AQA A-Level Economics: The Economic Problem

A lively, enquiry-led introduction to the economic problem for AQA A-level Economics, designed to fit comfortably within a 60-minute lesson.

Students explore the question “Why can’t an economy produce everything people want?” through accessible discussion, quick checks and real-world examples. The lesson moves from needs and wants to goods and services, the factors of production, scarcity and the fundamental choices of what, how and for whom to produce.

Activities include the “million pounds” thought experiment, a pizza restaurant resource challenge, quick classification tasks and a final NHS hospital application that gets students using the economics independently.

The accompanying worksheet is designed to minimise copying and keep students thinking, with concise notes, continuous tasks and the Apply activity built in. A streamlined teacher guide supports questioning and pacing without overloading the lesson.

This lesson follows Economic Methodology and leads directly into Opportunity Cost. Check out the other lessons in the sequence.