Junior Economist Qualification study plan

Construct and label supply-and-demand diagrams for price ceilings, price floors, and per-unit taxes, then compute the resulting consumer surplus, producer surplus, deadweight loss, and tax incidence split.

Derive elasticity of demand (price, income, cross-price) from numeric data and classify goods as normal, inferior, substitute, or complement based on the computed sign and magnitude.

Solve cost-minimization and profit-maximization problems for a price-taking firm, explicitly distinguishing fixed from variable costs and identifying shutdown versus break-even points.

Explain in writing why marginal revenue falls below price for a monopolist and compute the Lerner index from a given elasticity.

Compute GDP by both the expenditure and income approaches from a set of national accounts entries and reconcile the two totals.

Distinguish nominal from real GDP, choose an appropriate deflator, and calculate real growth and inflation from two consecutive years of data.

Build the goods-market equilibrium (income-expenditure) and derive the multiplier for changes in autonomous spending, including the effect of a proportional tax rate.

Identify the phase of the business cycle from output-gap and unemployment figures and state which automatic stabilizer would activate.

Combine the IS and LM relations into a single system and solve algebraically for equilibrium output and interest rate given parameter values.

Trace the transmission of a fiscal expansion through the multiplier, the interest rate, and crowding-out of investment, and quantify the crowding-out in a numeric example.

Compare monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition on efficiency grounds and articulate the policy implications of each market structure.

Draft short-answer responses (120-180 words) to two mixed micro-macro prompts under a 12-minute time limit each.

Compute and interpret mean, median, mode, variance, standard deviation, covariance, and correlation for a raw dataset, stating which measure is appropriate for skewed data and why.

Apply the rules of probability, including conditional probability and Bayes' theorem, to solve three applied problems such as screening tests and default risk.

Identify the correct sampling distribution (normal, t, chi-square, F) for a stated scenario and construct a confidence interval for a mean and a proportion.

Set up and interpret a hypothesis test end to end: null and alternative, one- versus two-tailed, test statistic, p-value, and the meaning of a Type I versus Type II error.

Estimate a simple and a multiple OLS regression by hand on a small dataset (five to eight observations) and verify the slope and intercept against the standard formulas.

Interpret each estimated coefficient, its standard error, t-statistic, and R-squared in plain economic language, distinguishing statistical from economic significance.

Diagnose heteroskedasticity, multicollinearity, autocorrelation, and omitted-variable bias from residual and correlation evidence, and state the consequence for each estimator.

Explain what an instrumental variable must satisfy and when a difference-in-differences design is credible, using one applied example for each.

Classify taxes as progressive, proportional, or regressive from rate schedules and compute average and marginal tax rates at three income levels.

Evaluate a public project using net present value and the benefit-cost ratio, and explain how the choice of discount rate changes the recommendation.

Distinguish public goods, common-pool resources, and club goods, and match each to an appropriate policy instrument (provision, regulation, pricing).

Explain how the central bank's policy rate transmits to money-market rates, credit, and the exchange rate, and compute the money multiplier from reserve and currency ratios.

Apply comparative advantage and the opportunity-cost method to determine trade patterns between two countries and compute the gains from specialization and exchange.

Analyze the welfare effects of a tariff and a quota on a small open economy, quantifying changes in consumer surplus, producer surplus, tariff revenue, and deadweight loss.

Explain how exchange-rate regimes (fixed, floating, managed) constrain monetary policy under capital mobility, using the policy trilemma.

Identify the main competition, consumer-protection, and disclosure rules that bear on professional conduct, and apply a short decision framework to two ethics scenarios involving conflicts of interest and use of confidential data.

Assemble a personal error log from weeks 1-7, group errors by domain, and rank the three weakest areas by frequency and severity.

Re-solve every previously missed problem without notes and confirm each is now correct before moving on.

Complete two full-length timed mock exams under exam conditions and record per-domain accuracy and time spent.

Revise the one-page formula sheet into a final condensed reference covering all eight domains.