Post-16 economics learning resources

We have curated a selection of resources to help teachers with students studying economics.

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We have put together some of our resources to help students learn about macroeconomics and the role of the Bank of England. These resources link to the GCSE and A level economics syllabus.

Introduction to the Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom

  • Monetary stability means stable prices and confidence in the pound.
  • Financial stability means an economy that works effectively, allowing people to make payments, borrow money, and feel confident about financial institutions, such as banks and insurers.

What does the Bank of England do?

Who owns the Bank of England

Who pays for the Bank of England

Monetary policy

Monetary policy is an action that central banks and governments take to influence how much money is in the economy and how much it costs to borrow.

As the UK’s central bank, we use two main monetary policy tools.

  1. We set the interest rate that we charge banks to borrow money from us. This is called Bank Rate.
  2. We create money digitally to buy corporate and government bonds. This is known as asset purchase or quantitative easing (QE).

We set monetary policy to achieve the Government’s target of keeping inflation at 2%.

Monetary policy affects how much prices are rising – called the rate of inflation. Low and stable inflation is good for the economy and it is our main monetary policy aim. 

Our ‘Keeping on an even keel’ video series explains how we support our economy and financial system. These short modules (about three minutes each) open in Youtube. Parts one, two and three of the series address monetary policy.

 

Financial stability

The economy is only healthy if people have confidence in financial institutions, such as banks, building societies and insurers. Our Financial Policy Committee (FPC) identifies, monitors and takes action to remove or reduce risks in the financial system. For example, if a bank goes out of business, we work hard to ensure its failure does not have a knock-on effect on other financial institutions. This helps to protect - and enhance - the resilience of the UK financial system.
 
We regulate and supervise financial firms through the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA is responsible for 1,500 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and investment firms. These companies must hold enough capital and have adequate risk controls. Close supervision of firms gives us an overview of their activities, meaning we can step in if they are not being run properly. 

Parts four, five and six of our ‘Keeping on an even keel’ video series discuss financial stability. These short modules (about three minutes each) open in Youtube.

Coronavirus

Learn more about the effect of coronavirus on the UK economy.

Explainers

Bite-size guides to explain key economic concepts in a simple and jargon-free way.

This page was last updated 27 June 2024