Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91400 about?

Accepted Answer

This standard asks you to explain how different types of markets (like monopolies and perfect competition) make decisions about what price to charge and how much to produce, using the idea of marginal analysis. You need to show whether these market structures produce efficiently and use graphs to support your explanations with specific labels and numbers.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91400?

Accepted Answer

1. Use marginal analysis (comparing marginal revenue to marginal cost) to explain how firms decide their output and price in monopolies and perfect competition 2. Draw and label economic graphs accurately, showing key points like where marginal cost meets marginal revenue, and use specific labels as reference points in your written answers 3. Link the characteristics of each market structure (like barriers to entry, number of competitors) directly to explain why prices, profits, and output levels are what they are 4. Explain whether each market structure is allocatively efficient by discussing whether it reaches the point where demand equals supply, and identify any deadweight loss 5. Compare and contrast how short-run and long-run outcomes differ in monopolies versus perfect competition, and how cost changes affect output decisions

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91400?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You identify the key aspects of marginal analysis (like MR = MC for profit-maximisation), make basic graph changes with labelling, and explain allocative efficiency by noting whether D = S or if deadweight loss exists. Merit: You explain the 'why' and 'how' with specific graph references, show accurate graphs, and use examples to demonstrate that fixed costs don't affect marginal cost while variable costs do. Excellence: You compare and contrast outcomes across different situations, give multiple valid reasons for your answers, use phrases like 'at the original output, MR > MC means the firm is missing marginal profits,' and integrate all graph details with accurate economic terminology throughout.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91400?

Accepted Answer

1. Not using marginal analysis at all in your responses, or only referring to characteristics of market structures without explaining how those characteristics actually affect pricing and output decisions 2. Making careless errors on graphs—especially failing to show where marginal cost and average cost curves meet at the minimum point, or incorrectly shading areas of profit/loss and deadweight loss 3. Misunderstanding natural monopolies—confusing why they have downward-sloping average cost curves, or incorrectly stating that perfect competitors have 'weak' or 'low' barriers to exit rather than 'no barriers'

Market structures

Your assessment resources

More in this subject

Other Economics standards · Level 3 · Year 13

Foundations — Economics Level 2 · Year 12

Videos & study resources

Related standards