JAMB Economics 2023 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 15 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2023 JAMB Economics paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 78 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

JAMB Economics 2023 questions and answers

1. 1.

   Government uses all of the following ways to redistribute income, except

   1. A
      devaluation of the national currency
      Correct
   2. B
      provision of free social services such as education and healthcare
   3. C
      payment of subsidies and transfer payments to the poor
   4. D
      progressive taxation
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Government redistributes income mainly through progressive taxation (taxing the rich more heavily), subsidies and transfer payments to the poor, and free social services that raise the real living standards of lower-income groups. Devaluation of the national currency is an exchange-rate policy tool aimed at trade competitiveness, not a method of redistributing income between rich and poor.

2. 2.

   The short run can be defined as the period of time during which

   1. A
      the firm can enter or exit the industry freely
   2. B
      at least one factor of production is fixed while others can be varied
      Correct
   3. C
      output is zero and the firm makes no sales
   4. D
      all factors of production can be varied
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The short run is defined as the period in which at least one factor of production (typically capital/plant size) is fixed, while other factors such as labour and raw materials can still be adjusted.

3. 3.

   Which one of the following measures the natural growth rate of population?

   1. A
      the difference between the birth rate and the death rate
      Correct
   2. B
      net migration rate
   3. C
      the dependency ratio
   4. D
      the total fertility rate
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   The natural growth rate of population is defined as the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate — it measures population change from births and deaths alone, leaving migration out of the picture.

4. 4.

   Among all the determinants of economic growth, the most important one is

   1. A
      the size of the population
   2. B
      the amount of rainfall
   3. C
      the level of imports
   4. D
      capital accumulation (investment)
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Capital accumulation — sustained investment in machinery, infrastructure and technology — is generally regarded as the most important driver of long-run economic growth, since it raises the productive capacity of the economy.

5. 5.

   Calculate the equilibrium level of national income (Y) where Y = C + I + G; C = 100 + 0.75Y; I = 50; G = 200

   1. A
      1200
   2. B
      1500
   3. C
      1300
   4. D
      1400
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Substitute the given values into Y = C + I + G: Y = (100 + 0.75Y) + 50 + 200 = 350 + 0.75Y.

   Collecting terms: Y − 0.75Y = 350, so 0.25Y = 350, giving Y = 1400. That is the equilibrium level of national income.

6. 6.

   Which of the following shows why individual demand curve for a good usually slopes downward from left to right?

   1. A
      the law of comparative advantage
   2. B
      the law of diminishing returns
   3. C
      the law of diminishing marginal utility
      Correct
   4. D
      the law of increasing costs
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   As a consumer buys more units of a good, each extra unit gives less additional satisfaction (the law of diminishing marginal utility). Because of this, a consumer is only willing to buy more units if the price falls to match that falling extra satisfaction — which is exactly why the demand curve slopes downward.

7. 7.

   Economic problem occurs when

   1. A
      there are too many producers competing for customers
   2. B
      there is too much money circulating in the economy
   3. C
      government fails to control prices of goods
   4. D
      human wants are unlimited while resources to satisfy them are scarce
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The basic economic problem arises from scarcity: human wants are unlimited, but the resources available to satisfy them are limited, forcing choices about what to produce, how, and for whom.

8. 8.Which of the following Age group belongs to active Labour force?
   1. A
      0 - 5 years
   2. B
      15 - 64 years
      Correct
   3. C
      65 years and above
   4. D
      0 - 14 years
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The active (economically active) labour force is conventionally defined as people aged 15 to 64 years — old enough to legally work and not yet past typical retirement age.

   The 0–14 and 0–5 age groups are children, part of the young dependent population, while 65 and above is the elderly dependent population — both groups sit outside the active labour force.

9. 9.

   In a two by two model of international trade, it is assumed that

   1. A
      transport costs between the countries are very high
   2. B
      factors of production move freely between the two countries
   3. C
      there are two countries, two commodities and two factors of production
      Correct
   4. D
      there is only one commodity traded between the countries
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The "two-by-two" (2x2x2) model of international trade is named for its simplifying assumptions: two countries, trading two commodities, using two factors of production — a deliberately simple world used to explain the gains from trade and comparative advantage.

10. 10.Part-time workers who desire full-time employment are:
    1. A
       the underemployed
       Correct
    2. B
       the frictionally unemployed
    3. C
       the voluntarily unemployed
    4. D
       the structurally unemployed
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: A

    Workers who have part-time jobs but would rather be working full-time are classified as underemployed — they are working, but not to the extent their skills and availability allow, which is a form of hidden unemployment.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise all 78 questions we hold from the 2023 paper, on a timed CBT screen

Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.

Download for WindowsDownload for Mac

About the app · Skolra for Windows · Skolra for Mac