ECONOMICS · IB Diploma Programme
ECONOMICS/11
Paper 1
Economics · 2024 · Variant 1
Relative difficulty
Analysis source: International Baccalaureate Organization
Analysis aligned to the official syllabus and assessment design.
3.5 / 5
65
180 min
Economic growth and/or economic development strategies
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
Total marks
65
Duration
180 min
Session difficulty
3.5 / 5
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
The May 2024 IB Economics Standard Level examination represents a balanced, highly curriculum-aligned paper that is highly accessible but demands rigorous execution.
With a difficulty index of 3.5, it offers standard entry-level definition questions alongside sophisticated multi-step quantitative tasks and policy evaluation essays.
The paper rewards students who demonstrate exceptional precision in their diagrammatic constructions and those who can seamlessly synthesize real-world case studies within a structured macroeconomic or microeconomic framework.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
No data available in official reports
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
No data available in official reports
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
Report type
IB subject report — grade distributions, IA weighting, and HL/SL distinctions
Level 7
Excellent — top band for competitive university offers
Level 6
Very good — strong HL performance
Level 5
Good — solid pass at higher level
Level 4
Satisfactory — minimum for many university credits
Level 3
Mediocre
Level 2
Poor
Level 1
Very poor
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
No data available in official reports
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
Economic growth and/or economic development strategies
29 marks this session
Exchange rates
19 marks this session
Role of government in microeconomics
19 marks this session
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Economic growth and/or economic development strategies
Role of government in microeconomics
Macroeconomic objectives
Measuring economic activity and illustrating its variations
Supply-side policies
Exchange rates
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
Paper 1 (Standard Level):
Paper 2 (Higher Level and Standard Level):
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Economic growth and/or economic development strategies
29 marks this session
Practise in RevuiExchange rates
19 marks this session
Practise in RevuiRole of government in microeconomics
19 marks this session
Practise in RevuiSelf-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
The May 2024 IB Economics Standard Level examination represents a balanced, highly curriculum-aligned paper that is highly accessible but demands rigorous execution.
- 2Message
With a difficulty index of 3.5, it offers standard entry-level definition questions alongside sophisticated multi-step quantitative tasks and policy evaluation essays.
- 3Message
The paper rewards students who demonstrate exceptional precision in their diagrammatic constructions and those who can seamlessly synthesize real-world case studies within a structured macroeconomic or microeconomic framework.
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
2024 2024
Economics
The May 2024 IB Economics Standard Level examination represents a balanced, highly curriculum-aligned paper that is highly accessible but demands rigorous execution. With a difficulty index of 3.5, it offers standard entry-level definition questions alongside sophisticated multi-
The May 2024 IB Economics Standard Level examination represents a balanced, highly curriculum-aligned paper that is highly accessible but demands rigorous execution.
With a difficulty index of 3.5, it offers standard entry-level definition questions alongside sophisticated multi-step quantitative tasks and policy evaluation essays.
The paper rewards students who demonstrate exceptional precision in their diagrammatic constructions and those who can seamlessly synthesize real-world case studies within a structured macroeconomic or microeconomic framework.
- Total marks
- 65
- Duration
- 180 min
- Session difficulty
- 3.5 / 5
Session analysis
The May 2024 IB Economics Standard Level examination represents a balanced, highly curriculum-aligned paper that is highly accessible but demands rigorous execution. With a difficulty index of 3.5, it offers standard entry-level definition questions alongside sophisticated multi-step quantitative tasks and policy evaluation essays. The paper rewards students who demonstrate exceptional precision in their diagrammatic constructions and those who can seamlessly synthesize real-world case studies within a structured macroeconomic or microeconomic framework.
Updated Jun 14, 2026
Paper breakdown
Paper 1 (Standard Level):
Paper 2 (Higher Level and Standard Level):
Top chapters
Overall Difficulty Verdict
The May 2024 IB Economics Standard Level examination represents a balanced, highly curriculum-aligned paper that is highly accessible but demands rigorous execution. With a difficulty index of 3.5, it offers standard entry-level definition questions alongside sophisticated multi-step quantitative tasks and policy evaluation essays. The paper rewards students who demonstrate exceptional precision in their diagrammatic constructions and those who can seamlessly synthesize real-world case studies within a structured macroeconomic or microeconomic framework.
Examiner notes & key calculations
- Failing to Address All Parts of Part (a): In Paper 1, Question 1(a), many candidates were capped at 6 marks because they only explained either a determinant of demand or a determinant of supply, but not both.
- Vague Definitions: Defining "recession" merely as "an economic slowdown" lost easy marks. To secure full marks, examiners required "two consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth."
- Incomplete or Incorrectly Labelled Diagrams: On AD/AS diagrams, using generic "P" and "Q" instead of "Average Price Level" and "Real GDP" is a common error. Furthermore, on externalities diagrams, failing to highlight the socially optimum quantity (Qopt Q_{\text{opt}} Qopt) relative to the market quantity (Qm Q_{\text{m}} Qm) led to substantial mark deductions.
- Absence of Working: In calculations, stating the final answer without showing the intermediate steps (e.g., finding the percentage changes for YED) prevented students from receiving partial credit under the "own-figure rule" (OFR) if they made an minor calculation error.
Exam tips
Paper format
- Duration
- 1h 15min
- Total marks
- 25
Analysis is paraphrased for study purposes. Always verify against the official examiner report and mark scheme.