IB Economics SL · 2022 to 2025

2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources

16 past paper questions from 12 papers across 7 exam sessions. See what repeats, then practise the same skills with AI marking.

Original Exam Vault questions with AI markscheme feedback for this topic.

Generate a custom set

SL archive · 2022 to 2025

2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources

Latest exam session: May 2025

questions
16
questions
papers
12
papers
exam sessions
7
exam sessions
micro-topics
3

Micro-topics in 2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources

In syllabus order. The ring is the share of papers each appears in.

  • 26

    2.8.1

    Negative externalities

    7 questions · in 26% of papersAppears in 6 of the 23 Economics SL papers analysed (26%), at least once each.

    Frequently tested

    last May 25 P2 TZ3

  • 26

    2.8.2

    Positive externalities

    6 questions · in 26% of papersAppears in 6 of the 23 Economics SL papers analysed (26%), at least once each.

    Frequently tested

    last May 25 P2 TZ3

  • 9

    2.8.3

    Common pool resources

    3 questions · in 9% of papersAppears in 2 of the 23 Economics SL papers analysed (9%), at least once each.

    Occasional

    last May 25 P1 TZ2

Exam pattern

How often each micro-topic has been examined, year by year. Each label is explained under the grid.

Does it repeat?

Questions per year for each micro-topic.

fewermore

Micro-topic2022202320242025
2.8.1Negative externalitiesFrequently tested
1Negative externalities, 2022: 1 question1Negative externalities, 2023: 1 question3Negative externalities, 2024: 3 questions2Negative externalities, 2025: 2 questions
2.8.2Positive externalitiesFrequently tested
1Positive externalities, 2022: 1 question1Positive externalities, 2023: 1 question1Positive externalities, 2024: 1 question3Positive externalities, 2025: 3 questions
2.8.3Common pool resourcesOccasional
·Common pool resources, 2022: 0 questions2Common pool resources, 2023: 2 questions·Common pool resources, 2024: 0 questions1Common pool resources, 2025: 1 question
  • Frequently testedin at least a quarter of all papers, and still appearing in the last two years
  • Occasionalin about one paper in ten

Past paper generator

Generate Economics SL past paper questions

Choose what to revise and build a set in one click. Every question stays whole, so multi-part questions come as they appeared in the exam.

  1. 1Pick any unit, topic or micro-topic
  2. 2Generate whole exam questions from the archive
  3. 3Practise the same skills with AI marking
Loading the generator

Questions on 2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources, by exam session

Which papers asked about 2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources, and which question numbers. Open a paper to see them highlighted.

Past Paper Generator · Pro

Every 2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources question, unlocked

Generate all 16 questions in this topic at once, practise every one with AI marking, and see how each mark is awarded.

  • Every past-paper question in any unit, topic or micro-topic
  • Generate sets of 20 or all questions, as often as you like
  • Unlimited practice with AI marking and worked answers
  • See how every mark is awarded for each question
  • Predicted papers and crash courses built from the same data

Used by IB students preparing for Nov 2026, May 2027 and May 2028

From €6/mo. 14-day money-back guarantee. Cancel anytime.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers about this page.

Which Economics SL exam sessions are covered for 2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources?

7 exam sessions from 2022 to 2025, the latest May 2025. Every Paper 1 and 2 in every timezone is read and classified in full, which gives 12 papers in this archive.

Which 2.8 Market failure: externalities and common pool resources topic comes up most?

Negative externalities (2.8.1): in 26% of papers, last seen May 25 P2 TZ3. Usually "explain / justify", worth about 5.3 marks in a paper that includes it.

Can I see the original question and mark scheme?

No. The wording belongs to the IB. You get the citation, the marks, the command term and the skill tested, plus our own matched practice questions with worked answers and AI marking.

What do "banker", "due" and "rising" mean?

Banker: examined in at least one sitting in four and still appearing. Due: regular before, but absent for the last two exam sessions. Rising: clearly more common in the last two years. Our classification of real papers, not an IB statistic.

What is free and what needs Pro?

Reading this page and the exam pattern is free. A free account generates three sets of ten questions and launches one practice set. Pro opens every question in any scope, sets of twenty or all, and unlimited practice.

Keep going

More Economics SL exam preparation

  • Every question, by paper

    What each Economics SL paper tests across all its sittings: the marks by unit and the micro-topics it keeps coming back to.

    Open the paper analysis

  • Predicted questions

    The question types most likely in the next Economics SL sitting, built from this same archive.

    See the predictions

  • Formula booklet, explained

    Every formula you are given in the exam, with when to use it and the traps around it.

    Open the booklet guide

  • Mock exams

    Full Economics SL papers under timed conditions, marked by AI against IB criteria.

    Sit a mock

  • All IB past papers

    Every subject we have classified by topic, with the same exam-pattern analysis.

    Browse subjects