The Pupil IBDP Economics guide for IA commentary

The Internal Assessment in Economics provides the opportunity for you to apply
the concepts and theories you have learned to real-world events. It is written
without the stress resulting from the time constraints of written exams and allows
you to demonstrate your full understanding of how economic theories relate to
real events.

The Internal Assessment (IA) portfolio in Economics consists of three

commentaries. The IA portfolio accounts for 20% of the final IB grade for HL
students and 30% of the final IB grade for SL students. There is no difference
between the format of the IA portfolio for HL students and for SL students.

The focus of each commentary should be a specific topic of the syllabus. The
choice of subtopics should be from the big topics and you should choose a
subtopic from a different topic for each commentary. The three topics in the
Economics syllabus on which commentaries should be based are

Topic 2: Microeconomics,

Topic 3: Macroeconomics, and

Topic 4: The Global Economy.

Each commentary should be written on a current article from the news media. The
article chosen cannot be more than a year old at the time the commentary is
completed. The three commentaries should be written throughout the course of
study as the topics of the syllabus are being completed.

For example, after you complete Topic 2: Microeconomics you could write your
first commentary on a subtopic from the Microeconomics topic, such as indirect
tax, supply and demand for a product, or market failure.

The news article you choose does not have to be purely economic. Articles without
any explicit economic analysis or evaluation are most effective. Articles which
contain mostly numerical data might not be the most effective articles for
economic analysis and evaluation. The news article should be chosen from an
online or printed media source. It can be in English or another language, but if the
news article is in a language other than English it needs to be translated into

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English. The original article should also be included in your IA portfolio.
Therefore, it is recommended that the news article comes from an English
language source.

If the chosen article is too long, which is discouraged, you need to highlight the
sections of the article on which the commentary is focused. The maximum
recommended length of an article is no longer than two sides of A4/letter-size
paper. Moderators will not read beyond two sides of A4/letter-size.

Each commentary of the IA portfolio should use a different key concept as a lens
for analysis and evaluation of the article. Up to three marks can be lost if the same
key concept has been used in two of the commentaries, and up to six marks will
be lost if the same concept is used in all three commentaries.

Student responsibilities

During your IBDP study of Economics you will be practising different approaches
to learning and developing different skills. These are all relevant to the Internal
Assessment in Economics as well as to your study of the course. The approaches
to learning used throughout the course aim to develop the following skills:

Research skills

Communication skills

Thinking skills

Self-management skills

Social skills

Academic honesty (Research skills)

The authenticity of the Internal Assessment commentaries is vitally important.

The commentaries should be entirely your own work.

You have to find the news articles for each commentary on your own. These
cannot be provided by the teacher. However, your teacher should provide

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guidance about what makes an appropriate article and you can seek your teacher's
advice on whether the article selected is appropriate.

Structure (Communication skills)

The presentation of the commentary should include the news article, the
commentary and a references page. There are also some specific requirements for
the formatting of the commentaries which need to be adhered to. These are:

Single (or greater) line spacing

Font style such as Arial, minimum font size 11

Numbered pages

Portrait orientation

Word count should be at the end of the commentary, before references

The final version of each commentary should be submitted as a separate PDF file,
set to an A4/Letter size at conversion from Word to PDF.

The size of each commentary file should be kept to the smallest possible size that
will not compromise the quality and should not exceed 50MB.

Independent learning (Thinking and self-management skills)

The completion of the three commentaries in your IA portfolio must be a result of

your own independent work. The aim of the commentaries is to demonstrate your
ability to apply the economic theories and concepts you have learned to a real
economic event. Schools usually have a calendar for the Internal Assessments in
all subjects and your teacher will inform you of these requirements. It is your
responsibility to meet all deadlines in order to avoid too much pressure.

The word limit for each commentary is 800 words. The examiner will not read
beyond the word limit.

Collaboration (Social skills)

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It has already been pointed out that the IA commentaries should be your own
work and should not be written in collusion with others. Even if two or more
students choose the same news article for their commentary, they need to work
independently on the commentary. The teacher should advise against two or more
students choosing the same article. Where collaboration is allowed, the teacher
should explain clearly to students the difference between collaboration and
collusion. Students should find their articles independently and in cases where
two or more students select the same article by chance the teacher may require
alternative articles to be found.

Figure 1. Steps to completing your IA portfolio

Table 1. Explanation of steps of IA portfolio completion.

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Step Explanation

Step 1 When the second topic of the syllabus is completed,

you will have acquired the knowledge and
Complete Topic 2 of the
understanding of the microeconomic theories and
syllabus: Microeconomics
will have mastered the skills to construct diagrams,
analyse them with the help of the key concepts and
evaluate the effects of real-world situations.

Step 2 Teachers present the IA requirements and sample

commentaries to ensure that you are familiar with the
Teachers present the IA
IA requirements and assessment criteria. Teachers
requirements, and provide
also can organise a practice activity involving either
samples and/or complete a
peers’ or teacher’s feedback.
practice activity

Step 3 Search for suitable news extracts. If you wish, you can
seek the advice of your teacher on the suitability of
Students search for a news
the extracts.
extract for the first IA
commentary

Step 4 Write the first draft of your first IA commentary and

present it to your teacher for feedback. The teacher
Students write their first
will provide you with advice and suggestions for
draft and submit for
improvement of the commentary and return the draft
feedback
to you. The first draft must not be heavily annotated
or edited by the teacher.

Step 5 Integrate the teacher’s advice for improvement and

complete the second draft of the IA commentary. The
Students write the second
second draft is the final draft and no more changes
and final draft of the IA
are allowed to be made.
commentary

The steps in the process above can be repeated for each commentary after the
respective part of the syllabus has been completed.

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Seeking advice

You should seek advice and guidance from your teacher during the process of
writing each IA commentary, but you should be aware that if you are unable to
complete their commentary without substantial support from your teacher, this
will affect your IA grade, as your IA portfolio should be your own work entirely.

Internal moderation

If there is more than one teacher in the school, they will internally moderate the
IA portfolio assessment. This is to ensure that the marks awarded by each teacher
are accurate and follow the assessment criteria closely.

Characteristics of good and bad articles

Table 1. Characteristics of articles.

Characteristics of good articles Characteristics of bad

articles

'Raw' articles, with no analysis and extensive Articles including analysis

explanation and explanation

Articles from local or regional printed or online Articles from The

news media Economist or an
economics blog

Articles on recent economic events or decisions Articles from the

about government intervention in a market Technology or Fashion
section of a newspaper,
discussing new trends in
technology or fashion

Articles which do not contain the opinion of the Editorials containing the
author but just facts and figures related to the opinion of the editor or
articles from sites for

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economic event learning economic topics

Articles which do not contain explanation, Very long articles or very

analysis and evaluation short articles which do not
contain enough details to
comment on

Articles which are not too long but also not too
short and have enough details to comment on

The IA commentaries need to be based on news extracts coming from three

different media sources. If one or more of the news extracts for the IA
commentaries were published in the same media, this will cause you to lose one
mark on Criterion F: Rubric Requirements.

Most online or printed news media are good sources for articles. The articles need
to be 'raw' articles, without analysis and extensive explanations in them, as this is
something that you need to do yourself in your IA commentary. Sources like The
Economist should not be used as a source for news articles as they usually present
an analysis of economic events.

Sometimes students choose articles from the Technology section or the Fashion
section of the media because they see that it discusses new trends in technology
or fashion and the articles explore consumer trends. But these articles, although
quite interesting to read, are seldom suitable for writing an IA commentary in
Economics.

Students also tend to choose articles known as editorials, with a lot of opinions
expressed in them. These are also unsuitable as they have a lot of explanations
and analysis of the economic event in question.

The most suitable news articles do not have explanation, analysis and evaluation
and just report the economic event with enough details and numbers to allow
good application of the economic theories learned. They are usually one A4 page
(8.5 × 11 in the US) long or a bit longer than that, but not too long or with too
many subheadings.

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Finding a good article

You can type certain keywords such as 'demand', 'indirect tax', etc. into your
Internet search engine to find news media reporting on related events which have
recently happened somewhere in the world.

Another approach, and the best one as it has multiple benefits, is to regularly read
current news and to bookmark articles of interest as you learn the topics of the
syllabus. By the time the first IA commentary starts, you will have a good number
of bookmarked articles, and some of those will probably be suitable for the IA
commentary on microeconomics, provided they are not more than one year old by
the time you submit the final draft of the first commentary.

You can also seek guidance from your teacher on articles you have found and
consider suitable. Once the article has been approved by the teacher, you can start
writing the commentary.

Examples of good articles

Below are some links to articles that are suitable for a commentary on most
sections of the syllabus. Please ignore the date as the articles can be outdated, but
the focus is on the content and what makes a suitable article:

Microeconomics

Government figures show drop in pharmacy numbers since funding cuts

Coffee cravers ignore bean price surge’

Macroeconomics

Mexico annual inflation reaches highest level in 8 years during May

Finland to pay unemployed €560 (P29,145) per month

The Global Economy

China cuts import tariffs on more than 200 consumer goods

America’s Trade Deficit Surged in 2022, Nearing $1 Trillion

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Planning the commentary

Planning the commentary and its structure is essential in producing a good

commentary. You have to determine the key economic terms and the diagrams
that need to be included and that are appropriate for the context of the
article. You have to consider the type of evaluation to be included in the
commentary. You need to determine the key concept and how it can be linked to
the analysis of the event in the article. Each commentary should be written around
a different key concept.

Some teachers may require a planning sheet to be completed prior to the start of
writing the commentary. If this is not the case, you can use the suggested outline
below to plan your commentary:

A single-sentence summary of the article

An explanation of the links between the key concept, the theory and the article
content

A diagram/diagrams with a complete explanation to illustrate the change/issue

If possible, a second topic, analysing a solution to the issue, so you would then
have:

An explanation of the solution in the article using relevant terminology

A diagram with a complete explanation to illustrate the solution, appropriate links

drawn between the key concept and the economic theory of the topic

An evaluation (Remember the CLASPP approach and suggest at least 2–3 of those
related to the context of the article.)

If your article does not include a solution, then you would move onto the
evaluation after your first diagram.

Note: Generally, better articles contain information that allows for two topics to be
discussed and diagrammed, but sometimes IAs with only one topic and diagram
can also be excellent, if they lend themselves to a thoughtful evaluation and

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clearly analyse the real world event through the lens of the key concept and apply
economic theory precisely.

Example:

Let’s take one of the articles above and see how the commentary can be
structured:

Government figures show drop in pharmacy numbers since funding cuts

A single-sentence summary of the article:

This article is about the closure of pharmacies across the UK.

An explanation of the change/issue in the article using relevant terminology:

The pharmacy closures are because of cuts to government subsidies. Your
commentary could be about the effect that the cut in subsidies might have on
pharmacies and consumer prices of medicine. The efficiency of this measure is
the key concept to consider.The issue here is the cut in subsidies and how it will
affect pharmacies in rural areas due to a new government scheme restricting
access to subsidies. The explanation will include the following economic concepts
and theories: subsidy theory, positive externality theory, PED theory, efficiency of
resource allocation.

A diagram/diagrams with a complete explanation:

One suitable diagram will be a subsidy diagram showing the effect of a subsidy on
the price and quantity of medicines that pharmacies sell. The diagram should also
reflect the low PED for medicines and thus the very big decrease in price when the
subsidy is implemented. Another diagram will show the effect of removing the
subsidies on the price and quantity demanded, again with consideration of the low
PED for medicines.

Analysis and evaluation:

Analysis: of subsidy and cut of subsidy diagram, of positive externality diagram

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Evaluation: advantages and disadvantages of subsidy cuts, impact on stakeholders
of subsidy cuts – consumers, producers, government, society; improved efficiency
of resource allocation.

A suitable conclusion

The conclusion should flow naturally from the arguments in the evaluation but
also should be tentative. It should not be more than one or two sentences and
should also include the changes in efficiency of resource allocation.

What is a commentary?

Guidelines for the approximate structure of an IA commentary are presented

below.

The IA commentary is an economic commentary on a current news article which

demonstrates your skills and knowledge of a topic from a specific section of the
syllabus.

The IA portfolio consists of three commentaries, and each commentary should be

written on a different section of the syllabus. Thus, each student has to write
commentaries on three of the four sections of the syllabus: Topic 2:
Microeconomics, Topic 3: Macroeconomics, Topic 4: The Global Economy.

IA commentary structure

1. A one-sentence introduction to the article content and the key concept – what is
the article about and which key concept will be used as a lens in the analysis?
Avoid lengthy introductions.

There is no need to define all economic terms, but economic terminology should
be used appropriately throughout the article and the key economic terms related
to the article and analysis should have a definition.

For example, 'Consumption of alcohol causes a negative consumption externality

to society. A negative consumption externality is an external cost to society, as
drinking alcohol can cause traffic accidents, noise, and litter from discarded
bottles on the street, which may not be included in the price of alcohol.'

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2. Appropriate diagrams should be included, applied to the context and analysed.

The diagrams should be appropriate to explain the issue covered in the

commentary. The following elements should be included in the diagram:

Full title for the diagram – for example 'The market for peas in India'

All lines and curves on the diagram should be clearly labelled and applied to the
context of the article

All intersections and connections to the axes on the diagram should be labelled to
make later reference easier

Important areas on the diagram can be shaded (for example 'excess supply –
surplus')

If the exact numbers are included in the article and are able to be used, those can
be used as labels on the diagram. If not, the commonly used labels P1, P2, Q1, Q2,
etc. can be used.

Figure 1. Example of a diagram in a commentary.

3. Explanation

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Fully explain and apply your diagrams to the context of the article

The explanation should be done with the presumption that the reader knows
nothing of economics.

Example:

'Demand shifts rightward because there was a change in the

incomes of consumers. This leads to a higher price and more
quantity demanded.'

'The rightward shift of the demand curve (D to D1), caused by

the increase in consumers’ incomes, means that, for any given
price, more is demanded. This creates excess demand at the
original equilibrium price (Pe), which puts upward pressure on
the price. There is a shortage of Qe to Q1 and this acts as a
signal to producers to increase their prices. This will push the
price to a new market equilibrium P2 and Q2.'

Several steps have been skipped in the top explanation above, although you may
think it is not too bad.

The second explanation is much better and is a step-by-step explanation of the

diagram. Sometimes the economic theory does not reflect the reality of your
article precisely, due to multiple internal factors interfering, and you may need to
develop the above explanation further to include that. This will be a case of
application of the theory to a real-world situation.

4. Evaluation

Every article is about a problem, for example:

Peas have become too expensive due to drought

Soft drinks cause obesity

Sometimes the article points out several methods by which the government tries
to solve the problem. Pick one and evaluate it,for example:

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Price controls

Indirect tax on sugary drinks

If a solution is not mentioned, choose your own, but it should be one that is most
likely to be effective. In economics we use the CLASPP approach to evaluation,
which can be very useful here as well. More about the CLASPP approach will be
explained below.

Finally, highlight the assumptions behind the theory so that you can explain its
limitations. For example, one of the major assumptions in economics is the
'ceteris paribus' assumption – all other things being held the same. Is this
assumption applicable in reality? When an economic event such as changing
demand due to increase in incomes occurs, is it possible to hold all other external
factors equal? It is not possible to decide whether demand has changed due to
increase in income or also due to increase in consumer confidence. Or maybe
demand increased due to consumer expectations of rising prices of this good or
service. So it is not possible to really determine to what extent the increase in
income has affected the change in demand.

Important

What is the CLASPP approach to evaluation in economics?

A clasp is something that holds things together. The acronym CLASPP refers to
the six types of evaluation in IB Economics.

Conclusion: What can we conclude from the theory (that you’ve explained in your
analysis)? Is it applicable or are there factors in the real-world situation that
contradict the theory?

Long-term and short-term effects: What is the effect of the change in the short
term? If it is good in the short term, will it also be good in the long term? Will it
have any undesirable consequences in the long term? Will the policy be hard on
people in the short run but suitable to fix a problem in the long run? Will the
policy fix one problem but create another?

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Assumptions: What are the assumptions being made that are behind the economic
theory? Are these assumptions applicable in the real-world situation being
discussed? For example,. the assumption of ‘ceteris paribus’ – the assumption that
all other things are being held equal – is it possible in real-world situations to
apply this assumption and to ensure that 'other things are being held equal'? What
are the weaknesses of the theory? Is there anything unrealistic about the theory
being applied to the situation in question?

Stakeholders: What effects would the policy (for example, an indirect tax) have on
the government, consumers, producers and the rest of society? Policies (such as
price ceilings) are often made with particular stakeholders in mind, so are there
undesirable effects on other parties (such as price increases for consumers)? Is the
policy great for some groups, but bad for others?

Priorities: What are the priorities of the society? For example, a policy like
subsidising schools is good for families, and good for the long-term
macroeconomy, but bad for taxpayers who don’t have children.

Pros and cons: What are the advantages and disadvantages of this policy? What
are the costs and the benefits of this policy? What are the arguments for and the
arguments against this policy?

5. Internal Assessment

Opportunities for IAs (example topics)

The IA commentaries can be written on any topic of the syllabus. Most often
students write their IA commentaries on the topics outlined in Table 1.

Table 1. Common IA topics.

Microeconomics Supply, demand and market equilibrium – articles about

shortages and surpluses and how these change the market
equilibrium price and quantity, how the market helps
allocate resources efficiently

Indirect taxation and its effect on correcting market failure,

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improving efficiency of resource allocation or providing
more revenue for the government, allowing for more equity
to be achieved in society

Market failure – positive and negative externalities,

environmental degradation due to certain business
practices, effects on sustainability and efficiency of resource
allocation

Government intervention in markets – price ceiling, price

floor, subsidies, promotion of equity in society

Macroeconomics Inflation – changes in conditions of demand and supply and

their effect on economic activity, causes of inflation
changes, consequences of inflation

Unemployment – changes in conditions causing

unemployment, types of unemployment, consequences of
unemployment

Economic growth – what causes economic growth, how

economic growth affects the other macro goals, how these
changes in economic conditions affect the well-being of a
nation

Inequality and poverty – how the well-being of a nation is

affected by income distribution in society, causes of
inequality and poverty, policies aimed at more equality and
equity in society

Fiscal, monetary and supply-side policies (often used as

solutions to the above listed macro issues), interdependence
of policies and macro objectives of governments

The global economy Barriers to trade – tariffs, quotas, subsidies, efficiency of

resource allocation

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Exchange rates – changes in exchange rates, causes
determining these changes, consequences for the economy,
interdependence of world economies

What completing the IA involves?

Under the new syllabus each student

taking IB economics will complete a
portfolio of three commentaries
which form their internal
assessment. Each commentary is 800
words (maximum) in length and takes commentary of a real life event, taken

the form of an analysis or from a newspaper or magazine

.Articles are selected from the print media or the Internet. The other difference
from the existing criteria is that each commentary must include specific reference
to one of the key concepts. The relevant concept should be added to the cover
page.

As with the existing syllabus, the internal assessment must be the candidate’s own
work. Candidates are expected to complete their own work but as the teacher you
are allowed to provide an appropriate level of guidance to support candidates in
their work. Teachers should support students when selecting and planning their
work and ensure that students are familiar with the following:

Criterion A: Diagrams 3 marks

Criterion B: Terminology 2 marks

Criterion C: Application and analysis 3 marks

Criterion D: Key concept 3 marks

Criterion E: Evaluation 3 marks

Students should be encouraged to obtain advice and information from their

teacher(s). However in situations where the student has relied too heavily on

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support provided by their teacher this should be recorded on the appropriate
form from the handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme.

Teachers may provide feedback on the first draft of any commentary. The
feedback provided should be in terms of the way the work could be improved but
teachers must not heavily annotate or edit the student's work. Students are only
permitted to submit one draft for feedback before the final version. This version
must be authenticated by a teacher, before it is submitted.

The Stripper Index (linkedin.com)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stripper-index-shayamal-vallabhjee-
hlpfe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/11/19/is-ticketmaster-
a-monopoly

Title:

[Provide a clear and concise title for the IA]

Research Question:

[State the research question that will guide the IA]

Introduction:

- Background information/context

- Importance/significance of the topic

- Purpose/objective of the IA

Methodology:

- Describe the methods you'll use to investigate the research question

- Include any materials, data sources, or tools you'll utilize

Analysis:

- Present and analyze the data collected

- Use appropriate statistical or qualitative methods

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 The Pupil IBDP Economics guide for IA commentary
- Include tables, graphs, or charts as necessary

Discussion:

- Interpretation of results

- Address strengths and limitations of the study

- Compare findings with existing literature

Conclusion:

- Summarize key findings

- Discuss implications of the findings - Suggest areas for further research

References:

- List all sources cited in the IA using a consistent citation style (e.g., MLA, APA)

Appendices:

- Include any supplementary material such as raw data, surveys, or calculations

Feel free to adapt and expand this template based on the specific
requirements and guidelines.

https://aeteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IA-econ-template-AE-
Teaching.pdf

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/giuseppe-montella_design-creativity-
sustainability-activity-7191682078315335681-
gSiO?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android

At a glance

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• 20 hours of class time

• Article identified, and commentary written independently

• Portfolio of three commentaries

• A different key concept is to be used in each commentary

• 800 words (maximum) for each commentary

• Marked by the teacher

• Externally moderated by the IB

• 20% of total marks at HL and 30% at SL

The following diagram illustrates the suggested stages in the process.

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zoom_in

Figure 11 Preparation and completion of internal assessment

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