JAMB

JAMB Economics Syllabus

General Objectives

  • Demonstrate sufficient knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts, tools and their general applications to economic analysis;
  • Identify and explain the basic structures, operations and roles of the various economic units and institutions (national and international);
  • Describe major economic activities – production, distribution and consumption;
  • Identify and appraise the basic and current economic problems of society;
  • Develop the competence to proffer solutions to economic problems identified

1. ECONOMICS AS A SCIENCE

Basic Concepts

Content:

  • •Wants, Scarcity, choice, scale of preference, opportunity cost, Rationality, production, distribution, consumption.
  • •Economic problems of: What, how, and for whom to produce and efficiency of resource use.
  • •Application of PPF to solution of economic problems.

Learning Objectives:

  • Compare various concepts in economics and their applications;
  • Interpret graphs/schedules in relation to the concepts;
  • Identify economic problems;
  • Proffer solutions to economic problems

2. ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

Types and Contemporary Issues

Content:

  • •Types; free enterprise, centrally planned and mixed economies
  • •Solutions to economic problems under different systems
  • •Contemporary issues in economic systems (economic reforms e.g deregulation, banking sector consolidation, cash policy reform).

Learning Objectives:

  • Compare the various economic systems;
  • Apply the knowledge of economic systems to contemporary issues in Nigeria
  • Proffer solutions to economic problems in different economic systems.

3. METHODS AND TOOLS OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Scientific Approach and Basic Tools

Content:

  • •Scientific Approach:
  • •i. inductive and deductive methods
  • •ii. positive and normative reasoning
  • •Basic Tools
  • •i. tables, charts and graphs
  • •ii. measures of central tendency: mean, median and mode, and their applications.
  • •iii. measures of dispersion; variance, standard deviation, range and their applications;
  • •iv. merits and demerits of the tools.

Learning Objectives:

  • Distinguish between the various forms of reasoning;
  • Apply these forms of reasoning to real life situations;
  • Use the tools to interpret economic data;
  • Analyse economic data using the tools;
  • Assess the merits and demerits of the tools

4. THE THEORY OF DEMAND

Demand Concepts and Elasticity

Content:

  • •i. meaning and determinants of demand
  • •ii. demand schedules and curves
  • •iii. the distinction between change in quantity demanded and change in demand.
  • •Types of demand: Composite, derived, competitive and joint demand:
  • •Types, nature and determinants of elasticity and their measurement – price, income and cross elasticity of demand:
  • •Importance of elasticity of demand to consumers, producers and government.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the factors determining demand;
  • Interpret demand curves from demand schedules;
  • Differentiate between change in quantity demanded and change in demand;
  • Compare the various types of demand and their interrelationships;
  • Relate the determinants to the nature of elasticity;
  • Compute elasticities;
  • Interpret elasticity coefficients in relation to real life situations.

5. THE THEORY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Utility and Consumer Equilibrium

Content:

  • •Basic Concepts:
  • •i. utility (cardinal, ordinal, total average and marginal utilities)
  • •ii. indifference curve and budget line.
  • •Diminishing marginal utility and the law of demand.
  • •Consumer equilibrium using the indifference curve and marginal analyses.
  • •Effects of shift in the budget line and the indifference curve.
  • •Consumer surplus and its applications.

Learning Objectives:

  • Appraise the various utility concepts
  • Apply the law of demand using the marginal utility analysis
  • Use indifference curve and marginal analyses to determine consumer equilibrium
  • Associate the income and substitution effects
  • Apply consumer surplus to real-life situations.

6. THE THEORY OF SUPPLY

Supply and Elasticity

Content:

  • •i. Meaning and determinants of supply
  • •ii. Supply schedules and supply curves
  • •iii. the distinction between change in quantity supplied and change in supply
  • •Types of Supply: Joint/complementary, competitive and composite
  • •Elasticity of Supply: determinants, measurements, nature and applications

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the factors determining supply;
  • Interpret supply curves from supply schedules;
  • Differentiate between change in quantity supplied and change in supply;
  • Compare the various types of supply and their interrelationships;
  • Relate the determinants to the nature of elasticity;
  • Compute elasticity coefficients;
  • Interpret the coefficients in relation to real life situations.

7. THE THEORY OF PRICE DETERMINATION

Market Price Mechanisms

Content:

  • •The concepts of market and price
  • •Functions of the price system
  • •i. Equilibrium price and quantity in product and factor markets
  • •ii. Price legislation and its effects
  • •The effects of changes in supply and demand on equilibrium price and quantity.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain the concepts of market and price;
  • Examine the functions of the price system;
  • Evaluate the effects of government interference with the price system;
  • Differentiate between minimum and maximum price legislation;
  • Interpret the effects of changes in supply and demand on equilibrium price and quantity.

8. THE THEORY OF PRODUCTION

Production Concepts

Content:

  • •Meaning and types of production
  • •Concepts of production and their interrelationships (TP, AP, MP and the law of variable proportion).
  • •Division of labour and specialization
  • •Scale of Production: Internal and external economies of scale and their implications.
  • •Production functions and returns to scale
  • •Producers’ equilibrium isoquant – isocost and marginal analyses.
  • •Factors affecting productivity.

Learning Objectives:

  • Relate TP, AP and MP with the law of variable proportion;
  • Compare internal and external economies of scale in production and their effects;
  • Identify the types of production functions
  • Compare the different types of returns to the scale and their implications;
  • Determine the firm’s equilibrium position using the isoquant-isocost and marginal analyses.
  • Identify the factors affecting productivity.

9. THEORY OF COSTS AND REVENUE

Cost and Revenue Concepts

Content:

  • •The concepts of cost: Fixed, Variable, Total Average and Marginal
  • •The concepts of revenue: Total, average and marginal revenue;
  • •Accountants’ and Economists’ notions of cost
  • •Short-run and long-run costs
  • •The marginal cost and the supply curve of a firm.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain the various cost concepts
  • Differentiate between accountants’ and economists’ notions of costs
  • Interpret the short-run and long-run costs curves
  • Establish the relationship between marginal cost and supply curve.
  • Explain the various revenue concepts.

10. MARKET STRUCTURES

Perfect and Imperfect Markets

Content:

  • •Perfectly competitive market:
  • •i. Assumptions and characteristics;
  • •ii. Short-run and long-run equilibrium of a perfect competitor;
  • •Imperfect Market:
  • •i. Pure monopoly, discriminatory monopoly and monopolistic competition.
  • •ii. Short-run and long-run equilibrium positions.
  • •Break-even/shut-down analysis in the various markets.

Learning Objectives:

  • Analyse the assumptions and characteristics of a perfectly competitive market;
  • Differentiate between short-run and long-run equilibrium of a perfectly competitive firm;
  • Analyse the assumptions and characteristics of imperfect markets;
  • Differentiate between the short-run and long-run equilibrium of imperfectly competitive firms;
  • Establish the conditions for the break-even/shut down of firms.

11. NATIONAL INCOME

National Income Concepts

Content:

  • •The Concepts of GNP, GDP, NI, NNP
  • •National Income measurements and their problems
  • •Uses and limitations of national income estimates
  • •The circular flow of income (two and three-sector models)
  • •The concepts of consumption, investment and savings
  • •The multiplier and its effects
  • •Elementary theory of income determination and equilibrium national income.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the major concepts in national income;
  • Compare the different ways of measuring national income;
  • Examine their problems;
  • Assess the uses and limitations of national income estimates;
  • Interpret the circular flow of income using the two and three-sector models;
  • Calculate the various multipliers;
  • Evaluate their effects on equilibrium national income;
  • Explain the concepts of consumption, investment and savings.

12. MONEY AND INFLATION

Money, Inflation and Deflation

Content:

  • •Types, characteristics and functions of money
  • •Demand for money and the supply of money
  • •Quantity Theory of money (Fisher equation)
  • •The value of money and the price level
  • •Inflation: Types, measurements, effects and control
  • •Deflation: Measurements, effects and control.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain between the types, characteristics and functions of money;
  • Identify the factors affecting the demand for and the supply of money;
  • Examine the relationship between the value of money and the price level;
  • Identify the components in the quantity theory of money;
  • Examine the causes and effects of inflation;
  • Calculate the consumer price index;
  • Interpret the consumer price index;
  • Examine ways of controlling inflation.
  • Examine the causes, measurement, effects and control of deflation.

13. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Financial Institutions and Markets

Content:

  • •Types and functions of financial institutions (traditional, central bank, mortgage banks, merchant banks, insurance companies, building societies);
  • •The role of financial institutions in economic development;
  • •Money and capital markets
  • •Financial sector regulations
  • •Deposit money banks and the creation of money
  • •Monetary policy and its instruments
  • •Challenges facing financial institutions in Nigeria.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the types and functions of financial institutions;
  • Explain the roles of financial institutions in economic development;
  • Distinguish between the money and capital markets;
  • Identify the various financial sector regulators and their functions;
  • Explain the money creation process and its challenges;
  • Examine the various monetary policy instruments and their effects;
  • Appraise the challenges facing the financial institutions in Nigeria.

14. PUBLIC FINANCE

Government Revenue and Expenditure

Content:

  • •Meaning and objectives
  • •Fiscal policy and its instruments
  • •Sources of government revenue (taxes royalties, rents, grants and aids)
  • •Principles of taxation
  • •Tax incidence and its effects
  • •The effects of public expenditure
  • •Government budget and public debts
  • •Revenue allocation and resource control in Nigeria.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the objectives of public finance;
  • Explain fiscal policy and its instruments;
  • Compare the various sources of government revenue
  • Analyse the principles of taxation;
  • Analyse the incidence of taxation and its effects;
  • Examine the effects of public expenditure on the economy;
  • Examine the types and effects of budgets;
  • Highlight the criteria for revenue allocation in Nigeria and their impact.

15. ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Growth vs Development

Content:

  • •Meaning and scope
  • •Indicators of growth and development
  • •Factors affecting growth and development
  • •Problems of development in Nigeria
  • •Development planning in Nigeria.

Learning Objectives:

  • Distinguish between economic growth and development;
  • Highlight the indicators of growth and development;
  • Identify the factors affecting growth and development;
  • Assess the problems of development in Nigeria;
  • Examine the role of planning in development

16. AGRICULTURE IN NIGERIA

Agricultural Sector

Content:

  • •Types and features;
  • •The role of agriculture in economic development;
  • •Problems of agriculture;
  • •Effects of agricultural policies and their effects;
  • •Instability in agricultural incomes (causes, effects and solutions).

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the types and features of agriculture;
  • Examine the characteristics and problems of agriculture;
  • Assess the role of agriculture in economic development;
  • Appraise agricultural policies in Nigeria;
  • Evaluate the causes and effects of instability in agricultural incomes.

17. INDUSTRY AND INDUSTRIALIZATION

Industrial Development

Content:

  • •Concepts and effects of location and localization of industry in Nigeria;
  • •Strategies and Industrialization in Nigeria;
  • •Industrialization and economic development in Nigeria;
  • •Funding and management of business organization;
  • •Factors determining the size of firms.

Learning Objectives:

  • Differentiate between location and localization of industry;
  • Identify the factors influencing the location and localization of industry;
  • Examine the problems of industrialization;
  • Appraise some industrialization strategies;
  • Examine the role of industry in economic development.

18. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY

Natural Resource Management

Content:

  • •Development of major natural resources (petroleum, gold, diamond, timber etc).
  • •Contributions of the oil and the non-oil sectors to the Nigerian economy.
  • •Linkage effects.
  • •Upstream/downstream of the oil sector.
  • •The role of NNPC and OPEC in the oil sector.
  • •Challenges facing natural resources exploitation.

Learning Objectives:

  • Trace the development of the major natural resources in Nigeria;
  • Assess the contribution of the oil and the non-oil sectors to the Nigerian economy;
  • Establish the linkages between the natural resources and other sectors;
  • Analyse the environmental effects of exploitation activities in Nigeria;
  • Distinguish between the upstream and downstream activities in the oil sector ;
  • Examine the roles of NNPC and OPEC in the oil sector;
  • Suggest ways of controlling the effects of natural resource exploitation.

19. BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

Types and Management of Enterprises

Content:

  • •Private enterprises (e.g. sole-proprietorship, partnership, limited liability companies and cooperative societies)
  • •Problems of private enterprises;
  • •Public enterprises and their problems;
  • •Funding and management of business organizations;
  • •Factors determining the size of firms;
  • •Privatization and Commercialization as solutions to the problems of public enterprises

Learning Objectives:

  • Compare the types and basic features of private business organization;
  • Assess the financing and management problems of business organizations;
  • Identify the features of public enterprises;
  • Identify the factors determining the size of firms;
  • Differentiate between privatization and commercialization;
  • Compare the advantages and disadvantages of privatization and commercialization;

20. POPULATION

Population Dynamics

Content:

  • •Meaning and theories;
  • •Census: importance and problems.
  • •Size and growth: over-population, under- population and optimum population.
  • •Structure and distribution;
  • •Population policy and economic development.

Learning Objectives:

  • Analyse some population theories:
  • Examine the relevance of the theories to Nigeria;
  • Examine the uses and limitations of census data;
  • Identify determinants of the size, composition and growth of population;
  • Analyse the structure and distribution of population;
  • Appraise government population policy in Nigeria.

21. INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Trade and Exchange

Content:

  • •Meaning and basis for international trade (absolute and comparative costs etc)
  • •Balance of trade and balance of payments: problems and corrective measures;
  • •Composition and direction of Nigeria’s foreign trade;
  • •Exchange rate: meaning, types, and determination.

Learning Objectives:

  • Examine the basis for international trade.
  • Differentiate between absolute and comparative advantages;
  • Distinguish between balance of trade and balance of payments and their corrective measures;
  • Highlight the problems of balance of payments and their corrective measures;
  • Examine the composition and direction of Nigeria’s foreign trade;
  • Identify the types of exchange rates;
  • Examine how exchange rates are determined.

22. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS

Global and Regional Bodies

Content:

  • •Roles and relevance of international organization e.g. ECOWAS, AU, EU, ECA, IMF, EEC, OECD, World Bank, IBRD, WTO, ADB and UNCTAD, etc to Nigeria.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the various economic organizations and their functions;
  • Evaluate their relevance to the Nigerian economy

23. FACTORS OF PRODUCTION AND THEIR THEORIES

Factors and Theories

Content:

  • •Types, features, and rewards;
  • •Determination of wages, interest, and profits;
  • •Theories: marginal productivity theory of wages and liquidity preference theory;
  • •Factor mobility and efficiency;
  • •Unemployment and its solutions

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the types; features and rewards of factors;
  • Analyse the determination of wages, interest, and profits;
  • Interpret the marginal productivity of liquidity preference theories
  • Examine factors mobility and efficiency;
  • Examine the types and causes of unemployment in Nigeria;
  • Suggest solutions to unemployment in Nigeria.

Recommended Textbooks

  • Aderinto, A.A et al (1996) Economics: Exam Focus, Ibadan: University Press Plc.
  • Black, J. (1997) Oxford Dictionary of Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
  • Eyiyere, D.O. (1980) Economics Made Easy, Benin City, Quality Publishers Ltd.
  • Fajana, F et al (1999) Countdown to SSCE/JME Economics Ibadan: Evans
  • Falodun, A.B. et al (1997) Round-up Economics, Lagos: Longman
  • Kountsoyiannis, A. (1979) Modern Microeconomics, London: Macmillan
  • Lipsey, R.G. (1997) An Introduction to Positive Economics, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Samuelson, P and Nordhaus, W. (1989) Economics, Singapore: McGraw-Hill
  • Udu E and Agu G.A. (2005) New System Economics: a Senior Secondary Course, Ibadan: Africana FIRST Publishers Ltd.
  • Wannacott and Wannacott (1979) Economics, New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Brownson-oton Richard (2010) What is Microeconomics? Niky Printing and Publishing coy.
  • Brownson-oton Richard (2010) What is Macro-Economics? Niky Printing and Publishing coy.

Join Our Free JAMB & WAEC Prep Community!

Live quiz sessions, last-minute tips, and exam alerts. Join 5,000+ students!

Join Free Sessions →

Need More Syllabuses?

Browse all JAMB subjects or explore other exams

More JAMBAll Exams