AQA Specification focus:
‘Detailed knowledge of UK and EU competition law is not required.’
Introduction
This section explains why detailed legal knowledge of competition law is not needed for AQA A-Level Economics, while still ensuring students grasp essential principles and economic relevance.
The Scope of Study
The AQA specification emphasises the general principles of UK competition policy and some awareness of EU competition policy. Importantly, students do not need to memorise specific Acts of Parliament, case names, or the intricacies of legal procedures. Instead, the focus is on applying economic reasoning to understand how competition policy affects markets, firms, and consumers.
Why Legal Detail is Excluded
The exclusion of legal detail serves several purposes:
It reduces unnecessary complexity for A-Level students.
It ensures attention is on economic theory and evaluation rather than legal memorisation.
It allows teaching time to be devoted to understanding the impacts of competition policy rather than technicalities.
Core Understanding Required
Although detailed statutes are unnecessary, students should still grasp key economic objectives and outcomes of competition policy. These include:
Preventing monopoly power from reducing consumer welfare.
Encouraging market efficiency by promoting competition.
Supporting innovation and productivity through a competitive environment.
Protecting consumers from exploitative pricing and unfair practices.
These outcomes can be understood and analysed without reference to legal codes.
The UK Context
Key Institutions
Students should be aware of the existence of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK's primary regulator responsible for investigating and addressing anti-competitive practices and mergers. Understanding its role aids in linking policy theory to real-world enforcement. Source
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA): The UK’s primary regulator responsible for investigating and addressing anti-competitive practices and mergers.
While students do not need to learn its full statutory powers, recognising its role helps link policy theory to real-world enforcement.
Policy in Practice
The CMA intervenes in markets by:
Investigating cartels and collusion.
Reviewing mergers to prevent dominance.
Imposing fines or structural remedies on firms acting against the public interest.
These processes can be understood conceptually, without legal intricacies.
EU Competition Policy Awareness
Although the UK has left the European Union, the specification notes that students should have some awareness of EU competition policy. This awareness should be broad and conceptual:
The EU aims to maintain a single market free from restrictive practices.
It enforces rules on state aid, preventing governments from giving unfair advantages to domestic firms.
The European Commission plays a central role in applying these rules.
This diagram showcases the relationships between key European institutions, highlighting the interconnectedness that underpins EU competition policy. While it offers a structural overview, detailed legal mechanisms are not specified. Source
State Aid: Financial assistance given by a government to firms, which may distort competition by favouring one business over another.
Again, legal provisions are not necessary—students need only the economic rationale.
Economic Focus over Legal Detail
Why this Matters for A-Level
The AQA course is economics-centred, not law-centred. Therefore, assessment focuses on:
Applying economic models to competition policy situations.
Evaluating effectiveness of interventions on consumer welfare, efficiency, and innovation.
Considering the trade-offs between regulation and free-market operation.
Analytical Tools
Students should be comfortable using diagrams and theory to analyse policy impacts, such as:
Monopoly vs competitive market structures.
Deadweight welfare loss from reduced competition.
Allocative and productive efficiency improvements under stronger competition.
These models are sufficient for strong answers without legal references.
Examples without Legal Complexity
Students may be presented with case studies of competition policy in action. While legal rulings may be mentioned in real-world examples, exam answers do not require knowledge of the exact statutes or case law. Instead, students should:
Identify the economic problem (e.g. abuse of monopoly power).
Explain the policy response (e.g. blocking a merger).
Evaluate the economic impact (on efficiency, consumer choice, innovation).
This ensures answers remain focused on economic analysis.
Evaluation of Competition Policy
When evaluating competition policy, students should consider both its benefits and its drawbacks. These do not rely on legal technicalities but rather on broader economic reasoning.
Benefits:
Protects consumers from exploitation.
Enhances efficiency in markets.
Encourages innovation.
Drawbacks:
Regulatory costs can be high.
Intervention may discourage economies of scale.
Risk of regulatory capture, where regulators act in favour of firms rather than the public.
Regulatory Capture: When a regulator acts in the interests of the industry it regulates, rather than the consumers or the wider economy.
This type of evaluative discussion is central to the exam and does not require knowledge of precise legal details.
Key Exam Application
Students should be able to:
Discuss how and why governments regulate markets through competition policy.
Apply economic models to show potential outcomes.
Evaluate effectiveness of intervention without reference to statutes.
Thus, while awareness of institutions and broad EU/UK policy goals is necessary, legal knowledge is explicitly not required, as per the specification.
FAQ
The AQA course is designed to assess students’ understanding of economic reasoning rather than memorisation of legal codes.
Excluding legal detail ensures focus remains on:
Economic theory.
Market behaviour.
Policy impacts on efficiency, innovation, and consumer welfare.
This avoids making the subject overly complex and keeps attention on applying economics to real-world contexts.
Students should prioritise the broad economic functions of competition policy. Key areas include:
The prevention of monopoly power.
Encouragement of market efficiency.
Protection of consumer interests.
The role of institutions like the CMA and European Commission.
These provide sufficient depth for analysis without needing detailed statutes.
Examiners may use case studies or scenarios involving firms and markets.
Students might be asked to:
Identify economic problems, such as collusion or mergers.
Suggest the competition policy response.
Evaluate outcomes for efficiency, consumers, and innovation.
Legal citations are unnecessary; the focus is economic analysis.
The EU remains a major trading partner, and its rules affect firms operating in European markets.
Many UK businesses continue to follow EU regulations to trade smoothly. Awareness helps students understand international competition dynamics and the continuing influence of EU policy frameworks.
Overemphasis on legal statutes can lead to:
Wasted revision time on non-assessable material.
Missing the economic analysis required for higher marks.
Confusion in applying law instead of evaluating outcomes.
Students should keep answers centred on economics, models, and evaluation, not legal technicalities.
Practice Questions
What is the role of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK? (2 marks)
1 mark for identifying that the CMA is the UK’s competition regulator.
1 mark for stating a key function such as investigating anti-competitive behaviour, reviewing mergers, or protecting consumer welfare.
Explain why AQA A-Level Economics students are not required to know the detailed legal framework of UK and EU competition law, but are still expected to understand the economic principles behind competition policy. (6 marks)
1 mark for recognising that the specification excludes detailed legal knowledge.
1 mark for stating that the focus is instead on general principles or awareness of competition policy.
1–2 marks for explaining that legal detail would add unnecessary complexity at A-Level or that the course is economics-focused, not law-focused.
1–2 marks for explaining what students should understand instead (e.g. economic objectives such as efficiency, consumer welfare, innovation, or preventing monopoly power).
1 mark for a coherent and well-structured explanation that links back to the syllabus focus.
(Maximum 6 marks)
