When I first heard about the Economics Olympiad, I had never taken a formal economics course. I was in Class 10, comfortable with math and science, but "supply and demand" was about the extent of my economics vocabulary.
Six months later, I was representing Bangladesh at the International Economics Olympiad in Porto, Portugal. This is the honest story of how that happened — the study schedule I followed, the resources that actually worked, and the mistakes I made along the way.
Month 1: Building the Foundation
I started with Mankiw's "Principles of Economics" — not the whole thing, just the first 15 chapters. I read one chapter per day and made sure I could explain each concept to myself before moving on. The key topics I focused on:
- - Supply, demand, and market equilibrium
- - Elasticity (this comes up constantly in competition)
- - Consumer theory and utility
- - Producer theory and cost curves
Key mistake I made: I tried to read too fast at first. Economics concepts build on each other more than you'd expect. If you don't deeply understand elasticity, game theory problems later will be nearly impossible.
Month 2: Market Structures and Game Theory
This is where economics gets interesting — and where competition problems start to feel real. I used:
- - Mankiw chapters on market structures
- - "Game Theory 101" YouTube series by William Spaniel
- - Past IEO problems involving Nash equilibrium
Game theory was the turning point for me. Once I understood strategic interaction, I started seeing economics as a puzzle rather than a textbook subject.
Month 3: Macroeconomics and Policy
Macro is dense, but the IEO doesn't require you to be a macroeconomics PhD. Focus on:
- - GDP and national income accounting
- - AD-AS model (aggregate demand and supply)
- - Fiscal and monetary policy basics
- - Inflation, unemployment, and the Phillips curve
I used CORE Econ's free online textbook for macro — it's more intuitive than Mankiw for these topics.
Month 4: Data Interpretation
The IEO has a Finance Round that requires data interpretation skills. I practiced with:
- - World Bank Open Data (pick any country, analyze GDP trends)
- - IEO past papers (the data interpretation sections)
- - Basic statistics: mean, median, standard deviation, correlation
This was the module where I felt most uncertain, because there's no single textbook that covers "IEO data interpretation." The best approach is to practice with real data.
Month 5: Business Case Practice
The IEO's third round is a team business case presentation. I prepared by:
- - Reading Harvard Business School case studies (free summaries available online)
- - Practicing market sizing questions ("What's the market for umbrellas in Dhaka?")
- - Learning basic financial statement analysis
- - Doing timed 30-minute case presentations with friends
Month 6: Full Mock Practice
The final month was all about timed practice. I did:
- - Every available past IEO paper under timed conditions
- - Mock business case presentations twice a week
- - Daily 20-minute problem sets focusing on my weak areas (for me: international trade)
Resources That Actually Worked
- Mankiw's Principles of Economics** — Chapters 1-22 (skip the advanced macro chapters)
- CORE Econ (economy.org)** — Free online textbook, excellent for intuition
- Past IEO Papers** — The single most important resource
- Game Theory 101 (YouTube)** — Best introduction to game theory I found
- World Bank Open Data** — For data interpretation practice
What I'd Do Differently
If I could start over, I would:
- Start game theory earlier — it's the most competition-relevant topic
- Practice data interpretation from Month 1, not Month 4
- Find a study partner for business case practice much earlier
- Spend less time on advanced macro and more on applied micro
The IEO is achievable for any motivated high school student. It's not about being a genius — it's about structured preparation over a sustained period. If you're reading this and thinking about starting, start today. Six months is plenty of time.