TASC Economics Level 3 study plan
TASC Economics Level 3 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost & Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium
Distinguish scarcity, tradeoffs, and opportunity cost in ten original scenarios, stating the foregone alternative for each
Construct production possibilities frontier diagrams and identify points that are efficient, inefficient, and unattainable
Derive a market demand curve by horizontally summing individual demand schedules
Explain the difference between a change in quantity demanded and a shift in demand using three self-written examples each
Your checkpoint
A one-page concept map linking scarcity, opportunity cost, PPF shifts, demand shifters, and quantity-demanded movements, plus ten worked scenario answers
Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium & Elasticity and Consumer Behavior
Graph supply and demand together and solve for equilibrium price and quantity algebraically
Predict the effect of simultaneous supply and demand shifts on equilibrium price and quantity for six cases
Compute price elasticity of demand using the midpoint formula and classify results as elastic, inelastic, or unit elastic
Relate elasticity to total revenue changes and to tax incidence between buyers and sellers
Your checkpoint
A six-row shift-prediction table with equilibrium outcomes and a five-problem elasticity worksheet showing midpoint calculations and revenue effects
Production, Costs, and Market Structures & Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost
Calculate fixed, variable, average, and marginal costs from a production schedule
Derive the profit-maximizing output rule where marginal revenue equals marginal cost
Compare perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly on entry barriers and pricing power
Revisit opportunity cost by applying it to a firm's shutdown and exit decisions
Your checkpoint
A completed cost schedule with a marginal analysis table identifying profit-maximizing quantity for four market structures
Economic Systems and the Role of Government & Fiscal Policy and Public Finance
Compare traditional, command, and market systems on who answers the three basic economic questions
Identify public goods, externalities, and market failures that justify government intervention
Distinguish progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes and classify five revenue sources
Explain how expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy affect aggregate demand
Your checkpoint
A two-column comparison chart of economic systems and a half-page policy brief recommending a fiscal response to a recession with justification
Labor Markets, Wages, and Income Distribution & Macroeconomic Measurement and Indicators
Derive labor demand from marginal revenue product and explain equilibrium wage determination
Analyze how unions, minimum wages, and licensing affect wages and employment
Compute GDP using the expenditure approach and distinguish nominal from real GDP
Calculate the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate from a data table, and identify types of unemployment
Compute a consumer price index and an inflation rate from a market basket
Your checkpoint
A data-analysis sheet computing GDP, unemployment, participation, CPI, and inflation from provided-style figures, with a short interpretation of each result
Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy & Macroeconomic Measurement and Indicators
Define the functions of money and describe the components of M1 and M2
Explain fractional reserve banking and compute the money multiplier from a reserve ratio
Illustrate how open market operations, reserve requirements, and the discount rate change the money supply
Trace the transmission from monetary policy to interest rates, investment, and real GDP
Your checkpoint
A one-page diagram tracing a central bank open market purchase through bank reserves, the money multiplier, interest rates, and output, with all values computed
International Trade, Exchange Rates, and Globalization & Fiscal Policy and Public Finance
Explain comparative advantage and compute opportunity costs to determine gains from trade
Distinguish balance of trade from balance of payments components
Interpret currency appreciation and depreciation effects on exports, imports, and domestic prices
Evaluate tariffs and quotas for effects on consumers, producers, and deadweight loss
Connect trade policy to fiscal debates over subsidies and redistribution
Your checkpoint
A comparative-advantage problem set with two-country opportunity cost tables plus a written evaluation of a tariff scenario
Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost & Supply, Demand, and Market Equilibrium & Production, Costs, and Market Structures & Macroeconomic Measurement and Indicators & Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy & Fiscal Policy and Public Finance & International Trade, Exchange Rates, and Globalization
Diagnose weak areas using a timed mixed-domain practice set and rank domains by error rate
Re-derive the highest-frequency formulas from memory without notes
Write concise explanations of the ten most-missed concepts in your own words
Simulate full exam conditions and review every incorrect item for its underlying concept
Your checkpoint
A timed full-length practice test with an error log classifying each miss by domain and a one-page formula sheet written from memory
Milestones
Week 2: Solve a combined supply-and-demand equilibrium problem and a midpoint elasticity problem correctly without notes
Week 4: Score at least 75 percent on a 20-question quiz covering domains 1 through 5 and 9
Week 6: Correctly compute the money multiplier and trace a monetary policy change end to end in under ten minutes
Week 8: Score at least 80 percent on the timed full-length practice test with no domain below 60 percent