Home » NABTEB Syllabus » Are you writing Economics in the upcoming NABTEB examinations? Then this article is for you. We have decided to make your reading process smooth and easy by providing you with a list of topics in the NABTEB Recommended Economics Syllabus you are expected to read for your upcoming exams.
This syllabus is very important as it shows you the full list of topics you should expect to see in your exams. Read it, understand, and practice before your exam and you can expect high scores in your exam.
The syllabus aims at testing candidates’:
a. knowledge of basic economic principles, concepts, and tools for economic analysis.
b. knowledge of the structure and functions of economic institutions.
c. ability to explain the basis and structure of the Nigerian economy, including the role of industry, mining, and agriculture.
d. appreciation of the role, status, and problems of Nigerian economic development.
e. understanding of the basis for national economic decisions.
f. ability to follow the role and status of Nigeria in International economic relationships.
This exam will have two papers which will be written at once for 3 hours and 20 minutes.
a. Paper 1 will be a multiple-choice objective test of fifty (50) questions for 50 minutes and will carry 40% of the total mark.
b. Paper II will consist of 2 sections; A and B.
Candidates are to answer one question in section A, and any other four (4) questions in section B.
This section carries 60% of the total mark and is to be completed in 2 hours 30 minutes.
| NABTEB ECONOMICS SYLLABUS | ||
| SN | TOPICS | OBJECTIVES |
| 1 | DEFINITION & SCOPE OF ECONOMICS | i. Explain Economics and the nature of Economics. ii. Define scarcity, want, choice and scale of preference. iii. Examine opportunity cost concept. |
| 2 | BASIC TOOLS OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS | i. Explain types of statistics. ii. Calculate measures of central tendency. iii. Calculate measures of dispersion iv. Calculate linear equation |
| 3 | THE THEORY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR | i. Explain consumer behaviour. ii. Explain the concept of margin. iii. Explain utility. iv. Discuss diminishing marginal utility v. Explain utility maximization. vi. State the defects diminishing marginal utility. vii. Explain consumer surplus. viii. Explain indifference curves/maps ix. Explain marginal rate of substitution (MRS). |
| 4 | DEMAND | i. Explain the law of demand. ii. Draw demand schedule iii. Draw demand curve. iv. State the types of demand. v. Explain exceptional/abnormal demand. vi. Discuss factors affecting demand vii. Explain changes in quantity demanded. viii. Discuss change in price |
| 5 | SUPPLY | i. Explain the law of supply. ii. State supply schedule and curve. iii. Explain types of supply. iv. Discuss exceptional/abnormal supply. v. State factors that affect supply |
| 6 | THE CONCEPT OF EQUILIBRIUM | i. Explain the concept of equilibrium. ii. Discuss determinants of equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity. |
| 7 | ELASTICITY OF DEMAND & SUPPLY | i. Explain the concept of elasticity of demand and supply. ii. State types of elasticity of demand and supply. iii. Calculation of different type of elasticity of demand. iv. Explain factors affecting elasticity of demand. |
| 8 | PRICE SYSTEM & RESOURCE ALLOCATION | i. Examine the price system. ii. Explain functions of the price system. iii. State the merits and demerits of price system |
| 9 | PRODUCTION | i.a) Discuss purpose of production. b) Explain types/classes of production. c) Examine factors of production. d) State channels of production e) Explain the systems of production. f). Discuss the determinant of the volume of production ii.a) Explain division of labour. b) Explain specialization of labour. c) State the merits and demerits of division of labour. d) Discuss the limitation of division of labour iii. Production Curve/Frontier a) Explain production curve/frontier possibility and it’s uses iv. Scale of Production a) Explain scale of production. b) State the advantage and disadvantages of small scale of production. c) Explain the advantages and the disadvantages of large scale of production. d) Explain the concept of internal and external economics of scale. e) Discuss the distinction between internal and external economics |
| 10 | DISTRIBUTIVE TRADE/CHAIN DISTRIBUTION | i. Identify the distribution chain ii. Explain role of each channel of distribution. iii. Discuss argument for and against the middlemen. iv. State the problems of distribution in Nigeria. v. Explain the role of Government agencies in distribution of goods in Nigeria. |
| 11 | VARIABLE PROPORTION & DIMINISHING RETURNS | i. Explain the law of variable proportions/ diminishing returns ii. Discuss the application of the law of diminishing returns to land. iii. Examine the relevance of the law of variable proportions/diminishing returns. iv. Explain the application of law of variable proportion |
| 12 | COST CONCEPT | i. Describe the various forms of cost. ii. Explain types of cost and its application. |
| 13 | REVENUE | i. Analyse the concept of revenue. |
| 14 | MARKET | i. Explain the concept of market. ii. State types of market |
| 15 | PERFECT COMPETITION | i. Explain perfect competition. ii. Explain features of perfect market. iii. Discuss the merits and demerits of perfect market. iv. Proffer solutions to the demerits. v. Graphically illustrate perfect competition. vi. Explain price and output determination under perfect competition. vii. Discuss cost curves, supply curves and demand curves under perfect competition. |
| 16 | MONOPOLY | i. Explain Monopoly ii. State types of monopoly. iii. Explain features/characteristics of a monopoly. iv. Discuss price determination under a monopoly. v. State the merits and demerits of a monopoly. vi. Explain price and quantity determination under a monopoly. vii. Discuss forms of control of a monopoly. viii. Compare and contrast monopoly and perfect competition. ix. Discuss cost, supply and demand curves under a monopoly. |
| 17 | IMPERFECT COMPETITION | i. Define imperfect competition. ii. Examine the features/characteristics of imperfect competition. iii. Explain the various types of imperfect competition. iv. Analyse the features of each types of imperfect market. v. Explain the merits and demerits of each type of market. vi. Explain output and price determination under imperfect competition. vii. Examine the solution to the demerits of each type of imperfect market. viii. Compare imperfect competition and perfect competition. ix. Illustrate each type of imperfect competition. x. Graphically derive the following curves under imperfect competition a) cost curves b) supply curves |
| 18 | POPULATION | i. Explain the concept in population studies, and population terms. ii. State the purpose of population census. iii. Explain the problem of population census in Nigeria. iv. Discuss the factors affecting population growth. v. Explain the population structure in Nigeria. vi. Explain geographical distribution of population in Nigeria. vii. State the population theories. viii. State the effect of increasing population. ix. Explain the consequence of aging population |
| 19 | LABOUR MARKET | i. Explain the concept of labour market. ii. State the factors that determines labour force. iii. Explain the factors that influence the efficiency of labour. iv. Discuss the demand for and supply of labour v. State the reasons for the differences in salaries and wages. vi. Explain mobility of labour. vii. State types of mobility of labour. viii. Explain the factors that influences mobility of labour. ix. Discuss types of unemployment. x. Examine the causes and consequences of unemployment. xi. Discuss the solutions to each type of unemployment. |
| 20 | LABOUR UNION | i. Labour unions and Employers Association |
| 21 | BUSINESS ORGANIZATION | i. Explain the concept of business organization. ii. State the types of business organization. iii. Explain the aims/purpose of business organization. iv. Discuss the types of business organization. v. Explain stocks and shares. vi. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of each type of shares. vii. Explain Debentures. viii. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of debentures |
| 22 | ECONOMIC GROWTH | i. Explain the concept of economic growth. ii. Describe the characteristics of economic growth iii. Explain the factors affecting economic growth. iv. Explain the benefits of economic growth. |
| 23 | PUBLIC CORPORATION | i. Explain public corporation. ii. State reasons for the existence of public corporation iii. Explain advantages/disadvantages iv. Discuss the need for commercialization/privatization of public corporation |
| 24 | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | i. Define Economic Development ii. Explain the process of economic development. iii. Differentiate between economic development and growth. iv. Explain the meaning of under-development. v. Explain the characteristics of economics under development vi. List the factors that influence economic development of a nation. |
| 25 | MONEY | i. Define money and trade by barter. ii. Explain the types of money, its characteristics and functions. Also the value, demand, supply and the quantity theory of money. iii. Explain the relationship between the value of money and price |
| 26 | INFLATION | i. Define inflation and explain the types of inflation. ii. Examine the causes of each type of inflation. iii. Identify the measures used to control inflation. iv. Explain the effects of inflation. |
| 27 | DEFLATION | i. Explain deflation and its causes. ii. Identify the effects of deflation. iii. Examine the control of deflation |
| 28 | BANKING | i. Define banking iii. State the types of banks (commercial bank, merchant bank, central bank, mortgage bank, development bank). iii. Trace the origin of banking. iv. Explain the meaning and characteristics of commercial banks. v. Examine the role/functions of commercial banks. vi. Identify the types of Accounts kept by the commercial banks. vii. Explain the creation of credit by commercial banks. viii. Explain the limitations to the creation of credit by commercial banks. ix. Explain the impact of banking in the Nigerian economy. |
| 29 | CENTRAL BANK | i. Define Central Bank ii. Trace the historical development of Central Bank in West Africa. iii. Explain the functions of Central Bank. iv. Explain how the Central Bank controls commercial banks |
| 30 | OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS | i. List other financial institutions besides the commercial and Central Banks e.g. Insurance companies, merchant banks, development banks, stock exchange etc). ii. Explain the characteristics of each of the financial institutions. iii. Examine the functions of each institution. |
| 31 | AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN NIGERIA | i. Define Agriculture. ii. State the various types of Agricultural practices in Nigeria (e.g. crop) production, livestock, fisheries etc.) iii. Explain the importance of Agriculture. iv. Identify the problem of Agriculture in Nigeria. v. Analyse briefly the system of Agriculture in Nigeria e.g. (peasant communal, plantation, cooperative etc. vi. Describe the method of Agriculture in Nigeria. vii. Marketing of Agricultural produces. viii. Prospect of Agriculture in Nigeria |
| 32 | INDUSTRIALIZATION IN NIGERIA | i. Explain the meaning of firm, industry and industrialization. ii. Identify the types of industries in Nigeria. iii. Explain the factors influencing the location of industries. iv. Explain the meaning of localization of industries. v. Explain the factors influencing localization of industries in Nigeria. vi. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of localization. vii. Explain the importance of industrialization in the development process. viii. Analyse the different strategies for industrialization. ix. Identify factors influencing the performance of industries. x. Analyse the problem of industrialization in Nigeria. xi. Proffer solution to the problems of industrialization in Nigeria. |
| 33 | NATIONAL INCOME | i. Explain the following terms: (a) National Income (NI) (b) Gross National Product (GNP). (C) Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (d) Net National Income (NNI). ii. Examine the methods of computing the terms in (i) above. iii. Explain the methods of computing the national income. a. income method b. output approach, and (c) expenditure approach iv. Examine the uses of national income. v. State the factors affecting the national income of a country. vi. Explain the problems associated with the computation of national income. vii. Explain the following concept. (a) income (b) savings (c) investment (d) consumption viii. Analyse the relationship among vii above. ix. Explain the following concepts. (a) average propensity to consume (APC) (b) Average propensity to save (APS). (c) Marginal propensity to consume (MPC). x. Explain the concept of multiplier. xi. Perform calculation involving the multiplier. xii. Explain with illustrations the equilibrium level of national income |
| 34 | PUBLIC FINANCE | i. Define public finance and fiscal policy. ii. Explain the objectives of public finance. iii. Explain the sources of government revenue. iv. Explain the structure of government expenditure. v. Define taxation. vi. Identify the different types of taxes with examples. vii. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of each types of taxes. viii. Explain the system of taxation. ix. State the advantages and disadvantages of each tax system. x. Examine incidence of taxation. xi. Analyse the problem of tax collection in Nigeria. xii. Proffer solution to the problems of tax collection in Nigeria. |
| 35 | BUDGET | i. Define Budget ii. Explain the reasons for a budget. iii. State the types of budget. iv. Examine revenue allocation formula in Nigeria. |
| 36 | NATIONAL/PUBLIC DEBT | i. Define National Debt. ii. Explain the types of national debt. (internal and external). iii. Define debt servicing. iv. Examine the effects of national debt on a coentry |
| 37 | INTERNATIONAL TRADE | i. Define international trade. ii. Explain the basis for international trade. iii. Explain the barriers to international trade. iv. Explain the principles of international trade. v. Analyse the merit and demerit of international trade. vi. Examine the benefits of international trade. vii. Compare internal trade with international trade. |
| 38 | BALANCE OF PAYMENT | i. Define terms of trade, balance of trade and balance of payment ii. Explain the components of balance of payment (current account, capital account, and monetary movement). iii. Analyse balance of payment disequilibrium (deficit and surplus). iv. Examine the problems of balance of payment disequilibrium. |
| 39 | DEVALUATION OF CURRENCY | i. Explain the meaning of devaluation of currency. ii. Discuss the effects of devaluation. iii. Describe the condition favouring devaluation |
| 40 | ECONOMIC INTEGRATION | i. Explain economic integration. ii. Examine the types of economic integration. iii. Explain the origin of ECOWAS. iv. Examine the benefits of ECOWAS. v. explain the problems of ECOWAS membership vi. Suggest solutions to the problems of ECOWAS |
| 41 | NIGERIAN ECONOMIC PLAN | i. Define economic plans ii. Outline the process of economic planning. iii. Advance reasons for economic planning. iv. Explain the following types of economic planning. (a) aggregate economic planning (b) disaggregate economic planning. v. Analyse the Nigerian economic plan from pre- independence period to 1985, including the following:- (a) pre-independence economic plans. (b) Post-independence economic plans. (c) First National Development Plan 1962 – 1968. (d) Second National Development Plan 1969 – 1974. (e) Third National Development Plan 1974 – 1980. (f) Fourth National Development Plan 1981 – 1985. Examine Nigeria’s development plans since 1985. |
| 42 | NATURAL RESOURCES | i. Examine the development of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. ii. Analyse the impact of petroleum in Nigeria economic. iii. Examine the role of NNPC and OPEC in the Nigerian economy. iv. Analyse the marketing of petroleum products in Nigeria. v. Explain other major Natural Resources. |
| 43 | INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS | i. List the various international economic organizations. ii. Explain the origin and functions in (i) above. iii. Enumerate the benefits of the organizations listed in (i) above to Nigeria. iv. Analyse the problems associated with the operation of the organization listed in (i) above. v. Assess the future prospects of organisations in (i) above |
1. Aderinto, A.A et al (1996) Economics: Exam Focus, Ibadan: University Press Plc.
2. Black, J. (1997) Oxford Dictionary of Economics,Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3. Brownson-oton Richard (2010) What is Micro-Economics? Niky Printing and Publishing coy.
4. Brownson-oton Richard (2010) What is Macro-Economics? Niky Printing and Publishing coy.
5. Eyiyere, D.O. (1980) Economics Made Easy, Benin City, Quality Publishers Ltd.
6. Fajana, F et al (1999) Countdown to SSCE/JME Economics, Ibadan: Evans.
7. Falodun, A.B. et al (1997) Round-up Economics, Lagos: Longman.
8. Kountsoyiannis, A. (1979) Modern MicroEconomics, London: Macmillan.
9. Lawal, O.A. (1985) Success in Economics, London: John Muray.
10. Lipsey, R.G. (1997) An Introduction to Positive Economics, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
11. Samuelson, P and Nordhaus, W. (1989) Economics, Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
12. Udu E and Agu G.A. (2005) New System Economics: a Senior Secondary Course, Ibadan: Africana FIRST Publishers Ltd.
13. Wannacott and Wannacott (1979) Economics, New York: McGraw-Hill.
The most important thing is for you to read and understand each question before you start writing your answer.
Watch out for the instructions as well.
The theory section usually carries more marks than the other section, so make sure you give yourself enough time to answer all the questions in this section.
Instead of reading to memorize, reading to understand. That way you can be able to explain things in your own words and the official marking your scripts will know that you truly understand the subject.
As a general rule, you should spend no more than 2 minutes on each question in the objective section and 5 minutes on the theory. However, it’s important to keep an eye on the clock and make sure you’re spending an appropriate amount of time on each question. You don’t want to rush through and make careless mistakes!
If you’re running out of time, don’t panic! Try to finish as many questions as possible and make sure your answers are as complete as possible.
If you’re unsure about a question, skip it and move on to other questions you understand and can answer. Then come back to those you don’t understand and think about it some more. Don’t spend too much time on a question that is confusing you. It’s better to focus on questions that you are more confident about.
Yes, you will be allowed to use a calculator.
