IB DEMYSTIFIED

Examinars . Modirators . Authors

Menu
Book Meeting
📈
IB Economics›Economics SL
Revision Notes

IB Economics SL

Clear, student-friendly revision notes for every sub-topic of the IB Economics course — microeconomics, macroeconomics and the global economy — with the diagrams, definitions and evaluation points Papers 1 and 2 actually ask for.

Economics SL · Revision Notes

Table of Contents

Click any unit to expand, then open a sub-topic to see its notes.

5units31sub-topics86revision notes
1

Introduction to Economics

The economic problem, the models economists use, and how they think.

6 notesâ–¾
1.1

What Economics Is About

4â–¾
Economics as a Social Science→ Scarcity, Choice and Opportunity Cost→ The Production Possibilities Curve→ The Circular Flow of Income→
1.2

How Economists Approach the World

2â–¾
Positive and Normative Economics→ Where Economic Ideas Came From→
2

Microeconomics

How individual markets work, and what happens when they fail.

22 notesâ–¾
2.1

Demand

2â–¾
The Law of Demand and the Demand Curve→ What Shifts a Demand Curve→
2.2

Supply

2â–¾
The Law of Supply and the Supply Curve→ What Shifts a Supply Curve→
2.3

Competitive Market Equilibrium

3â–¾
Finding Market Equilibrium→ How the Price Mechanism Allocates Resources→ Consumer Surplus, Producer Surplus and Efficiency→
2.4

Price Elasticity of Demand

2â–¾
Price Elasticity of Demand→ PED, Total Revenue and Decision Making→
2.5

Income Elasticity of Demand

1â–¾
Income Elasticity of Demand→
2.6

Price Elasticity of Supply

1â–¾
Price Elasticity of Supply→
2.7

Government Intervention in Markets

4â–¾
Why Governments Intervene in Markets→ Indirect Taxes and Subsidies→ Price Ceilings and Price Floors→ Regulation, Direct Provision and Nudges→
2.8

Market Failure: Externalities and Common Pool Resources

6â–¾
What Market Failure Means→ Negative Externalities and Demerit Goods→ Positive Externalities and Merit Goods→ Common Pool Resources and the Tragedy of the Commons→ Government Responses to Externalities→ International Cooperation on Sustainability→
2.9

Market Failure: Public Goods

1â–¾
Public Goods and the Free Rider Problem→
3

Macroeconomics

Measuring the whole economy, and the policies used to steer it.

29 notesâ–¾
3.1

Measuring Economic Activity

5â–¾
GDP, GNI and National Income Accounting→ Real, Nominal and Per Capita Measures→ The Business Cycle→ Does GDP Measure Well-being?→ Measuring Well-being Beyond GDP→
3.2

Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply

6â–¾
Aggregate Demand and Its Components→ What Shifts Aggregate Demand→ Short-Run Aggregate Supply→ The Monetarist and Keynesian Views of Supply→ What Shifts Long-Run Aggregate Supply→ Macroeconomic Equilibrium and Output Gaps→
3.3

Macroeconomic Objectives

7â–¾
Economic Growth as an Objective→ Measuring Unemployment and Its Causes→ The Costs of Unemployment→ Measuring Inflation with the CPI→ Causes and Costs of Inflation→ Deflation and Disinflation→ Conflicts Between Macroeconomic Objectives→
3.4

Inequality and Poverty

4â–¾
Equality, Equity and Economic Inequality→ Measuring Inequality: Lorenz Curve and Gini Index→ Poverty and How It Is Measured→ Taxation and Policies to Reduce Inequality→
3.5

Monetary Policy

2â–¾
How Monetary Policy Works→ Evaluating Monetary Policy→
3.6

Fiscal Policy

2â–¾
How Fiscal Policy Works→ Evaluating Fiscal Policy→
3.7

Supply-Side Policies

3â–¾
Market-Based Supply-Side Policies→ Interventionist Supply-Side Policies→ Evaluating Supply-Side Policies→
4

The Global Economy

Trade, exchange rates, and what makes economies develop.

22 notesâ–¾
4.1

Benefits of International Trade

1â–¾
Why Countries Trade→
4.2

Types of Trade Protection

2â–¾
Tariffs and Quotas→ Subsidies and Administrative Barriers→
4.3

Arguments For and Against Protection

2â–¾
The Case for Trade Protection→ The Case Against Trade Protection→
4.4

Economic Integration

3â–¾
Preferential Trade Agreements and the WTO→ Trading Blocs and How They Differ→ Monetary Union→
4.5

Exchange Rates

3â–¾
Floating Exchange Rates→ What Moves a Currency→ Fixed and Managed Exchange Rates→
4.6

Balance of Payments

2â–¾
What the Balance of Payments Records→ How the Accounts Fit Together→
4.7

Sustainable Development

1â–¾
Sustainable Development and the SDGs→
4.8

Measuring Development

2â–¾
Single Indicators of Development→ Composite Indicators: HDI and Beyond→
4.9

Barriers to Growth and Development

2â–¾
Poverty Traps and Economic Barriers→ Political and Social Barriers→
4.10

Growth and Development Strategies

4â–¾
Trade and Market-Based Strategies→ Interventionist Strategies and Foreign Aid→ Institutions, Governance and Development→ Evaluating Development Strategies→
5

Assessment and Exam Skills

What each paper asks for, and how to write answers that actually score.

7 notesâ–¾
5.1

The Two Papers

2â–¾
What Paper 1 Asks You to Do→ What Paper 2 Asks You to Do→
5.2

Skills Examiners Reward

1â–¾
The Skills Every Answer Should Show→
5.3

Answering Each Question Type

4â–¾
Writing a Strong 4-Mark Answer→ Getting Calculation Questions Right→ Structuring a Paper 1 Essay→ Structuring the Paper 2 Response→

Stuck on Economics?

Get 1-on-1 tutoring from IB Economics specialists who know exactly what Papers 1 & 2 are looking for.

Book Free Session →

IB Demystified is a trusted online learning platform led by certified IB examiners and educators.

Quick Links

Contact us

  • +44 (0) 7700 1010 59
  • info@ibdemystified.com
  • 3, Brickhouse Road, Rowley Regis West Midlands Birmingham B65 8HD GB

Follow us

Facebook Tiktok Youtube Linkedin Instagram

© 2026 IB Demystified LTD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Powered by AfiaDigital