IB Economics Tuition Online (SL and HL)
IB Economics at SL and HL, first assessed in 2022: microeconomics, macroeconomics and the global economy, the essay and data papers, Paper 3 at HL, and the commentaries.
Founder & Head of School, Afterkelas
Afterkelas teaches IB Economics online at SL and HL. University tutors run live classes, 1-to-1 or in small groups, on the four units, the diagrams and evaluation the papers reward, and the portfolio of commentaries.
What IB Economics covers
The four units and their subtopics, numbered as the guide numbers them within each unit. Subtopics marked HL only are HL extension material.
Unit 1: Introduction to economics
2 topics- What is economics?
- How do economists approach the world?
Unit 2: Microeconomics
12 topics- Demand
- Supply
- Competitive market equilibrium
- Critique of the maximizing behaviour of consumers and producers
- Elasticity of demand
- Elasticity of supply
- Role of government in microeconomics
- Market failure: externalities and common pool or common access resources
- Market failure: public goods
- Market failure: asymmetric information (HL only)
- Market failure: market power (HL only)
- The market's inability to achieve equity (HL only)
Unit 3: Macroeconomics
7 topics- Measuring economic activity and illustrating its variations
- Variations in economic activity: aggregate demand and aggregate supply
- Macroeconomic objectives
- Economics of inequality and poverty
- Demand management: monetary policy
- Demand management: fiscal policy
- Supply-side policies
Unit 4: The global economy
10 topics- Benefits of international trade
- Types of trade protection
- Arguments for and against trade control and protection
- Economic integration
- Exchange rates
- Balance of payments
- Sustainable development
- Measuring development
- Barriers to economic growth and economic development
- Economic growth and economic development strategies
Four units, three papers
The course moves from an introduction to microeconomics, macroeconomics and the global economy, with nine key concepts, among them scarcity, choice, efficiency and sustainability, running through all of it. SL sits an essay paper and a data response paper; HL adds Paper 3, a policy paper with quantitative questions, and covers extension material such as market power and asymmetric information.
Diagrams, data and evaluation
Paper 1 essays need accurate diagrams, real-world examples and evaluation; Paper 2 adds calculations from data. Most lost marks come from diagrams without full labels and from evaluation that lists points without weighing them. Tutors drill the standard diagrams and a routine for evaluation: the short and long run, the stakeholders affected, and the assumptions behind the model.
At HL, Paper 3 asks for calculations from data and a policy recommendation, so students practise turning numbers into a justified recommendation within the time.
The commentaries
The internal assessment is a portfolio of three commentaries, each on a news extract from a different unit and each using a different key concept, up to 800 words each. A tutor can explain the theory, the diagrams and the criteria, but choosing the articles and writing the commentaries is the student's own work.
A question, worked through
A calculation on price elasticity of demand, followed by the interpretation the mark scheme looks for.
Question
When the price of a good rises from $4.00 to $5.00, the quantity demanded falls from 1000 to 850 units a week. Calculate the price elasticity of demand and explain what happens to the firm's total revenue.
- Percentage change in quantity demanded = (850 − 1000) ÷ 1000 × 100% = −15%.
- Percentage change in price = (5.00 − 4.00) ÷ 4.00 × 100% = 25%.
- PED = −15% ÷ 25% = −0.6. Its absolute value is below 1, so demand is price inelastic.
- Total revenue rises from $4.00 × 1000 = $4000 to $5.00 × 850 = $4250, as expected when demand is inelastic and the price rises.
Answer PED = −0.6, so demand is inelastic; total revenue rises from $4000 to $4250.
Frequently asked questions
What does HL add in IB Economics?
Extension material such as market power, asymmetric information and some extra calculations, plus Paper 3, a policy paper with quantitative and qualitative questions.
Do you help with the commentaries?
With the economics behind them, yes: the theory, the diagrams and what the criteria reward. A tutor does not choose the articles or write any part of a commentary.
When should IB Economics tuition start?
Early in the first year, while demand, supply and elasticity are taught, since the rest of the course uses them.
How much does IB 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 level, the school and the latest predicted grade on WhatsApp, and you will get the current packages and a quote, usually within one working day.