Verbatim quotes from 12 official Cambridge examiner reports (2023–2025). Every quote is attributable to a specific paper and session — these are the things Cambridge markers flag year after year.

Asserting points without explanation

Answers that simply state facts without any explanation are very unlikely to gain credit.

— Cambridge examiner, Paper 2, May/June 2023

Weak or absent evaluation

Effective evaluation was rare, and this is a skill most candidates need to acquire — they need to be able to use preceding analysis effectively to balance the respective arguments to form a balanced judgement.

— Cambridge examiner, Paper 2, March 2023

Not answering the specific question asked

The key weakness in some of the answers was that some candidates did not direct their response precisely to the question asked.

— Cambridge examiner, Paper 4, May/June 2023

See how to avoid these in the Economics 9708 exam guide

Avoid these

Most Common Mistakes — Economics (9708)

Based on analysis of 12 official Cambridge examiner reports (2023, 2025). Avoid these errors to maximise your marks.

Asserting points without explanation — stating facts without explaining WHY or HOW

Paper 2, Paper 4 · Mentioned in every examiner report across all sessions

Weak or absent evaluation — summaries mistaken for evaluation, no concluding judgement

Paper 2, Paper 4 · Flagged in every essay-based paper across all sessions

Not answering the specific question asked — writing pre-learned material instead of addressing the question

Paper 2, Paper 4 · Mentioned in 7 out of 8 examiner reports

Incorrect diagram labelling — wrong axis labels, missing labels, or wrong diagram type entirely

Paper 2, Paper 4 · Mentioned in every examiner report for Papers 2 and 4

Describing data point-by-point instead of identifying overall trends or changes

Paper 2, Paper 4 · Mentioned in every data response section across all sessions

Focus your revision

Topics Students Struggle With Most

Terms of trade

Confused with balance of trade in multiple sessions. 'Despite knowing the formula, proceed to discuss the value rather than the prices of exports and imports. Such answers can only gain 1 mark maximum.' (March 2025)

Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3

Comparative advantage calculations

Only 20% correct on MCQ. '41 per cent of candidates concluded that it was the other way around.' (May/June 2023). Absolute vs comparative advantage distinction not understood.

Paper 1, Paper 3

Multiplier and credit multiplier calculations

Only 22% correct. 'Those who chose option A may not have taken into account the extra increase in income created by a multiplier.' (Oct/Nov 2022)

Paper 3

Price elasticity of demand and total revenue relationship

Only 27% correct. Candidates cannot link PED to whether total revenue rises or falls when price changes. (May/June 2023)

Paper 1

Public goods vs merit goods

'A common misconception among candidates is that goods provided directly by the government are automatically public goods.' (May/June 2022). Non-rivalrous and non-excludable must be defined separately.

Paper 2

Monopsony labour market

'The overwhelming majority of candidates provided a diagram that did not relate specifically to a monopsonistic firm. Diagrams relating to a perfectly competitive labour market were provided instead.' (March 2025)

Paper 4

Income and substitution effects with indifference curves

'It was very difficult to distinguish the separate movements of the substitution effect and the income effect.' Indifference curves drawn crossing each other. (Oct/Nov 2021)

Paper 3, Paper 4

Keynesian consumption function and inflationary/deflationary gap

Only 19% correct on MCQ. Candidates ignore constants in the consumption function and cannot calculate equilibrium national income. (March 2025)

Paper 3

About

Economics (9708) — Cambridge AS & A Level Full Archive 2002–2026

This page contains all 1068 available papers for Cambridge A Level Economics (9708) — 60 exam sessions from 2002 to 2026. Each session includes question papers, mark schemes, and where available, examiner reports and grade threshold documents. All files are free to download as PDF — no account required.

Cambridge A Level Economics (9708) is examined through multiple paper components. Question papers are available in two or three variants per session (v1, v2, v3) — each variant is sat in a different time zone but covers the same syllabus content and is equivalent in difficulty. The paper number in the filename indicates which component: for example, 9708_qp_12 is Paper 1, Variant 2.

Mark schemes for 9708 show the exact marking points accepted by Cambridge examiners. Many questions have multiple acceptable phrasings — look for 'accept', 'allow', and 'credit' in the mark scheme to understand the full range of valid responses. Examiner reports (where available) reveal the most common errors made by the cohort and what top-band answers looked like, making them essential reading before the actual exam.

The most effective way to use this archive is to attempt past papers under timed exam conditions, then analyse your mark scheme results by component. Track which paper components and question types you score lowest on — this tells you exactly where to focus revision. Grade threshold documents show the minimum mark needed for each grade in that specific session, which helps calibrate how your practice scores translate to actual grades.

Same subject

Economics 9708 at other levels

Cambridge IGCSE Economics

Subject code: 0455

Cambridge O Level Economics

Subject code: 2281

FAQs

Questions, answered.

You can download all Cambridge Economics 9708 past papers right here on PapersDaddy. We have 60 exam sessions from 2002–2026 — including question papers, mark schemes, examiner reports, and grade thresholds for 9708. Click any session below to view and download PDFs.

Yes! Every Cambridge AS & A Level Economics (9708) exam session includes the corresponding mark scheme alongside the question paper. Mark schemes show exactly how marks are allocated, helping you understand what examiners look for in top-scoring answers.

Start with recent 9708 papers (2025–2023) to understand current trends. Practice under timed conditions, then mark yourself using the mark scheme. Read examiner reports to learn common mistakes. For targeted revision, use Economics 9708 topical past papers to focus on specific topics.

We have Cambridge AS & A Level Economics (9708) papers from May/June, October/November, and March sessions (where applicable), covering 2002–2026. That's 60 exam sessions in total.