BCSF #Economics ISSUE 2.1
OCTOBER 2026
BC6F Economic Times In this episode... Growth of Strava
Welcome new students Economist spotlight GTA6 is coming Quizanomics Revision #YouTuber
Strava’s acquisition of Runna: In April 2025, fitness platform Strava announced the acquisition of Runna, a UK-based running-coaching app offering personalised training plans. The takeover represents an example of external growth, where a firm expands by acquiring another business rather than relying solely on organic (internal) growth. One major reason for the acquisition is not only the explosion in running popularity amongst gen Z, but also economies of scale. Strava already had a huge global user base, with more than 150 million users, while Runna had specialised expertise in personalised running coaching. By combining these resources, Strava can potentially spread costs such as technology, marketing and research and development across a larger customer base, reducing average costs. The takeover also provides synergies. Runna fills a gap in Strava's existing product offering: Strava is particularly strong at recording activities, social networking and analysing performance, whereas Runna specialises in structured training plans and coaching. Combining these complementary strengths could create greater value than either business operating independently. This is an example of economies of scope, where producing a wider range of related services can lower average costs or increase revenue. However, there are potential diseconomies of scale. As the organisation becomes larger, communication and coordination can become more difficult, potentially increasing average costs. There is also an opportunity cost: Strava's financial resources could have been used for internal investment or acquiring another business.
Overall, the acquisition appears to be a growth strategy rather than a cost-cutting strategy. Strava stated that it planned to invest in Runna's team and product, suggesting the objective is to achieve dynamic efficiency, innovation and long-term revenue growth.
Student questions Explain two possible reasons why Strava chose to acquire Runna rather than rely on organic (internal) growth (5) Assess whether external growth is always a more effective strategy than organic growth for firms operating in digital markets such as Strava (10)
BC6F Economic Times
Making the best start to the academic year Year 12—New students to studying Economics - welcome! To help you make the best possible start to studying Economics at A level here are some simple tips to get you started on your journey. 1) Get organised. It is important to get yourself a folder (separate micro & macro notes) and keep on top of filing away worksheets and your own class notes. This will help you to learn the content early on as you will come across lots of new terms and topics in your first few weeks. 2) Be intrigued, ask questions, watch the news and read articles to learn content and application 3) Contribute in class. This will help with your confidence, knowledge recall and also help to build a positive relationship with your teacher along with building your oracy skills & confidence 4) Subscribe to Mr Wright’s YouTube channel Year 13 Consolidate your notes and theory from year 12—this is fundamental to succeeding at A level as the exams are linear. Make reading examiner reports and model answers part of your regular revision. This will provide you a great foundation of what the examiners are typically looking for in the examinations and can help you to avoid common pitfalls. Get ready for the pre xmas trial—likely to be 2 hours, 100 marks with a section A, B & C i.e. a full paper! You must be proactive in asking for help, printing out exam questions, writing in timed conditions and handing in work to be marked (without us asking for it)
Economist spotlight— John Maynard Keynes: The Economist Who Changed Modern Governments
Few economists have had as much influence on the modern world as John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). Born in Cambridge, Keynes became one of the most important thinkers in economic history. His ideas transformed the way governments respond to economic crises and continue to shape policy today. Keynes rose to prominence during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment and poverty affected millions of people around the world. At the time, many economists believed that markets would eventually correct themselves. Keynes disagreed. He argued that during severe economic downturns, governments should step in by increasing spending and investing in public projects. This extra spending, he believed, would create jobs, boost demand, and help economies recover more quickly. His most influential work, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), laid the foundations of what became known as Keynesian economics.
GTA VI: The Economics behind one of the biggest launches ever!
The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) on 19 November 2026 provides an excellent real-world example of several A-level Economics concepts, including economies of scale, barriers to entry, pricing strategies, sunk costs, abnormal profit and the growth of firms. Developed by Rockstar Games, GTA VI has already generated large consumer interest, with pre-orders opening in June 2026. The standard US price is $79.99. One of the most striking economic features is the huge sunk cost involved in producing a modern video game. Estimates suggest , spending around $1–1.5bn developing GTA VI. Once this money has been spent, it cannot be recovered regardless of how many copies are eventually sold. This creates significant financial risk, meaning Rockstar needs very high sales to cover its fixed development costs and achieve abnormal profit. However, GTA VI demonstrates the importance of economies of scale. The extremely high fixed costs of development can be spread across millions of units sold, causing the average unit cost per game to fall. Rockstar can also exploit its existing technology, expertise & global distribution networks. This creates substantial barriers to entry, as a new firm would need billions of dollars, skilled workers and an established reputation to compete with Rockstar. The pricing of GTA VI also demonstrates price discrimination and product differentiation. The standard edition costs $79.99 in the US, while more expensive editions offer additional content. This allows Take-Two to extract more consumer surplus from consumers with a higher willingness to pay.
GTA VI could also generate substantial dynamic efficiency. Rockstar has invested heavily in technology and development, potentially creating innovations that improve the quality of the product. However, the strategy involves substantial opportunity cost. Billions of dollars and years of development could have been invested in alternative games or projects. There is also the risk of diseconomies of scale, delays and changing consumer preferences.
Student questions Explain how Rockstar has used the four factors of production in the development of GTA VI (5) Explain how Rockstar's strong brand loyalty may affect the price elasticity of demand for GTA VI (5) Discuss whether profit maximisation is the most likely objective of Rockstar in launching GTA VI (10) Analyse two possible reasons, why a firm as large as Rockstar could still experience diseconomies of scale despite its success and reputation (8)
BC6F Economic Times
Quizanomics
Economics revision Tutor2u have great revision notes and slides/PowerPoints on their website and YouTube channel & I would recommend you are proactive in revising (Little & often is better than cramming) Last year, Mr Wright joined the YouTube game. With a view of creating exam focussed clips and helping you to answer questions, go over exam technique, modelling of student work with common exam pitfalls along with ‘diagram of the week’ - new for 2026 Like & subscribe using the QR code
Thank you to all students that have either contributed to this magazine or sent me an article/ activity for future ones. If you would like to help out and get involved come and see me or email—Aiden Wright It should be everyone’s goal to contribute at least once—it will help to broaden your economic knowledge/build application skills and show dedication to the course/your studies and form part of your extra curriculum teacher reference.