GATE Economics Syllabus 2026: Topics & Weightage Wise Syllabus PDF

GATE Economics Syllabus 2026: Topics & Weightage Wise Syllabus PDF

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Team Careers360Updated on 18 Sep 2025, 05:06 PM IST

GATE Economics Syllabus 2026 - IIT Guwahati has released the GATE 2026 economics syllabus pdf on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Candidates can download the GATE economics 2026 syllabus on this page. The Economics syllabus consists of 7 main topics. The GATE 2026 syllabus comprises the topics that will be tested in the exam. Candidates appearing for the GATE exam for Economics must check the Economics syllabus pdf. Students must prepare all the topics mentioned in the GATE Economics syllabus 2026. Along with the syllabus, candidates must check the GATE 2026 exam pattern. The authority will conduct the GATE 2026 exam on February 8, 9, 14 and 15, 2026.
Direct link to download the GATE 2026 Economics Syllabus

This Story also Contains

  1. GATE 2026 Economics Syllabus
  2. GATE 2026 Economics Exam pattern
  3. GATE Economics 2026 - Marking Scheme
GATE Economics Syllabus 2026: Topics & Weightage Wise Syllabus PDF
GATE Economics Syllabus 2026

The authority will prepare the GATE question paper as per the economics syllabus. Knowledge of the GATE Economics syllabus will help in planning for the exam effectively. The authority will conduct the GATE 2026 exam for admission to ME/MTech programmes in prestigious IITs, IISc, NITs and many other universities.

GATE 2026 Economics Syllabus

Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati has released the GATE Economics syllabus 2026 PDF on its official website. The notification, the GATE Economics syllabus PDF download has seven chapters. The economics paper (XH-C1) will have two compulsory sections- General Aptitude and the Reasoning and Comprehension section. Candidates can check the topic-wise GATE economics syllabus below.

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GATE Economics Syllabus 2026

Chapters

Topics

GATE Economics Syllabus for Microeconomics

Theory of Consumer Behaviour: Cardinal Approach and Ordinal Approach; Consumer Preferences; Nature of the utility function; Marshallian and Hicksian demand functions; Duality Theorem. Slutsky equation and Comparative Statics. Homogeneous and Homothetic Utility Functions; Euler’s Theorem. The Theory of Revealed Preference: Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference and Strong Axiom of Revealed Preference, Theory of Production and Costs: Short-run and Long-run Analysis, Existence, Uniqueness and Stability of Market Equilibrium: Walrasian and Marshallian Stability Analysis. The Cobweb Model, Decision making under uncertainty and risk. Asymmetric Information: Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard. Theory of Agency costs. The Theory of Search, NonCooperative games: Constant sum game, Mixed Strategy & Pure Strategy, Bayesian Nash Equilibrium, SPNE, Perfect Bayesian Equilibria., Theory of Firm: Market Structures — Competitive and Non-competitive equilibria and their efficiency properties. Structure-Conduct-Performance Paradigm, Factor Pricing: Marginal productivity Theory of Distribution in Perfectly Competitive markets; Theory of Employment in Imperfectly Competitive Markets — Monopolistic Exploitation, General Equilibrium Analysis. Welfare Economics: Fundamental Theorems, Social Welfare Function. Efficiency Criteria: Pareto-Optimality.

GATE Economics Syllabus for Macroeconomics

National Income Accounting: Closed Economy Concepts and Measurement and Open Economy Issues, Determination of output and employment: Classical & Keynesian Framework, Theories of Consumption: Absolute Income Hypothesis, Relative Income Hypothesis, Life Cycle Hypothesis, Permanent Income Hypothesis and Robert Hall’s Random Walk Model; Investment Function Specifications - Dale Jorgenson’s Neoclassical Theory of Capital Accumulation and Tobin’s, Keynesian Stabilization Policies, (Autonomous) Multipliers and Investment Accelerator, Demand and Supply of Money, Components of Money Supply, Liquidity Preference and Liquidity Trap, Money Multiplier, Interest Rate determination, Central Banking, Objectives, Instruments (Direct and Indirect) of Monetary Policy, Prudential Regulation, Quantitative Easing (Unconventional Monetary Policy), Commercial Banking, Non-Banking Financial Institutions, Capital Market and its Regulation, Theories of Inflation and Expectations Augmented Phillips Curve, Real Business Cycles, Adaptive Expectations Hypothesis, Rational Expectation Hypothesis and its critique. Closed Economy IS – LM Model and Mundell Fleming Model: Monetary and Fiscal Policy Efficacy. The Impossible Trinity.

GATE Economics Syllabus for Statistics, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics

Probability Theory: Concepts of probability, Probability Distributions [Discrete and Continuous], Central Limit Theorem, Index Numbers and Construction of Price Indices, Sampling Methods & Sampling Distribution, Statistical Inferences, Hypothesis Testing, Linear Regression Models and the Gauss Markov Theorem, Heteroscedasticity, Multicollinearity and Autocorrelation, Spurious regressions and Unit roots, Simultaneous Equation Models – recursive and non-recursive. Identification Problem, Differential Calculus and its Applications, Linear Algebra – Matrices, Applications of Cramer’s Rule, Static Optimization Problems and Applications, Input-Output Model, Linear Programming, Difference equations and Differential equations with applications.

GATE Economics syllabus for International Economics

Theories of International Trade, International Trade under Imperfect Competition, Gains from Trade, Terms of Trade, Trade Multiplier, Tariff and Non-Tariff barriers to trade; Dumping and AntiDumping Policies, GATT, WTO and Regional Trade Blocks; Trade Policy Issues, Balance of Payments: Composition, Equilibrium and Disequilibrium and Adjustment Mechanisms, Foreign Exchange Market and Arbitrage, Exchange rate determination, IMF & World Bank.

GATE Economics syllabus for Public Economics

Market Failure and Remedial Measures: Asymmetric Information, Public Goods, Externality, Regulation of Market – Collusion and Consumers’ Welfare, Public Revenue: Tax & Non-Tax Revenue, Direct & Indirect Taxes, Progressive and non-Progressive Taxation, Incidence and Effects of Taxation, Public expenditure, Public Debt and its management, Public Budget and Budget Multiplier, Tax Incidence, Fiscal Policy and its implications, Environment as a Public Good, Market Failure and Coase Theorem, Cost-Benefit Analysis.

GATE Economics syllabus for Development Economics

Theories of Economic Development: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, J. Schumpeter, W. Rostow, Balanced & Unbalanced Growth, Big Push Approach, Indicators of Economic Development: HDI, SDGs, MDGs, Poverty and Inequalities – Concepts and Measurement Issues, Social Sector Development: Health, Education, Gender, Fertility, Morbidity, Mortality, Migration, Child Labor, Age Structure, Demographic Dividend, Models of Economic Growth: Harrod-Domar, Solow, Ramsey, Technical progress – Disembodied & Embodied, Endogenous Growth Models.

GATE Economics syllabus for Indian Economy

Economic Growth in India: Pattern and Structure, Agriculture, Industry & Services Sector: Pattern & Structure of Growth, Major Challenges, Policy Responses, Rural & Urban Development – Issues, Challenges & Policy Responses, Flow of Foreign Capital, Trade Policies, Infrastructure Development: Physical and Social; Public-Private Partnerships, Reforms in Land, Labour and Capital Markets, Poverty, Inequality & Unemployment, Functioning of Monetary Policy in India, Fiscal Policy in the Indian context: Structure of Receipts and Expenditure, Tax reforms-Goods and Services Tax, Issues of Growth and Equity, Fiscal Federalism, Centre-State Financial Relations and Finance Commissions of India; Sustainability of Deficits and Debt, The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act 2003, Demonetization and aftermath. India’s balance of payments, Composition of India’s Trade, Competitiveness of India’s exports, India’s exchange rate policy.

Also check:

GATE 2026 Economics Exam pattern

The authority has released the GATE Economics exam pattern 2026 on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Candidates can check the exam pattern of GATE for Economics below.

GATE Economics Exam Pattern

Particulars

Details

Examination Mode

Computer Based Test (Online)

Duration

3 Hours

Section

  • General Aptitude (GA)

  • Reasoning and Comprehension (XH-B1)

  • Economics (XH-C1)

Type of Questions

  • Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

  • Multiple Select Questions (MSQs)

  • Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions

Total Marks

100 Marks

Marking Scheme

All of the questions will be worth 1 or 2 marks

GATE Negative Marking

  • MCQs - 1 mark for each correct answer; 1/3 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer.

  • MCQs - 2 marks for each correct answer; 2/3 marks will be deducted for every incorrect response.

  • No negative marking for MSQ & NAT.

  • No partial marking for MSQ type questions.

Also Read:

GATE Economics 2026 - Marking Scheme

Candidates must check the section-wise GATE marking scheme for Economics. The GATE marking scheme will help candidates know the weightage of various sections in the GATE Economics paper. Candidates can check the updated GATE 2026 marking scheme for Economics from the table below once released online.

GATE Economics Marking Scheme

Subject

Marks Allotted

General Aptitude (GA)

15

Reasoning and Comprehension (XH-B1)

25

Economics (XH-C1)

60

Total

100

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the GATE 2026 exam date?
A:

The GATE 2026 exam will be held on February 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2026.

Q: Is the GATE 2026 syllabus for Economics released?
A:

Yes, the GATE 2026 Economics syllabus has been released on August 8, 2025.

Q: What are the fields for GATE 2026?
A:

The GATE exam is held for 30 subjects. Candidates can check all the GATE subjects with paper codes online.

Q: Which institute will conduct GATE 2026?
A:

IIT Guwahati will conduct the GATE 2026 exam in online mode.

Q: What are the important topics for the GATE 2026 Economics exam?
A:

The important topics for the GATE 2026 Economics exam include  Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Development Economics and Indian Economics. 

Q: When should I start preparing for GATE 2026?
A:

Looking at the wide scope of the GATE syllabus 2026, candidates must begin their GATE preparation as soon as possible.

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Questions related to GATE

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to GATE ?

Hello

If you're in 2nd year right now, you can’t register for GATE 2026 just yet.
The exam is only open to students in the 3rd year or beyond in their degree.
It’s mainly because the GATE tests subjects that are usually taught later in your course.
But don’t worry, you are in a great position to start preparing early!
Focus on your basics, practice problem-solving, and build strong concepts now.
By the time you reach 3rd year, you’ll be well ahead of the game.

Hello,

If your GATE 2026 application shows "under scrutiny," continue to monitor your applicant portal and registered email for updates, as this is a routine process where officials verify your details.  An "under scrutiny" status does not mean your application is rejected; you may be notified of discrepancies and given a chance to correct them during the application correction window, which opens later. Keep your application details accurate and prepare for the exam while waiting for the correction window to open.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,

In the GATE application form , you should enter your name exactly as it appears in your official ID proof , even if the order is different.

For example:

  • If your ID proof shows Surname + First Name , enter it in the same way in the form.

  • Do not change the order to First Name + Surname.

This is important because your GATE admit card and scorecard will match your ID proof.

Keep it exactly the same to avoid any issues later.

Hope it helps !

Hello,

Yes, you as a Bachelor of Science graduate in home science can appear for the GATE 2026 exam, as the eligibility criteria include graduates from "Science" and other fields, as well as those in the 3rd year or higher of an undergraduate program.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hey! The GATE exam (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is very important for long-term career growth. It opens opportunities for postgraduate studies (M.Tech, MS, PhD) in top institutes like IITs and NITs and is also used by many public sector companies (PSUs) for recruitment, often with higher salary packages. In the long run, qualifying GATE can enhance your technical knowledge, career prospects, and credibility in the engineering field.