Economics subject report · May 2009

May 2009 extended essay reports Page 1 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2009 ECONOMICS Overall grade boundaries Grade: E D C B A Mark range: 0 - 7 8 - 15 16 - 22 23 - 28 29 - 36 The range and suitability of the work submitted In a majority of centres, the topics chosen and the approaches taken were largely appropriate and show evidence of familiarity with the requirements of the extended essay. There were good essays from all areas of the IB e conomics syllabus, and this supports the view that an extended essay in economics can be effectively done on a wide range of topics. For the most part, it must be said that students who had access to the subject guide, and who paid close attention to the criteria, performed well. The guide for extended essays provides clear information and guidelines as to the requirements for this pie ce of work, and it is obvious where candidates took the information on board as they more closely matched the criteria descriptors. A large number of essays use elasticity theory as the core theory of the essay, and base their conclusions on data that is g athered through surveys that ask questions such as “How much would you buy if the price decreased by 10%, 20% 30% ?” Thus, the conclusions are hypothetical. Elasticity theory should only be used if prices actually do change. Essays should not base conclusions on data that is hypothetical. Such evidence is unreliable and superficial. Furthermore, if there is evidence that prices have changed, it is important to appreciate that changes in quantity may not actually be due to the change in price, and so any data gathered needs to be carefully evaluated. Elasticity values are only valid if they measure changes in response to a change in price (or income) and it is very difficult for students to isolate the variables. Candidate performance against each criterion A: research question Successful students chose research questions that were sufficiently narrow, and based on a topic for which there was sufficient information available. Unsuitable approaches: an essay on a historical topic – e.g. the Great Depression, or inflation in Germany in the 30s.