Preparation & tutoring
Compare the 60-hour full course, 30-hour intermediate course and 20-hour focused review. Explore the syllabus, practice and preparation for your economics background.
Course options
Choose a course for your background
Start with what you have studied, then compare course aims and content. These are tutoring courses, not officially prescribed USAEBO courses.
Build a foundation
Full course
Students who want a systematic economics course; no prior economics is required.
Connect AP, IBDP and A-Level core topics with model application, calculations and USAEBO first-round preparation.
Explore the syllabus →Build on one subject
Intermediate course
Students who have studied either microeconomics or macroeconomics.
Select suitable topics around prior study to extend knowledge and address gaps.
Explore the syllabus →Build on both subjects
Focused review
Students who have studied both microeconomics and macroeconomics, or completed the NEC 40-hour class course.
Extend knowledge and prepare through consumer choice, production costs, market structure and game theory.
Explore the syllabus →The 20-, 30- and 60-hour plans are references. Hours may be adjusted to learning progress and needs.
Course syllabus
Explore what each course covers
Choose a course, then expand a module to explore its topics.
Full course syllabus
Build a systematic framework through microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics and competition practice.
MicroeconomicsFrom basic concepts and supply and demand to business decisions, market structure and labor markets.
- Basic economic concepts
- Scarcity, resource allocation, the production possibility frontier, marginal analysis, economic agents and types of goods.
- How markets work I
- Demand, supply, elasticity, equilibrium, consumer and producer surplus, price intervention, taxation and subsidies.
- How markets work II
- Social efficiency and externalities.
- Consumer behavior and business decisions I
- Utility, indifference curves, budget constraints and behavioral economics.
- Consumer behavior and business decisions II
- Production functions, short- and long-run costs, types of profit, profit maximization and short- and long-run business decisions.
- Behavioral economics
- Key concepts and theories in behavioral economics.
- Market structure I
- Perfect competition, monopoly and price discrimination.
- Market structure II
- Monopolistic competition, oligopoly, game theory and market-structure calculations.
- Market structure III
- Cournot competition, Stackelberg competition, contestable markets and approaches to government intervention.
- Market structure IV
- Market-structure diagrams and related calculations.
- Factor markets
- Labor demand and supply, labor markets, monopsony and trade unions.
MacroeconomicsStudy economic indicators, macroeconomic models, recessions and policy.
- Economic indicators
- Gross national product, inflation, leading indicators, employment and unemployment.
- Macroeconomic models I
- Aggregate demand and supply, Keynesian economics and the aggregate expenditure model.
- Macroeconomic models II
- The Phillips curve, multiplier effects and the money market.
- Macroeconomic models III
- Business cycles, rational expectations and models of economic cycles.
- Economic recessions
- Historical recessions and policy responses.
- Macroeconomic policy I
- Fiscal policy and supply-side reform.
- Macroeconomic policy II
- Monetary policy.
- Schools of macroeconomics I
- Classical economics, Keynesian economics and the Austrian school.
International economicsExplore trade, exchange rates, the balance of payments and development economics.
- Free trade and protectionism
- Comparative advantage, tariffs, subsidies and quotas.
- Exchange rates
- Fixed, floating and managed floating exchange rates, and purchasing power parity.
- International organizations
- International organizations, terms of trade, exchange-rate systems, overseas investment and aid.
- Balance of payments and the current account
- Current-account categories, causes of imbalances and their effects.
- Development economics
- Development economics, income and wealth disparities, and topics including theories associated with Nobel laureates.
Competition problem practiceConnect subject knowledge with problem-solving techniques, model application and calculation.
- Competition problem practice
- Practice problem-solving techniques and strategies with NEC, IEO, AP microeconomics and macroeconomics, and A-Level economics questions. Relevant practice is integrated into topic teaching.
Intermediate course syllabus
The topics below form a selection of course material. Teaching draws on the student’s background rather than treating every topic as a fixed required checklist.
MicroeconomicsFrom basic concepts and supply and demand to business decisions, market structure and labor markets.
- Basic economic concepts
- Scarcity, resource allocation, the production possibility frontier, marginal analysis, economic agents and types of goods.
- How markets work I
- Demand, supply, elasticity, equilibrium, consumer and producer surplus, price intervention, taxation and subsidies.
- How markets work II
- Social efficiency and externalities.
- Consumer behavior and business decisions I
- Utility, indifference curves, budget constraints and behavioral economics.
- Consumer behavior and business decisions II
- Production functions, short- and long-run costs, types of profit, profit maximization and short- and long-run business decisions.
- Behavioral economics
- Key concepts and theories in behavioral economics.
- Market structure I
- Perfect competition, monopoly and price discrimination.
- Market structure II
- Monopolistic competition, oligopoly, game theory and market-structure calculations.
- Market structure III
- Cournot competition, Stackelberg competition, contestable markets and approaches to government intervention.
- Market structure IV
- Market-structure diagrams and related calculations.
- Factor markets
- Labor demand and supply, labor markets, monopsony and trade unions.
MacroeconomicsStudy economic indicators, macroeconomic models, recessions and policy.
- Economic indicators
- Gross national product, inflation, leading indicators, employment and unemployment.
- Macroeconomic models I
- Aggregate demand and supply, Keynesian economics and the aggregate expenditure model.
- Macroeconomic models II
- The Phillips curve, multiplier effects and the money market.
- Macroeconomic models III
- Business cycles, rational expectations and models of economic cycles.
- Economic recessions
- Historical recessions and policy responses.
- Macroeconomic policy I
- Fiscal policy and supply-side reform.
- Macroeconomic policy II
- Monetary policy.
- Schools of macroeconomics I
- Classical economics, Keynesian economics and the Austrian school.
- Schools of macroeconomics II
- The neoclassical synthesis, monetarism and new classical economics.
International economicsExplore trade, exchange rates, the balance of payments and development economics.
- Free trade and protectionism
- Comparative advantage, tariffs, subsidies and quotas.
- Exchange rates
- Fixed, floating and managed floating exchange rates, and purchasing power parity.
- International organizations
- International organizations, terms of trade, exchange-rate systems, overseas investment and aid.
- Balance of payments and the current account
- Current-account categories, causes of imbalances and their effects.
- Development economics
- Development economics, income and wealth disparities, and topics including theories associated with Nobel laureates.
Competition problem practiceConnect subject knowledge with problem-solving techniques, model application and calculation.
- Competition problem practice
- Practice problem-solving techniques and strategies with NEC, IEO, AP microeconomics and macroeconomics, and A-Level economics questions. Relevant practice is integrated into topic teaching.
Focused review syllabus
Build on existing economics knowledge through the concepts, models, formulas and calculations in the topics below.
Consumer choicePreferences, utility, budgets and optimal choice.
- Preferences and optimal choice
- Preferences, utility, budgets and optimal choice.
- Hicksian and Slutsky decomposition
- Hicksian decomposition, Slutsky decomposition, and related formulas and calculations.
Resource allocationSupply and demand, elasticity, surplus and intervention.
- Markets and intervention
- Demand, supply, elasticity, consumer and producer surplus, government intervention, and related formulas and calculations.
Production, cost, revenue and profitFrom production functions and costs to profit maximization and cost minimization.
- Production and profit
- Production functions, short- and long-run production costs, and profit maximization.
- Isocosts and isoquants
- Isocosts, isoquants, cost minimization, and related formulas and calculations.
Market structure and game theoryDevelop judgments, models and calculations across market structures.
- Market structures
- Perfect competition, monopoly, price discrimination and monopolistic competition.
- Oligopoly and game theory
- Oligopoly, game theory, mixed strategies, and related formulas and calculations.
Learning and practice
Connect knowledge with problem practice
Connect subject knowledge, problem practice and homework around the chosen course.
Build the framework
Study the concepts, models and conditions within the course topics.
Apply ideas to problems
Combine topic teaching with competition problem practice, calculations and problem-solving strategies.
Complete the homework
Complete the homework after each lesson to consolidate what you have studied.
Practice and homework materials
- Full course
- APIEOOriginal exercises
- Intermediate and focused review
- IEOOriginal exercises
Course exercises and public competition papers are identified by source. IEO problems provide extension practice; they do not establish official USAEBO formats or answers.
Explore public USAEBO papers and samples →Before you start
Prepare for the course
Consider prior economics, mathematics preparation and time for homework together.
Economics background
The full course requires no prior economics. The intermediate course builds on either microeconomics or macroeconomics. Focused review builds on both subjects or completion of the NEC 40-hour class course.
Mathematics preparation
Intermediate and focused review require the relevant mathematics, including calculus. Full-course students must prepare the relevant mathematics in advance or study it alongside the course. These are course preparation requirements; see the registration guide for competition eligibility.
Work between lessons
All three courses require active participation in homework after each lesson, with subsequent learning informed by progress and needs.
Course questions
Discuss a suitable course plan
Share your grade, previous economics courses, mathematics background and study goals to discuss a suitable starting point.
Which course can I take without prior economics?
The 60-hour full course requires no prior economics. It includes microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics and competition practice. Prepare the relevant mathematics in advance or study it alongside the course.
Does the intermediate course cover every listed topic?
The intermediate course selects suitable topics around the student’s background. The syllabus presents available topics rather than a fixed checklist every student must complete.
Can the course hours change?
The 20-, 30- and 60-hour plans are references. Hours may be adjusted to learning progress and needs.
Are all practice materials USAEBO past papers?
No. Full-course homework mainly uses AP papers, IEO papers and original exercises. Intermediate and focused-review homework mainly uses IEO papers and original exercises. Materials from different sources should be distinguished.
Discuss your starting point
Explore a course and topics suited to your background.