“Prepare for WAEC and JAMB Economics exams with these 100 past questions and answers. Covering key topics like demand and supply, elasticity, national income, and more to boost your success!”
Mastering Economics Past Questions for WAEC and JAMB Success
Economics is a vital subject for students in the social sciences, offering insights into how societies allocate resources to meet their needs. For candidates preparing for WAEC (West African Examinations Council) and JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) exams, Economics is one of the core subjects that require a solid understanding of concepts, theories, and their practical applications.
One of the best strategies for acing Economics is by practicing past questions and understanding the answers. This blog post will guide you on the importance of using past questions, effective strategies for studying them, and a list of sample questions to aid your preparation.
Preparing for WAEC and JAMB Economics exams doesn’t have to be stressful. By practicing past questions, reviewing answers, and understanding the key concepts, you’ll be well prepared to achieving excellent grades. Start early, stay consistent, and make Economics your strong point in the exams.
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Why Study Economics Past Questions?
- Understand Exam Patterns:
Past questions help you familiarize yourself with the structure of WAEC and JAMB exams, including the types of questions asked and the marking scheme. - Identify Frequently Asked Topics:
Certain topics like demand and supply, elasticity, and national income are often repeated. Studying past questions helps you identify these areas. - Enhance Problem-Solving Skills: Regular practice improves your analytical skills and your ability to tackle numerical and theoretical problems effectively.
- Boost Confidence: Familiarity with question patterns and solving them repeatedly builds confidence for the actual exam.
Comprehensive list of 100 Economics past questions and answers, grouped into key topics to help you prepare effectively for WAEC and JAMB.
1. BASIC ECONOMIC CONCEPTS
- What is Economics?
Answer: Economics is the study of how individuals and societies allocate scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. - What is scarcity?
Answer: Scarcity refers to the limited nature of resources relative to unlimited human wants. - Define opportunity cost.
Answer: Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative forgone when a choice is made. - What are the factors of production?
Answer: Land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. - What is the production possibility curve (PPC)?
Answer: A graph showing the maximum combinations of goods and services that can be produced with available resources. - Define utility.
Answer: Utility is the satisfaction derived from consuming a good or service. - What is marginal utility?
Answer: The additional satisfaction gained from consuming one more unit of a good or service. - What is the law of diminishing marginal utility?
Answer: As a consumer consumes more units of a good, the additional satisfaction from each additional unit decreases. - What is an economic system?
Answer: An economic system is the way a society organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. - What are the types of economic systems?
Answer: Capitalism, socialism, and mixed economy.
2. DEMAND AND SUPPLY
Economics past questions and answers,
- Define demand.
Answer: Demand is the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy at various prices. - State the law of demand.
Answer: The law of demand states that, ceteris paribus, the quantity demanded of a good decreases as its price increases and vice versa. - What is a demand curve?
Answer: A graph showing the relationship between price and quantity demanded. - What factors affect demand?
Answer: Income, price of substitutes, price of complements, consumer preferences, and population. - Define supply.
Answer: Supply is the quantity of a good or service that producers are willing and able to offer for sale at various prices. - State the law of supply.
Answer: The law of supply states that, ceteris paribus, the quantity supplied of a good increases as its price increases and vice versa. - What is a supply curve?
Answer: A graph showing the relationship between price and quantity supplied. - What factors affect supply?
Answer: Cost of production, technology, taxes, subsidies, and weather conditions. - What is equilibrium price?
Answer: The price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. - What happens when there is excess demand?
Answer: Prices will rise until equilibrium is restored.
3. ELASTICITY
Economics past questions and answers
- What is price elasticity of demand?
Answer: The responsiveness of quantity demanded to changes in the price of a good. - State the formula for price elasticity of demand.
Answer: Ed = Percentage change in quantity demanded / Percentage change in price - What is income elasticity of demand?
Answer: The responsiveness of quantity demanded to changes in consumer income. - What is cross elasticity of demand?
Answer: The responsiveness of quantity demanded of one good to changes in the price of another good. - What does it mean if demand is elastic?
Answer: A small change in price leads to a large change in quantity demanded. - What does it mean if demand is inelastic?
Answer: A change in price leads to a small change in quantity demanded. - What is perfectly elastic demand?
Answer: When quantity demanded changes infinitely with any change in price. - What is perfectly inelastic demand?
Answer: When quantity demanded does not change regardless of price changes. - What is unitary elasticity?
Answer: When the percentage change in quantity demanded equals the percentage change in price. - What factors affect price elasticity of demand?
Answer: Availability of substitutes, proportion of income spent, and necessity of the good.
4. NATIONAL INCOME
Economics past questions and answers
- What is national income?
Answer: The total value of goods and services produced in a country over a period. - What are the methods of measuring national income?
Answer: Output method, income method, and expenditure method. - What is GDP?
Answer: Gross Domestic Product, the total value of goods and services produced within a country. - What is GNP?
Answer: Gross National Product, GDP plus net income from abroad. - What is per capita income?
Answer: National income divided by the population of a country. - What is disposable income?
Answer: The income left after taxes have been deducted. - What is economic growth?
Answer: The increase in a country’s output of goods and services over time. - What is economic development?
Answer: Improvement in living standards, income distribution, and infrastructure. - What are the components of national income?
Answer: Wages, rents, interests, and profits. - What is inflation?
Answer: A sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services.
5. MONEY AND BANKING
Economics past questions and answers
- What are the functions of money?
Answer: Medium of exchange, store of value, unit of account, and standard of deferred payment. - What are the types of money?
Answer: Commodity money, fiat money, and bank money. - What is the central bank?
Answer: The institution responsible for issuing currency and regulating the banking system. - What is the function of commercial banks?
Answer: Accepting deposits, granting loans, and facilitating payments. - What is inflation?
Answer: A sustained rise in the general price level of goods and services. - What is deflation?
Answer: A sustained fall in the general price level of goods and services. - What is monetary policy?
Answer: The regulation of money supply and interest rates to control inflation and stabilize the economy. - What is fiscal policy?
Answer: The use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy. - What are the instruments of monetary policy?
Answer: Open market operations, reserve requirements, and discount rate. - What is liquidity?
Answer: The ease with which an asset can be converted to cash.
6. INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Economics past questions and answers
- What is international trade?
Answer: The exchange of goods and services between countries. - What is balance of trade?
Answer: The difference between the value of a country’s exports and imports of goods. - What is balance of payments?
Answer: A comprehensive record of all economic transactions between a country and the rest of the world. - What is a trade surplus?
Answer: When a country’s exports exceed its imports. - What is a trade deficit?
Answer: When a country’s imports exceed its exports. - What is exchange rate?
Answer: The rate at which one currency is exchanged for another. - What are the types of exchange rates?
Answer: Fixed exchange rate and floating exchange rate. - What is protectionism?
Answer: Economic policies aimed at restricting imports to protect domestic industries. - What are tariffs?
Answer: Taxes imposed on imported goods. - What is free trade?
Answer: The unrestricted exchange of goods and services between countries. - What are quotas in trade?
Answer: Limits on the quantity of a good that can be imported or exported. - What are the advantages of international trade?
Answer: Access to a variety of goods, economies of scale, and improved international relations. - What are the disadvantages of international trade?
Answer: Over-reliance on foreign goods, loss of local industries, and trade imbalances. - What is comparative advantage?
Answer: The ability of a country to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another country. - What is absolute advantage?
Answer: When a country can produce a good more efficiently than other countries.
7. ECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND DEVELOPMENT
Economics past questions and answers
- What is capitalism?
Answer: An economic system where resources are privately owned, and decisions are driven by market forces. - What is socialism?
Answer: An economic system where resources are owned and controlled by the state. - What is a mixed economy?
Answer: An economic system that combines elements of capitalism and socialism. - What are the advantages of capitalism?
Answer: Efficiency, innovation, and consumer choice. - What are the disadvantages of capitalism?
Answer: Income inequality and exploitation of workers. - What are the advantages of socialism?
Answer: Economic equality and provision of basic services. - What is economic development?
Answer: A process of improving the standard of living, reducing poverty, and increasing economic opportunities. - What are indicators of economic development?
Answer: GDP per capita, literacy rate, life expectancy, and employment rates. - What are the challenges of economic development in developing countries?
Answer: Poor infrastructure, political instability, and corruption. - What is industrialization?
Answer: The process of transforming an economy from primarily agricultural to one based on manufacturing.
8. LABOR ECONOMICS
Economics past questions and answers
- What is labor?
Answer: Human effort used in the production of goods and services. - What are the types of labor?
Answer: Skilled labor, unskilled labor, and semi-skilled labor. - What factors influence the supply of labor?
Answer: Population, education, wages, and working conditions. - What factors influence the demand for labor?
Answer: Wage rates, productivity, and demand for goods and services. - What is unemployment?
Answer: A situation where individuals who are willing and able to work cannot find jobs. - What are the types of unemployment?
Answer: Frictional, structural, cyclical, and seasonal unemployment. - What is the labor market?
Answer: A market where workers offer their services, and employers hire labor. - What is wage determination?
Answer: The process by which wages are established through the interaction of demand and supply of labor. - What is minimum wage?
Answer: The lowest legal wage that employers can pay workers. - What is trade union?
Answer: An organization of workers formed to protect their rights and interests.
9. PUBLIC FINANCE
Economics past questions and answers
- What is public finance?
Answer: The study of government revenue, expenditure, and debt. - What are the sources of government revenue?
Answer: Taxes, loans, grants, and fees. - What is a budget?
Answer: A financial plan that outlines expected revenue and expenditure. - What is a fiscal deficit?
Answer: When government expenditure exceeds revenue. - What is taxation?
Answer: A compulsory payment made by individuals and businesses to the government. - What are the types of taxes?
Answer: Direct taxes (e.g., income tax) and indirect taxes (e.g., VAT). - What is progressive taxation?
Answer: A tax system where higher incomes are taxed at higher rates. - What is regressive taxation?
Answer: A tax system where lower incomes bear a higher tax burden. - What is a subsidy?
Answer: A financial aid given by the government to reduce the cost of goods or services. - What is public debt?
Answer: Money borrowed by the government to finance its activities.
10. ECONOMIC PLANNING
Economics past questions and answers
- What is economic planning?
Answer: The process of allocating resources to achieve specific economic goals. - What are the types of economic planning?
Answer: Indicative and imperative planning. - What are the objectives of economic planning?
Answer: Economic growth, poverty reduction, and employment creation. - What are the problems of economic planning?
Answer: Lack of accurate data, corruption, and political interference. - What is the role of government in economic planning?
Answer: Resource allocation, policy formulation, and implementation of plans.
These 100 Economics questions and answers comprehensively cover all major topics to help students prepare effectively for WAEC and JAMB.
Have any specific questions or need more guidance? Share your thoughts in the comments below!