Economics · Unit 1: Introduction to economics

EC1.1 — What is economics?

Economics · SL / HL · syllabus-mapped notes

1. EC1.1.1

   Economics as a social science

   Explain why economics counts as a social science, split it into micro and macro, and know the nine central concepts.

2. EC1.1.2

   The problem of choice

   Explain how scarcity forces choice and creates opportunity cost, name the four factors of production, and set out the three basic economic questions and the systems that answer them.

3. EC1.1.3

   The production possibilities curve model (PPC)

   Use the PPC to show scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, unemployment, efficiency and both kinds of growth, and explain what the curve’s shape says about opportunity cost.

4. EC1.1.4

   Modelling the economy

   Explain how households, firms, government, banks and the foreign sector are linked in the circular flow, and how leakages and injections change the size of that flow.