM Treasury), so learn UK institutional detail from your board. It gives you zero coaching on the 25-mark evaluation essay, the "to what extent" chains of argument, or synoptic analysis that A-Level lives or dies on. It skips or under-weights behavioural economics (AQA goes deeper than AP), business growth and objectives, contestable-market theory, and development economics (Edexcel Theme 4), and it uses the monetarist/neoclassical AD-AS model rather than the Keynesian AS variant some UK teaching favours. Treat EconLearn as your graph-and-theory gym, not your exam-technique coach. One note on the codes below: the AQA topics use the widely-used 4.1.x / 4.2.x tutor2u numbering, but AQA's own 7136 specification labels the two content sections 3.1 (Individuals, firms, markets and market failure) and 3.2 (The national and international economy).

The specification, unit by unit

AQA 4.1.1 The economic problem and methodology / Edexcel Theme 1.1: Nature of economicsStrong: Scarcity, opportunity cost, factors of production and the production possibility frontier all transfer directly. Drag the PPC to see opportunity cost and shifts in productive potential; positive vs normative and the basic economic problem are covered in the glossary.
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AQA 4.1.2 Individual economic decision making / Edexcel Theme 1.2: How markets work (rational choice, behavioural)Partial: Utility, rational choice and marginal analysis are covered. The behavioural economics depth AQA 4.1.2 demands (bounded rationality, heuristics, biases, nudges, choice architecture) is lighter than your board needs, since AP treats it only briefly. Look up bounded rationality and nudge theory in the glossary, then get the depth from your textbook.
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AQA 4.1.3 Price determination in a competitive market / Edexcel Theme 1.2: How markets workFull: This is EconLearn's strongest area. Drag demand and supply, model the eight non-price shift factors, and see equilibrium, shortages, surpluses and consumer/producer surplus. Identical diagrams to AQA and Edexcel.
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AQA 4.1.3 Elasticities / Edexcel Theme 1.2: Elasticity (PED, PES, YED, XED)Full: All four elasticities transfer exactly. Drag the curve to feel the difference between elastic and inelastic, then use the how-to walkthroughs to compute PED, PES, YED and XED with worked numbers.
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AQA 4.1.8 Market failure and government intervention / Edexcel Theme 1.3-1.4: Market failure and interventionStrong: Externalities, marginal social/private cost and benefit, and the welfare loss triangle map directly. Public goods, information gaps, taxes, subsidies and price controls are covered. UK-specific policy examples (sugar tax, UK carbon pricing) you will get from your board.
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AQA 4.1.4 Production, costs and revenue / Edexcel Theme 3.3: Revenue, costs and profitFull: TC, AC, MC, TR, AR, MR, returns to scale and the shape of the cost curves all transfer. The draggable cost-curve sandbox is exactly what A-Level short-run/long-run cost questions require.
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AQA 4.1.5 Perfect competition, imperfect competition and monopoly / Edexcel Theme 3.4: Market structuresStrong: Perfect competition, monopolistic competition and monopoly transfer fully, with profit-maximising output, supernormal/normal profit and allocative/productive efficiency. Sandboxes: /sandbox/perfect-competition, /sandbox/monopolistic-competition, /sandbox/monopoly. Oligopoly, game theory and contestable-market theory are lighter and need your textbook.
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AQA 4.1.6 The labour market / Edexcel Theme 3.5: Labour marketStrong: Derived demand for labour, MRP, wage determination and shifts in labour supply and demand transfer well through the factor-markets sandbox. Trade unions, monopsony employers and the UK minimum wage context are covered less deeply, so supplement those.
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AQA 4.1.7 Distribution of income and wealth / Edexcel Theme 4.2: Poverty and inequalityPartial: Core concepts (income vs wealth, causes of inequality, the poverty line) are in the glossary. The Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient get only light treatment, and UK-specific redistribution policy is out of scope. Read up the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient separately, and take UK redistribution policy from your board.
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AQA 4.2.1 Measurement of macroeconomic performance / Edexcel Theme 2.1: Measures of economic performanceStrong: Real vs nominal GDP, GDP per capita, index numbers, CPI inflation, unemployment measures and the current account transfer as concepts. Work the calculations (real GDP, inflation rate, index numbers) in the how-to walkthroughs; UK data sources like the ONS are context you add yourself.
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AQA 4.2.2 How the macroeconomy works: AD-AS / Edexcel Theme 2.2-2.3: Aggregate demand and supplyStrong: The AD-AS model, its components, the multiplier and short-run/long-run equilibrium transfer well and the draggable sandbox is ideal. Caveat: EconLearn uses the monetarist/neoclassical AS model, so if your teacher uses the Keynesian AS (with a horizontal, upward and vertical section), read the shape differences carefully.
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AQA 4.2.3 Economic performance: growth and the cycle / Edexcel Theme 2.5-2.6: Economic growth and macroeconomic objectivesStrong: The business/trade cycle, output gaps, economic growth, and the trade-offs between the macro objectives transfer directly. The business-cycle sandbox and Phillips curve (/sandbox/phillips-curve) show the growth-inflation and unemployment-inflation trade-offs A-Level asks about.
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AQA 4.2.4 Financial markets and monetary policy / Edexcel Theme 4.4 & Theme 2.6: Monetary policyPartial: The money market, loanable funds, interest-rate transmission and quantitative easing transfer as models (sandboxes: /sandbox/loanable-funds, /sandbox/monetary-policy). But EconLearn teaches the US Federal Reserve. For A-Level you must relearn the actors: the Bank of England, the Monetary Policy Committee and the UK inflation target.
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AQA 4.2.5 Fiscal policy and supply-side policies / Edexcel Theme 2.6 & 4.5: Fiscal and supply-sideStrong: Expansionary/contractionary fiscal policy, automatic stabilisers, crowding out and supply-side policy shown on AD-AS all transfer. The institutional framing is US (federal budget), so map it onto HM Treasury, UK taxation and the UK national debt debate yourself.
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AQA 4.2.6 The international economy: trade / Edexcel Theme 4.1: Globalisation and tradeStrong: Comparative advantage, gains from trade, tariffs, quotas and the welfare effects of protectionism transfer directly through the international-trade sandbox. Trading blocs, the WTO and globalisation impacts are covered as concepts in the glossary; add EU/UK-specific context.
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AQA 4.2.6 The international economy: exchange rates / Edexcel Theme 4.1: Exchange rates and competitivenessStrong: Floating exchange-rate determination, appreciation/depreciation, and effects on the current account and competitiveness transfer well through the forex sandbox. Fixed and managed regimes get lighter treatment, so read those in your board's material.
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Edexcel Theme 3.1-3.2: Business growth and objectivesPartial: Profit maximisation, revenue maximisation and satisficing are covered as objectives, and the underlying cost/revenue analysis is strong. But organic vs inorganic growth, mergers, demergers and principal-agent detail are Edexcel-specific and lighter here. Look up the principal-agent problem and the types of integration in the glossary, then get the business-growth detail from your textbook.
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Edexcel Theme 4.3 & 4.5: Development economics and emerging economiesPartial: Development is largely outside AP, so EconLearn's coverage is limited to glossary terms (HDI, absolute vs relative poverty, the Harrod-Domar and Lewis models are not a focus). This whole Edexcel strand runs on your board's resources; use EconLearn only for the shared macro foundations behind it.
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A-Level and AP, side by side

Is AP Economics the same as A-Level Economics?: No, but the economic theory overlaps heavily. AP splits into Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and is US-centric (the Federal Reserve, US fiscal policy), assessed mostly with multiple choice and short structured free-response questions. A-Level (AQA, Edexcel) is UK-centric (the Bank of England, UK policy), spans micro and macro across every paper, and is assessed with data response and extended 25-mark evaluation essays. The diagrams and models are nearly identical; the exam skills and national context are not.
Can I use AP resources for A-Level Economics?: Yes, for the theory and especially the graphs. EconLearn's draggable sandboxes cover the supply and demand, elasticity, market structure, cost curve, AD-AS, money market, loanable funds, Phillips curve, trade and exchange-rate diagrams that AQA and Edexcel test, so it is excellent for learning how curves shift. Do not rely on it for UK institutions, UK policy examples, development economics, or the essay and evaluation technique that A-Level marks reward. Use AP resources for the models, your board's resources for the exam craft.
What is the difference between AQA and Edexcel A-Level Economics?: They test almost the same economics but organise and label it differently. AQA (7136) splits content into two sections, micro (Individuals, firms, markets and market failure) and macro (The national and international economy); note that AQA's own spec numbers these 3.1 and 3.2, while many teaching resources use the 4.1 / 4.2 convention this page follows. Edexcel (A) uses four Themes: Theme 1 markets and market failure, Theme 2 the UK economy, Theme 3 business behaviour and the labour market, Theme 4 a global perspective. Edexcel front-loads business behaviour and development economics; AQA weaves behavioural economics into micro. Both use 25-mark essays and both examine synoptically across topics at A-Level. EconLearn's mapping above covers both boards.
Will EconLearn help with the 25-mark evaluation essay?: Not directly. EconLearn builds the raw material for a good essay, the diagrams, definitions, models and the ability to explain how a change ripples through a market, which is the analysis (AO2/AO3) part of your answer. But it does not teach essay structure, chains of reasoning, the 'to what extent' judgement or the evaluation (AO4) that separates a top-band answer. Use EconLearn to master the theory and the graphs, then practise past 25-mark questions with your board's mark schemes to learn the technique.