IBonomics2026-W14
FDI and supply‑shift diagrams need attention; comparative statics on demand remain strong
This week’s quizzes show clear strength on substitution/complement questions but recurring errors on FDI/exchange‑rate and supply‑shift diagram tasks.
Published April 12, 2026
Total attempts
127
Active learners
21
Average score
82.48%
Question accuracy
80.33%
Longest average time on question
≈250 s (outward FDI)
1. Weekly Overview
Students answered demand comparative statics very well but struggled with FDI/exchange‑rate and supply diagrams.
Aggregate quiz activity (127 attempts, 21 learners) produced an average score ~82% and question accuracy ~80%. High accuracy items clustered in microeconomics comparative statics (substitutes/complements and tax effects). Lowest accuracy and longest times appeared on Global Economy FDI/exchange‑rate questions and multi‑shift supply diagrams in Microeconomics.
Student takeaway: Prioritise practice on balance‑of‑payments/FDI diagrams and drawing clear supply‑shift diagrams for expected price changes and entry/exit.
2. Key Patterns
Main Insights
Weakness: FDI and exchange‑rate effects
Questions about inward/outward FDI and their effect on the foreign‑exchange market had very low correctness (one inward FDI question 0% correct; outward FDI showed long times and incorrect answers).
Advice: Revise how FDI shows up in the balance of payments (capital account vs current account) and practice mapping FDI flows to supply/demand shifts in the forex market (label axes and the specific flow causing demand or supply of the currency).
Weakness: multi‑shift supply diagrams and expected‑price effects
Several supply‑diagram tasks (farmers expecting price falls; switching production between apples and oranges; entry vs free resource) showed low or zero correctness, indicating difficulty applying supply‑shift reasoning and combining shifts in one diagram.
Advice: Practice stepwise diagrams: identify the immediate supply/demand change, draw the first shift, then overlay second effects (entry/exit or changes in willingness to pay); label curves and directions clearly.
Strength: comparative statics with substitutes, complements and taxes
High‑attempt questions on substitute/complement relationships and the effect of indirect taxes on supply were answered correctly by nearly all students, indicating solid understanding of demand shifts and standard supply responses.
Advice: Keep practising these comparative‑statics questions under timed conditions to maintain speed; use mixed scenarios that combine complements and substitutes to deepen reasoning.
Long response times signal diagram/labeling uncertainty
Questions with the longest average times (outward FDI, remittance flows, multi‑step complement/substitute scenarios) often had mixed or low accuracy — suggesting hesitation when multiple flows or shifts must be shown and labelled.
Advice: When drawing diagrams, practise a 3‑step approach: (1) state the event in words, (2) mark the curve(s) that move and direction, (3) label axes and final outcome — this reduces time and errors.
3. Revision Plan
Priority Areas
FDI and Balance of Payments (foreign exchange effects) · 4.5
0% correctness on inward FDI and long times/low accuracy on outward FDI questions.
Action: Practice 10 short BOP diagram questions: identify capital vs current account entries and map each FDI event to currency supply/demand shifts; label flows explicitly.
Market supply shifts and multi‑effect diagrams · 2.2
Multiple zero/low‑accuracy items where students combined expected price changes, switching production and entry effects.
Action: Do stepwise diagram exercises (5–10) showing single then combined shifts; write a one‑line justification for each curve movement.
Remittances and net flows on international diagrams · 4.5
Remittance question showed long completion times and mixed accuracy, indicating uncertainty in how to represent personal income flows.
Action: Work through labeled examples of remittance and pension flows on BOP/forex diagrams and practise converting narrative prompts into arrows on diagrams.
Comparative statics with complements/substitutes and taxes · 2.1 / 2.2
High accuracy but some items had long times — opportunity to improve speed.
Action: Timed drills (10 minutes) on mixed comparative‑statics problems, focusing on quick identification of complements/substitutes and tax incidence on supply curves.
4. Question Evidence
Featured Questions
Most Wrong Questions
| Question | Topic | Unit | Attempts | Correct | Wrong | Avg Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European car makers build new factories in the USA. How does this inward FDI affect the dollar in the foreign exchange market? | Global Economy | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 17.6 s |
| In a single diagram for IB Economics revision courses, show what happens when more EdTech firms enter the market while a new, very effective free online resource reduces students' willingness to pay for paid courses. | Microeconomics | 2.2 | 8 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 36.5 s |
| The price of apples rises while the price of oranges remains unchanged. Many farmers can switch between producing apples and oranges using the same land. What happens to the market supply of oranges? | Microeconomics | 2.2 | 8 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 17.9 s |
Most Correct Questions
| Question | Topic | Unit | Attempts | Correct | Wrong | Avg Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assume electric cars and petrol cars are substitutes. If a government introduces a large subsidy for electric car charging stations (a complementary good to electric cars), what happens to the demand for petrol cars? | Microeconomics | 2.1 | 25 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 30.5 s |
| What happens to the demand for Xbox consoles if the price of PlayStation 4 consoles increases? | Microeconomics | 2.1 | 20 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 22.3 s |
| Demand for beef falls, leading to a lower price and reduced production of beef. Beef and leather are jointly supplied from the same cows. What happens to the market supply of leather? | Microeconomics | 2.2 | 20 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 26.2 s |
Most Time Spent Questions
| Question | Topic | Unit | Attempts | Correct | Wrong | Avg Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A US fast food chain expands its restaurant network in Indonesia. How does this outward FDI affect the dollar in the foreign exchange market? | Global Economy | 4.5 | 3 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4.2 min |
| More Mexican workers in the USA send money home while more US retirees in Mexico send pension income back to the USA. How would you show these remittance flows on the diagram? | Global Economy | 4.5 | 16 | 50.0% | 0.0% | 1.9 min |
| Smartphones and mobile apps are complements, while smartphones and tablets are substitutes. If app‑store prices rise sharply at the same time that tablet prices fall, what is the combined expected effect on smartphone demand? | Microeconomics | 2.1 | 19 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 1.8 min |
5. Conclusion
Next steps
Focus revision on mapping narrative events to labelled diagrams for FDI/BOP and supply shifts; keep practising comparative statics under time pressure to convert understanding into exam speed.
Note: This weekly report is automatically generated and may contain mistakes. Always double-check key points before using them for revision.
This report summarises anonymized aggregate quiz activity from the specified weekly dataset; it does not include or imply any individual student data.