The optional subjects for the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Civil Services Exam include Economics. The syllabus for the Economics optional paper is as follows:
Paper-I:
- Advanced Microeconomics:
- Marshallian and Walrasian Approaches to Price determination.
- Public Goods and Externalities.
- Externalities and Public Goods.
- Welfare criteria of consumer’s surplus, applications of indifference curves.
- Economics of Information and Market Failures.
- Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard.
- General Equilibrium and Welfare.
- Law of Variable Proportions.
- Modern Theory of Cost.
- Advanced Macroeconomics:
- Classical, Keynesian, and New Keynesian Approaches.
- Income and Employment: Classical and Keynesian Approaches.
- Consumption Function.
- Investment Function.
- Demand for Money.
- IS-LM and AD-AS Models.
- Open Economy Macroeconomics.
- Money-Banking and Finance:
- Demand for and Supply of Money.
- Money Multiplier and High-Powered Money.
- Seigniorage and Inflation.
- Central Banking and Monetary Policy.
- Commercial Banks and Credit Creation.
- Monetary Policy and Stabilization in Closed and Open Economies.
- International Economics:
- Classical and Modern theories of International Trade.
- Comparative Advantage.
- The Heckscher-Ohlin and Factor Proportions theories of International Trade.
- Terms of Trade.
- Tariffs and Trade Barriers.
- Balance of Payments.
- Foreign Exchange Markets and Reserves.
Paper-II:
- Economic Thought:
- Classical and Neoclassical Economics.
- Marxist and Keynesian Approaches.
- Monetarist and New Classical Approaches.
- Recent Developments.
- Modern Indian Economic Development:
- Planning and Economic Development.
- National Income and Employment.
- Poverty, Unemployment, and Human Development.
- Monetary and Fiscal Policy.
- Industrialization and Urbanization.
- Trade and Balance of Payments.
- Statistical Methods in Economics:
- Probability and Sampling Distributions.
- Statistical Methods.
- Estimation and Testing of Hypotheses.
- Quantitative Methods in Economics:
- Mathematical Methods in Economics.
- Linear and Non-linear Programming.
- Econometric Methods.
The UPSC Economics optional syllabus is extensive and requires a thorough understanding of economic theories and their applications. Aspirants should also be well-versed in the economic developments in India and have a good grasp of statistical and quantitative methods. It’s advisable to refer to the official UPSC website or consult updated study materials for any changes or additions to the syllabus.
