Foundation Economics Tuition Online (Essentials of Economics)
Essentials of Economics for foundation business and humanities students: demand and supply, consumer and producer theory, market structures and factor markets.
Founder & Head of School, Afterkelas
Afterkelas teaches foundation Economics online to students on university foundation programmes, for the Essentials of Economics course. University tutors run live classes, 1-to-1 or in small groups, working from the student's own course outline.
What foundation Economics covers
The nine topics MQA's curriculum guidelines set for Essentials of Economics. Universities order and name them in their own way, so tutors map them to the student's outline.
Essentials of Economics
9 topics- Introduction to economics
- Demand, supply and elasticity
- Market equilibrium
- Theory of consumer behaviour
- Theory of production
- Cost of production
- Market structure: perfect competition and monopoly
- Market structure: monopolistic competition and oligopoly
- Factor markets and the theory of distribution
How markets work, from both sides
Essentials of Economics starts with the basic problem of scarcity and choice, builds demand and supply with their elasticities, and puts them together in market equilibrium. It then looks at each side of the market in turn: consumer behaviour through utility, and producers through production and cost theory, including isoquants in the long run. The last third covers the four market structures and the markets for labour, capital and land.
The topics build on one another, so a gap in demand and supply shows up later in every market structure question.
Diagrams and calculations
A large share of Economics marks sits in diagrams and short calculations: shifting a curve and finding the new equilibrium, working out an elasticity, reading cost curves, finding the profit-maximising output where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. A diagram with unlabelled axes, or a curve shifted the wrong way, loses marks however good the explanation beside it.
Tutors drill the standard diagrams until each can be drawn from memory with every label in place, and fix the steps of each calculation so they become reliable marks.
Working from your course outline
Universities write their own foundation courses within MQA's guidelines, so topic names and order differ, and some add macroeconomics. The tutor starts from the student's outline and past assessments and uses the list above as a shared map.
A question, worked through
A market equilibrium question with a price ceiling. Setting demand equal to supply is the first step; the ceiling question tests what happens below equilibrium.
Question
In a market, demand is Qd = 100 − 2P and supply is Qs = 20 + 2P, where P is the price in RM. (a) Find the equilibrium price and quantity. (b) The government sets a maximum price of RM15. What happens in the market?
- (a) At equilibrium Qd = Qs: 100 − 2P = 20 + 2P, so 80 = 4P and P = RM20.
- Quantity: Q = 100 − 2(20) = 60 units, and the supply equation gives the same 20 + 2(20) = 60.
- (b) At RM15, below equilibrium: Qd = 100 − 30 = 70 units and Qs = 20 + 30 = 50 units.
- Quantity demanded exceeds quantity supplied by 20 units, so the ceiling creates a shortage of 20 units.
Answer (a) RM20 and 60 units. (b) A shortage of 20 units at the RM15 ceiling.
Frequently asked questions
I did not take Ekonomi for SPM. Can I cope with foundation Economics?
Yes. Essentials of Economics starts from the basics, scarcity, choice and demand and supply, but it moves at university pace, so early practice with diagrams and calculations helps.
Do you follow my university's course outline?
Yes. Names and order differ between universities, and some courses add macroeconomics, so the tutor works from the outline and past assessments the student shares.
When should foundation Economics tuition start?
In the first weeks of the semester, while demand, supply and elasticity are taught, since every later topic uses them.
How much does foundation Economics tuition cost?
The fee depends on the format (1-to-1 or a small group), how many classes a week and the tutor, so there is no single figure. Send an academic advisor the university, the course code and the latest assessment results on WhatsApp, and you will get the current packages and a quote, usually within one working day.