JAM Economics is one three-hour paper with 60 questions for 100 marks. You will see questions with one correct option, questions with more than one correct option, and numerical answers that you enter yourself.
For 2027, the Economics paper is scheduled for 14 February, 2:30–5:30 pm IST. The paper code is EN. JAM 2027 brochure
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Official syllabus download
Download the IIT JAM Economics 2027 syllabus PDF.
The syllabus has five subjects. The table below shows the main areas you need to study; the PDF gives the full list.
| Subject | Main areas in the 2027 syllabus |
|---|---|
| Microeconomics | Consumer choice, production and costs, competition, welfare, general equilibrium, game theory, market power, externalities and information problems |
| Macroeconomics | National income, consumption, investment, labour markets, inflation, money, asset prices, fiscal policy, short-run models, growth and open-economy macroeconomics |
| Statistics for Economics | Descriptive statistics, probability, distributions, joint distributions, estimation, hypothesis tests, correlation and regression |
| Mathematics for Economics | Functions, calculus, integration, matrices, differential and difference equations, optimisation and linear programming |
| Indian Economy | Economic reforms, poverty and employment, population and human development, sectors, public finances and the external sector |
Questions, marks and duration
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| Section | Question type | Number of questions | Marks available |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | MCQ: one correct option | 30: ten of 1 mark and twenty of 2 marks | 50 |
| B | MSQ: one or more correct options | 10, each of 2 marks | 20 |
| C | NAT: numerical answer | 20: ten of 1 mark and ten of 2 marks | 30 |
| Full paper | All three sections | 60 | 100 |
You have 180 minutes for the full paper. The paper is in English and is taken on a computer. A virtual calculator is provided; practise using it before the exam. These rules are given in the examination-pattern section of the official brochure.
How are wrong answers marked?
For an MCQ, a wrong answer loses one-third of the question's marks: 1/3 mark for a one-mark question and 2/3 mark for a two-mark question.
There is no negative marking for MSQs or NATs. An MSQ earns marks only when you select all the correct options and no incorrect option. There are no partial marks. For a NAT, your answer must fall within the accepted range in the key. Unanswered questions receive zero.
For example, selecting just A when A and C are correct earns zero in an MSQ.
What changed from the 2026 syllabus?
The 2027 syllabus adds detail and names several topics that were not explicitly listed in 2026. These are some important changes, based on the 2026 syllabus in Annexure I, printed pages 51–54 and the 2027 syllabus.
| Subject | Newly named or expanded coverage in 2027 |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | Inequality-constrained optimisation with KKT conditions and complementary slackness; stability of differential/difference equations is now stated explicitly |
| Statistics | Descriptive statistics and index numbers; Markov's and Chebyshev's inequalities; explicit references to the Gauss–Markov theorem and BLUE |
| Microeconomics | Sequential games, backward induction and subgame-perfect equilibrium; explicit Samuelson-condition and Lindahl-pricing coverage |
| Macroeconomics | Two-period consumption and fiscal-policy models; a separate asset-pricing section covering bonds, stocks and interest-rate structures; Taylor rule and dynamic AD–AS |
| Indian Economy | Explicit coverage of SDG targets, demographic dividend, inflation targeting and food security |
Our study plans include time for these topics, with the mathematical methods before their applications.
Are JAM and GATE Economics the same syllabus?
They overlap in microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods, but the papers are different. GATE has separate General Aptitude and Reasoning and Comprehension sections. Its Economics syllabus also lists international, public and development economics as separate units.
If you are taking both exams, study the shared topics together, then practise each paper in its own format. A JAM mock should follow the fixed MCQ, MSQ and NAT structure above.