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What's HL Economics like?


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Hi,

Next year is my first year of IB. I've decided I will do Economics as it is a subject that really interests me. Unfortunately Economics in the current system I'm in is a major bum subject so in the past I've elected not to do it(I've looked at the textbook it's literally a whole year of supply and demand curves). I'm interested in covering a broader range that i believe IB provides (correct me if I'm wrong) I'm not worried about SL, however I'm exploring the possibility of doing it as a HL course. Does HL require prior knowledge? Do you think I can manage, not having done economics before (I have an understanding of the basic concepts, I just haven't been taught it in a class)

Any feedback on your experience with IB Economics would be really helpful.

Thank you :)

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To be honest, I find economics really easy and I (as well as the rest of my class) puts in absolute minimal effort. Its that one subject that you SHOULD study for, but because its that bit easier, it kinda loses priority and you end up doing the harder work instead. Don't get me wrong, I plan to stard studying a lot harder soon, but the content is really not that difficult. (Note: i am certainly not advocating that you slack off! Try hard, put in effort, and you'll do fine)The critical thing is that you follow the syllabus. If you study efficiently, following the syllabus exactly, you shouldn't have to spend too much time on it. Furthermore, its really enjoyable and interesting. As for not having any prior experience, my school doesn't even offer it prior to IB and people don't struggle at all. Definetly no prior experience required. Higher level is a bit more maths orientated than standard level, but its nothing too complicated. I'm doing Maths Studies and I find the maths in economics straightfoward. Good luck!

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The economics syllabus has an introduction to economics chapter at the very beginning because the IB knows that most people have never taken economics before. So don't worry about lack of experience, it's not a problem. I also had never taken economics before doing the IB and it kind of made me nervous but knowing that everyone else in my class was in the same boat as me was comforting. In the end it wasn't a problem since the IB syllabus pretty much starts from scratch anyways (you learn about the origins of the supply/demand curves, etc.)

I didn't take econ HL but I took SL and it's not a hard course provided you study when you need to. Econ doesn't really require reading over your notes every day or anything like that; if you pay attention in class and have a good teacher, you won't need to study like crazy. I only studied for econ tests the night before and it worked out fine. SL doesn't have many tricky concepts but I think HL has a few based on what I've heard from my friends in HL.

Also you should practice drawing diagrams when studying. Don't just look at them, but actually close your book and try to replicate the whole thing yourself, complete with all labels/titles. Labels were something that I found hard to remember because some diagrams had a loooooot of them (like tariff diagrams...). So don't study diagrams passively, a good diagram can save your grade if your explanation isn't the greatest.

As for the math...well if you can add, subtract, multiply and divide, you're fine. They are making the syllabus more mathematical but there won't be calculus or anything like that.

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Hey! I'm IB 1 and I'm doing HL Economics. Economics is a really interesting subject, however, if ur not organized, I wouldn't do it... You have to be methodical, clean and pretty precise. If I can recommend anything, its buy the Matt McGee economics book "Economics in terms of the good, the bad and the economist". Its really clear and helpful!

Anyway, good luck !!

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Hi,

Next year is my first year of IB. I've decided I will do Economics as it is a subject that really interests me. Unfortunately Economics in the current system I'm in is a major bum subject so in the past I've elected not to do it(I've looked at the textbook it's literally a whole year of supply and demand curves). I'm interested in covering a broader range that i believe IB provides (correct me if I'm wrong) I'm not worried about SL, however I'm exploring the possibility of doing it as a HL course. Does HL require prior knowledge? Do you think I can manage, not having done economics before (I have an understanding of the basic concepts, I just haven't been taught it in a class)

Any feedback on your experience with IB Economics would be really helpful.

Thank you :)

I think you should go for it! Especially if you only have three HL's. I'm taking Economics HL online and I think it's absolutely fantastic! I don't think it's easy, but that might be because I have 4 HL's. I think you can do Econ HL without any prior knowledge, but I DID come into this with quite a bit of prior knowledge, so I wouldn't know what it feels like to learn this from scratch and in IB at the same time. I think a lot of people in Econ forget to prioritize it and end up falling behind and failing - At least that is what happened in my class. (On the other hand, this might have a lot to do with the fact that it is online, and you need a lot of self discipline to be able to keep up with studies online). I really think you would like it!

Edited by Babydolleyes
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  • 1 month later...

Economics HL is the easiest subject you will probably study in the next two years. The concepts are really simple to grasp, especially those of microeconomics. You won't require much prior knowledge because the subject starts off with the basics. But you'll have to be able to analyse situations and have a good understanding and interpretation of graphs as they are a major part of the syllabus. I have a horrible teacher who's classes I hardly attend, but I still find it pretty simple reading from the book as it is easy and self explanatory. I suggest you go for it. It is a cakewalk !

Edited by Jai Khanna
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I got a 6 in Economics HL and I can't say I studied a lot, just looked through my notes few days before the exam. As long as you understand how the things work (really understand not just draw the diagrams that are on the board), it's fine. I was stunned that I got a 6 since I felt I had written crap in both exam papers and the IA.

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I studied Economics HL without any prior knowledge of the subject and easily managed a 7. Tbh, it's a course requiring little hard work and mostly memorisation of definitions and practising some graphs. If that sort of thing is easy for you, Economics HL will not even be a challenge. If that's not your strong suit, then it might be a little daunting at first, but the manner in which the course is designed, you cover an entire Unit 1 of the syllabus doing an "Introduction to Economics" where you start with the definitions of Demand and Supply and how their interact, etc. You then move onto more complex stuff with Microeconomics, then Macro (which I struggled with initially), then Economics in context with the International module and Developmental Economics. A complete novice like me soared through the course and coursework and so anyone can do it.

Best of luck!

Arrowhead.

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Hey! I'm IB 1 and I'm doing HL Economics. Economics is a really interesting subject, however, if ur not organized, I wouldn't do it... You have to be methodical, clean and pretty precise. If I can recommend anything, its buy the Matt McGee economics book "Economics in terms of the good, the bad and the economist". Its really clear and helpful!

Anyway, good luck !!

Haha I disagree! I am really disorganized, barely studied, didn't really know anything about graphs and started studying a day before the exams (stupid, I know). I still managed to get a 5 though!

I think it's more about grasping the concepts and knowing how you can relate it to real-life situations. There are so many examples out there that makes studying Economics so easy! That's why its so different and easy for most people. You don't have to keep yourself to the book like most IB subjects because all you have to do is relate the concepts to the stuff that happens around you and it's stuck in your head! There is no special mind set needed in my opinion :)

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  • 6 months later...

1) What is the difference between SL and HL economics?

2) Would you consider it a subject as demanding as Art or Physics or Maths at HL?

3) Is Economics a necessary subject at this stage? Many people have voiced to me that it can be easily picked up at university.

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1) SL covers less syllabus than HL. Way less in fact.

2) Definitely not as demanding as Maths HL. Don't know about Art, but I am guessing Art has a bigger workload since you have to do a lot of art pieces and stuff. That is entirely up to if the person likes the course or not also.

3) Depends what your interest are or what you are considering studying Economics in university. If you study it in the IB you'll have an easier time in university in the beginning, because what you learn in university in the first year is basically the same as IB Economics with a lot more math.

On another note I have to say that I disagree with a lot of people in this thread on Economics HL being easy. In class and while reading I understand what is going on and the concepts are pretty easy to remember. However, during tests I do badly because I cannot seem to remember everything and make connections in my head between the different concepts. That is something that can be tricky with Economics; remembering all the concepts and making sure that you will remember the graphs and are able to understand them really well. What I love about Economics is the Internal Assessment Commentaries. They are a really great way of applying theory to something that is 'real' and analysing what is happening. That gives a lot of understanding and might help a lot to understand how the theory works in reality. Something I really dislike about economics is the unrealistic models and theories. One example could be perfect competition in which all the goods are homogenous (equal in ALL aspects) and are sold at the same price. This doesn't make any sense, and is not possible in the real world. It is just irrelevant and doesn't teach us anything that we can every apply to reality.

Edited by dniviE
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  • 4 years later...

Hi,

Economics HL requires you to have an extra paper on the exam, which consist calculation problems. I dont think you need prior knowledge, I think that you need effective math skills. The question of the second question usually refers to the answer of your first question. Also graphing in a short ammount of time are prone to take your attention away to details that may reduce your score.

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1 minute ago, Wira87 said:

Hi,

Economics HL requires you to have an extra paper on the exam, which consist calculation problems. I dont think you need prior knowledge, I think that you need effective math skills. The question of the second question usually refers to the answer of your first question. Also graphing in a short ammount of time are prone to take your attention away to details that may reduce your score.

 

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