IB Economics IA

The IB Economics Internal Assessment consists of three commentaries — one each on Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and The global economy — each written in response to a real news article published after the start of your IB course. Each commentary is worth a third of the overall IA mark, which contributes 20% to your final grade. Most students find the IA easier to score well on than the Papers — but the difference between a 6 and a 7 comes down to a handful of consistently applied skills that this guide covers.

How the IB Economics IA Is Marked

Each commentary is marked on five criteria (A–E), for a maximum of 14 marks per commentary. The portfolio of three commentaries is marked out of 45: 42 across the commentaries plus 3 for Criterion F (Rubric requirements — different units, different sources, and articles published within a year of writing). Each commentary must also use a different key concept.

• Criterion A — Diagrams (3 marks): Are diagrams used? Are they accurately labelled? Do they directly illustrate the economics being discussed?
• Criterion B — Terminology (2 marks): Is economic terminology used correctly and consistently throughout?
• Criterion C — Application and analysis (3 marks): Is relevant economic theory applied to the article, with developed and accurate analysis?
• Criterion D — Key concept (3 marks): Is one key concept identified and effectively linked to the article?
• Criterion E — Evaluation (3 marks): Are judgments supported by reasoned argument — short-run versus long-run, who gains and who loses, and underlying assumptions?

A common profile for a strong-but-not-top commentary is Criterion A = 2, B = 2, C = 2, D = 3, E = 2 (11 out of 14). The marks are usually lost on a diagram labelling slip, on analysis that is not fully developed, and on evaluation that describes rather than judges.

How to Choose a Good Article

The article selection is 80% of the battle. A good IA article has three properties:

1. It describes a real market event with a clear cause and effect

"Government announces new sugar tax" → this immediately gives you a negative externality / demerit good framework to work with. You can draw a diagram, explain the welfare effects, and evaluate the policy. Avoid articles that are purely statistical ("GDP grew 2.3% last quarter") without a policy event to analyse.

2. It connects to a single main syllabus topic

Do not choose articles that require you to use four different concepts from different units. An article about rent control in a city gives you a clean price ceiling analysis. An article about a trade war that also involves currency depreciation and domestic unemployment is too complex to analyse well in 800 words.

3. It is recent and sourced from a reliable outlet

Articles must be published after the official start of your IB course and from a published news source (Reuters, BBC, The Economist, local newspaper). Blog posts, opinion pieces, and Wikipedia do not count.

IB Economics IA Examples by Unit

Microeconomics Commentary

Strong topics: price controls (rent ceilings, minimum wage), taxes and subsidies, negative externalities (pollution, cigarettes, sugar), positive externalities (education, vaccination), price discrimination, market failure.

Example article scenario: A local government announces a $2/kg tax on plastic packaging to reduce plastic waste.

What a 7-scoring commentary does: draws a correctly labelled negative externality diagram showing the divergence between MPC and MSC, explains the welfare loss triangle before the tax, shows how the tax corrects the externality by internalising the external cost, then evaluates: will producers pass the tax on to consumers (depends on PED/PES)? Is the tax set at the right level? What are the distributional effects — does the tax burden fall disproportionately on lower-income households?

Macroeconomics Commentary

Strong topics: fiscal policy (government spending, tax cuts), monetary policy (interest rate changes), inflation, unemployment, economic growth, the Phillips curve trade-off.

Example article scenario: The central bank raises interest rates by 50 basis points to combat inflation running at 7%.

What a 7-scoring commentary does: draws an AD/AS diagram showing the leftward shift of AD as a result of higher interest rates, explains the transmission mechanism (higher rates → higher borrowing costs → reduced consumption and investment → fall in AD), then evaluates: time lags in monetary policy transmission; the risk of causing recession if rates are raised too far; whether supply-side inflation (caused by energy prices) can actually be addressed by demand-side monetary policy.

The Global Economy Commentary

Strong topics: tariffs, quotas, trade agreements, exchange rate changes and their effect on trade, current account deficits, protectionism vs free trade.

Example article scenario: A country imposes a 25% tariff on imported steel to protect domestic producers.

What a 7-scoring commentary does: draws a tariff diagram showing domestic price increase, reduced imports, consumer and producer surplus changes, and the deadweight welfare loss; evaluates the trade-off between protecting domestic jobs in the steel industry and the costs to downstream industries that use steel as an input; considers retaliatory tariffs from trading partners and the WTO implications.

Diagrams: The Cheapest Marks in the IA

Criterion A (Diagrams) is worth 3 marks per commentary — and losing 1 mark here is extremely common. The most frequent errors are:

• Axes not labelled: Every diagram must have clearly labelled axes (Price/Quantity, or Price Level/Real GDP, etc.).
• Shifts not labelled: If a curve shifts, label both the original curve (S₁, D₁) and the new curve (S₂, D₂) and show the direction of shift with an arrow.
• Equilibrium points not marked: Mark original equilibrium (P₁, Q₁) and new equilibrium (P₂, Q₂) with dotted lines to the axes.
• Diagram not explained in text: Every feature on your diagram should be mentioned in your commentary. A diagram that is drawn but not referred to scores 0 on Criterion A.
• Wrong diagram for the scenario: Using a supply-and-demand diagram for a macroeconomics article about fiscal policy (which needs AD/AS) loses all 3 marks.

Evaluation: The Hardest Marks to Get

Criterion E (Evaluation) is 3 marks and is where most students fall short. There are four reliable evaluation frameworks that work across almost any Economics article:

1. Short run vs. long run: The policy may have one effect immediately and a different effect over time. Rent control reduces rents in the short run but reduces housing supply in the long run as developers exit the market.
2. Winners and losers: Who gains from this policy and who loses? A minimum wage helps low-wage workers but may reduce employment for the most marginally employed workers.
3. Magnitude depends on elasticity: The size of the effect always depends on PED, PES, or YED. A sin tax on cigarettes has a small effect on quantity demanded if demand is inelastic.
4. Limitations of the policy: Why might the policy fail to achieve its stated goal? Externality taxes only work if set at the correct Pigouvian level, which requires accurate measurement of external cost — which is practically very difficult.

Apply two or three of these frameworks to your specific article context and you have a developed, balanced evaluation.

Word Count and Structure

Each commentary has an 800-word limit (not including diagrams, references, or the article itself); moderators stop reading at 800 words. The structure that works best:

• Opening context (50–80 words): Briefly describe what the article is about and identify the main economic concept. Do not summarise the article — you are analysing it.
• Economic analysis (300–400 words): Explain the economics using diagrams, correct terminology, and the relevant theory. Describe cause and effect precisely.
• Evaluation (250–350 words): Weigh up the effects, consider limitations, discuss who gains and loses. Use two to three distinct evaluation points — do not make one point three times.
• Conclusion (50–80 words): State your overall judgement. Is the policy likely to achieve its goal? Under what conditions?

Getting Your Commentary Checked Before Submission

The most common experience after receiving IA marks is: "I didn't realise my diagram was missing labels" or "my evaluation was describing, not evaluating." These are easy marks to recover — if you catch them in time.

IBLens analyses your IB essay and commentary drafts against the official IB marking criteria and identifies exactly where you are losing marks on each criterion before your teacher submits your work.

Upload your Economics IA commentary to IBLens for rubric-based feedback →