IB Economics Extended Essay

The criteria on this page are the ones for exams from May 2027, when the Extended Essay is marked out of 30. See what changed. If you sit your exams in November 2026, the older 34-mark criteria are summarised after them.

The IB Economics Extended Essay is a 4,000-word investigation that applies economic theory to a real market, policy or economic question. That word "applies" is where most essays are won or lost. An Economics EE is not an essay about economics; it is economics done to something: a specific market, a specific policy, a specific period, with real data tested against the predictions of a model. This guide covers how the five EE criteria play out in Economics, which research questions give you room to analyse, what examiners expect from theory, data and diagrams, and the mistakes that most reliably cost marks.

How the Economics EE differs from the IA

The Economics IA is a set of short commentaries, each responding to a published news article through one lens of the syllabus. The Extended Essay is a different animal: one question, sustained for 4,000 words, with a research method you design yourself. Where an IA commentary can succeed by applying a single model neatly, the EE expects you to gather evidence (prices you collected, official statistics, industry reports) and to evaluate how well the theory actually explains what you found. If you have worked through our IB Economics IA guide, the step up is this: the IA rewards clean application, while the EE rewards investigation, and the analysis and discussion criteria pay you for examining the gap between what the model predicts and what your data shows.

Choosing a research question for an Economics EE

A strong Economics EE research question has four characteristics:

A defined market or policy: It names the product, the place and the period, so there is a concrete thing to investigate.
A clear theoretical frame: you can say in one sentence which part of the syllabus does the analytical work, such as elasticity, market structure, externalities or intervention.
Available evidence: Data exists that you can realistically obtain: prices you can record, published statistics, or credible reports.
An evaluative edge: "To what extent" phrasing that forces a judgement about how far the theory explains the evidence.

One rule depends on your session. If you sit your exams in November 2026, the Extended Essay guide says topics should not be historical: they should relate to economic information, policies, outcomes or events that are no more than approximately five years old. The guide for May 2027 onward sets no such limit.

Examples of strong Economics EE research questions

To what extent did the UK sugar levy change the pricing and product range of soft drinks sold by major supermarkets? Why it works: one policy, one defined market, measurable outcomes, and an obvious toolkit (indirect taxation, elasticity and producer responses) to test against the evidence. (For November 2026, the levy is older than the guide's five-year limit, so choose a policy from the last five years.)
To what extent does the ride-hailing market in one city behave as the oligopoly model predicts? Why it works: the market is narrow enough to research directly, fare data can be collected, and the question is explicitly about how well a model fits reality, which is discussion and evaluation in question form.
To what extent has competition from low-cost airlines reduced fares on a single short-haul route? Why it works: a single route gives the market sharp edges, price data is collectable over time, and competition theory makes a testable prediction the essay can evaluate.

Weak research questions, and why they fail

Is capitalism better than socialism? Why it fails: it is normative, has no defined market or data, and cannot be settled with the tools of economic analysis at this scale. The result is an opinion piece, not an investigation.
What are the causes of inflation? Why it fails: this is a textbook chapter, not a research question. With no specific economy, period or dataset, there is nothing to investigate and nothing to evaluate, only theory to recite.

How the five EE criteria play out in Economics

From May 2027, every Extended Essay is marked out of 30 on five criteria. In Economics they look like this:

Criterion A: Framework for the essay (6 marks). A sharply bounded question, a credible research design (what data you gathered, from where, over what period, and which models you applied to it) and a structure that follows the investigation. Examiners check that the method can actually answer the question as worded.
Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding (6 marks). Correct terminology and models chosen because they fit the case, not because they are familiar. Understanding shows in the selection: the essay uses the theory the situation demands.
Criterion C: Analysis and line of argument (6 marks). Analysis of your evidence through theory, with findings that stay relevant to the question and add up to a coherent argument. Diagrams earn credit here when they carry the analysis; labelling them and referring to them in the text are structural conventions assessed under Criterion A.
Criterion D: Discussion and evaluation (8 marks). The highest-weighted criterion. It rewards a balanced discussion of what your findings mean, including where your data and the model disagree, and an evaluation of the essay itself: the model's assumptions, the limits of your data and what they do to your conclusion.
Criterion E: Reflection (4 marks). Marked on the reflective statement in your RPF. Strong reflection evaluates, with specific examples, how the investigation changed you as a researcher, such as what a data source that fell through taught you about planning.

If you sit your exams in November 2026, the essay is marked out of 34 instead: Focus and method (6), Knowledge and understanding (6), Critical thinking (12), Presentation (4) and Engagement (6, marked on the three RPPF reflections). The advice above carries over, because research, analysis, and discussion and evaluation together make up Critical thinking.

Theory, data and diagrams: what examiners expect

An Economics EE needs real evidence. That can be primary data, such as prices you recorded across shops or weeks or a small survey, or secondary data from official statistics and credible industry sources. Neither is automatically better; what matters is that the data bears on your question and that you treat it honestly, including its gaps. An essay that never touches data cannot demonstrate application, and application is where the analysis criteria live.

Diagrams are analytical tools, not decoration. Every diagram should be adapted to your case, with axes labelled for your actual market and, where possible, your actual magnitudes, and should be explicitly used in the analysis: introduce it, explain what it predicts for your market, then test that prediction against your evidence. A generic textbook diagram dropped into the essay and never mentioned again earns nothing. The same logic applies to theory as a whole: state the model's assumptions, apply it, and then evaluate which assumptions hold in your market, which do not, and how that changes the conclusion you can honestly draw.

Common mark-losing mistakes in Economics EEs

No data: 4,000 words of pure theory. Without evidence there is nothing to analyse, and Criteria C and D collapse.
Generic diagrams: unlabelled textbook figures that are never connected to the market being studied.
Descriptive journalism: reporting what happened in a market without ever running it through an economic model.
Macro-scale scope: whole-economy questions, such as national inflation or total unemployment, that cannot be investigated convincingly in 4,000 words.
Unexamined assumptions: applying a model without evaluating whether its assumptions hold in your case, which forfeits the easiest evaluation marks available.
Forced conclusions: claiming the data proves the theory when it is mixed. Examiners reward calibrated judgement, not confidence.

Frequently asked questions

Does an Economics EE need primary data?

Not necessarily. Strong essays can be built on either primary data (prices you collect, surveys) or good secondary data, as long as the data genuinely tests the question. What matters is that theory is applied to real evidence rather than discussed in the abstract.

How many diagrams should an Economics EE include?

Use as many as your argument needs, which is typically several, but every diagram must be adapted to your specific market and referred to in the analysis. Generic textbook diagrams that are never used to explain your data earn little credit.

Can I write my Economics EE on a macroeconomic topic?

You can, but scope is the danger. Whole-economy questions are hard to answer convincingly in 4,000 words. Narrowing to one policy, one market or one country over a defined period usually produces a stronger essay.

Grade your Economics EE before you submit

IBLens analyses Extended Essays against the published criteria for your exam session and shows you, criterion by criterion, where marks are being lost, including the classic Economics failure modes: theory without data, and diagrams that decorate instead of analyse. Paste a draft into the Extended Essay grader, where the first preview is free, to see where your Economics EE stands, and read the complete IB Extended Essay guide for the full process from topic choice to final reflection.

An AI check is outside help on your EE, so ask your supervisor before you use IBLens or any other tool, and tell them if you do.

Grade your Economics EE with IBLens