IMAT Reading Skills and General Knowledge · Free notes
Politics, Economics and Society: A Revision Checklist of Institutions and Ideas
Politics, Economics and Society has 29 past questions since 2011, and the ministry papers from 2023 on have asked 2 of them. The ministry questions so far tested a definition: the role of the President in a parliamentary system and the name of an economy built on digital technology. The older papers leaned on international organisations, their acronyms and seats, and on Italian and European institutions, with some economics and social vocabulary. Most of the work is exact recall of names, dates and roles, and the difficulty sits in near-identical options, such as two councils with similar names or an EU member that does not use the euro.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
Forms of State and Government, and the Separation of Powers
0 PYQsMonarchy or republic, unitary or federal, parliamentary or presidential: the words used to describe how a state is organised, and who holds which power.
The Italian Republic: Constitution, Institutions and Regions
0 PYQsHow Italy's Constitution was made in 1946 to 1948, what its key articles say, and how Parliament, the President, the Government, the courts and the regions work.
The European Union, the Euro and International Organisations
0 PYQsWho does what in the EU, which countries use the euro, and the seats, roles and acronyms of the UN agencies, NATO, the financial institutions and the human rights bodies.
Basic Economics: Markets, Measures, Policy and Economists
0 PYQsHow supply and demand set prices, what GDP, inflation and unemployment measure, how central banks and governments steer the economy, and which economist said what.
Society, Rights, Media and the Modern Economy
0 PYQsNames for new kinds of economy, the vocabulary of social science and research, landmarks in voting rights and women's leadership, the media and tech companies, and which islands belong to which country.
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 22 reference tables · 23 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 22 reference tables · 23 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Reference tables (4)
Monarchy and republic, unitary and federal states6 rows
| Form | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute monarchy | The monarch holds all power, with no binding constitution | France under Louis XIV; Saudi Arabia and Vatican City today |
| Constitutional (parliamentary) monarchy | Hereditary head of state; power lies with parliament and government | United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Japan |
| Republic | Elected head of state for a fixed term | Italy, France, Germany, USA |
| Unitary state | Power held centrally, regions with delegated powers | France, Portugal, Greece; Italy (with strong regions) |
| Federal state | Powers divided by the constitution with member states | USA, Germany (Länder), Austria, Switzerland (cantons), Belgium, Canada, India |
| City-state | A single city that is a sovereign state | Ancient Athens; today Vatican City, Monaco, Singapore |
Parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems5 rows
| System | Head of State | Head of Government | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parliamentary republic | President, often elected by parliament; mainly a guarantor | Prime minister, who needs parliament's confidence | Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece, India |
| Parliamentary monarchy | King or queen | Prime minister, who needs parliament's confidence | United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands |
| Presidential republic | President, elected by the people | The same president; no confidence vote | USA, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina |
| Semi-presidential republic | President, elected by the people, with real powers | Prime minister appointed by the president but answerable to parliament | France (Fifth Republic, 1958), Portugal, Romania |
| Directorial system | A collective body | The seven-member Federal Council | Switzerland |
The separation of powers and how parliaments are built7 rows
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Legislative power | Makes laws | Italian Parliament: Chamber of Deputies and Senate |
| Executive power | Governs and carries out laws | Italian Government: the Council of Ministers |
| Judicial power | Applies laws and judges disputes | Independent judges (magistrates) |
| Perfect bicameralism | Two chambers with identical powers | Italy: both chambers pass every law and both give confidence to the Government |
| Imperfect bicameralism | One chamber has more power | United Kingdom; Germany (Bundestag over Bundesrat) |
| Unicameral parliament | A single chamber | Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Denmark |
| Vote of no confidence | Parliament removes the government | Exists in parliamentary systems, not in presidential ones |
Religion and the state in European countries9 rows
| Country | Status of religion | Fact to remember |
|---|---|---|
| England | Established Church of England | The monarch is its Supreme Governor (since Henry VIII) |
| Denmark | State church: the Evangelical Lutheran Church | Written into the constitution |
| Greece | Eastern Orthodoxy is the "prevailing religion" in the constitution | The Church of Greece has a special legal status |
| Malta | Roman Catholicism is the religion of the state | Stated in the constitution |
| Vatican City | Theocracy: the Pope is head of state | Independent since the Lateran Pacts of 1929 |
| Italy | No state religion since the 1984 revision of the Lateran Pacts | Constitution articles 7 and 8 regulate relations with the churches |
| Spain | Non-confessional state (1978 constitution) | No faith has a state character |
| France | Strict secularism (laïcité) | Law separating churches and state, 1905 |
| Sweden | Church of Sweden separated from the state | Since 2000 |
Watch out for (4)
- Switzerland is called a confederation but is a federal state→ Monarchy and republic, unitary and federal states
- Head of State and Head of Government are different jobs→ Parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems
- Elections are not a separate power→ The separation of powers and how parliaments are built
- A Catholic country is not necessarily a Catholic state→ Religion and the state in European countries
Reference tables (3)
The birth of the Italian Constitution and its key articles8 rows
| Date or article | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2 June 1946 | Institutional referendum and election of the Constituent Assembly | Republic chosen; women vote nationally for the first time |
| 22 December 1947 | Constitution approved | By the Constituent Assembly |
| 1 January 1948 | Constitution enters into force | 139 articles |
| Article 1 | Founding principle | Italy is a democratic republic founded on labour; sovereignty belongs to the people |
| Article 3 | Equality | All citizens are equal before the law, without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion or personal and social condition |
| Article 11 | Peace | Italy repudiates war as a means of offence and of settling international disputes |
| Article 32 | Health | Health is a fundamental right of the individual and an interest of society; free care for the poor |
| Article 139 | Limit on amendment | The republican form of the state cannot be changed by constitutional revision |
Parliament, President of the Republic and Government of Italy6 rows
| Institution | How chosen | Term | Main role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber of Deputies | Direct universal suffrage, voters aged 18 and over | 5 years | Makes laws; gives or withdraws confidence |
| Senate of the Republic | Direct universal suffrage on a regional basis, voters aged 18 and over (since 2021) | 5 years | Same powers as the Chamber |
| President of the Republic | Elected by Parliament in joint session plus regional delegates | 7 years | Head of State; appoints the Prime Minister; promulgates laws; can dissolve the chambers; chairs the High Council of the Judiciary |
| President of the Council of Ministers | Appointed by the President of the Republic; needs the confidence of both chambers | No fixed term | Head of Government; directs the Council of Ministers |
| Constitutional Court | 15 judges: a third each from the President, Parliament and the highest courts | 9 years | Judges whether laws respect the Constitution |
| High Council of the Judiciary (CSM) | Two thirds elected by judges, one third by Parliament; chaired by the President of the Republic | 4 years | Self-government of judges: appointments, transfers, discipline |
Regions, referendums and the National Health Service6 rows
| Body or tool | Number or date | Fact to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Regions | 20 (5 with special statute) | Ordinary regions were set up in 1970 |
| Autonomous provinces | 2 | Trento and Bolzano |
| Municipalities (comuni) | About 7,900 | Led by an elected mayor (sindaco) and council |
| National Health Service (SSN) | 1978 (Law 833) | Universal coverage, run regionally through local health authorities (ASL) |
| Abrogative referendum | Article 75 | Repeals a law; needs a turnout above 50% of eligible voters |
| Constitutional referendum | Article 138 | Can confirm a constitutional amendment; no turnout requirement |
Watch out for (3)
- Approved in 1947, in force in 1948→ The birth of the Italian Constitution and its key articles
- Italians do not directly elect the President or the Prime Minister→ Parliament, President of the Republic and Government of Italy
- Regions run health care, but the SSN is national→ Regions, referendums and the National Health Service
Reference tables (5)
The institutions of the European Union6 rows
| Institution | Who sits in it | How chosen | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Parliament | Members of the European Parliament (720 elected in 2024) | Direct election by citizens every 5 years | Strasbourg (plenary sessions); also Brussels and Luxembourg |
| European Council | Heads of state or government, its President and the Commission President | Members by office; its President chosen for 2.5 years | Brussels |
| Council of the European Union | One minister per member state | Members by office; the presidency rotates every 6 months | Brussels |
| European Commission | One commissioner per member state | President proposed by the European Council and elected by Parliament; 5-year term | Brussels |
| Court of Justice of the EU | One judge per member state | Appointed by the governments for 6 years | Luxembourg |
| European Central Bank | Executive Board and euro-area central bank governors | Appointed | Frankfurt |
The euro and EU membership5 rows
| Group | Countries | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Euro notes and coins from 1 January 2002 | Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain | Twelve countries; Greece had joined in 2001 |
| Later members | Slovenia 2007, Cyprus and Malta 2008, Slovakia 2009, Estonia 2011, Latvia 2014, Lithuania 2015, Croatia 2023, Bulgaria 2026 | 21 euro countries in 2026 |
| EU members outside the euro (2026) | Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden | Each keeps its own currency |
| Non-EU users of the euro | Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City by agreement; Montenegro and Kosovo on their own | Not members of the euro area's decisions |
| EU membership | 27 states since the United Kingdom left on 31 January 2020 | Norway, Switzerland and Iceland are not EU members |
The United Nations and its agencies7 rows
| Agency | Full name | Headquarters | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHO | World Health Organization (1948) | Geneva | International public health; World Health Day is 7 April |
| UNESCO | UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Paris | Education, science, culture; keeps the World Heritage List |
| UNICEF | UN Children's Fund | New York | Children's health, education and rights |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | Rome | Fights hunger; Rome also hosts the World Food Programme and IFAD |
| UNHCR | UN High Commissioner for Refugees | Geneva | Protects refugees |
| ILO | International Labour Organization (1919) | Geneva | Labour standards and workers' rights |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency | Vienna | Peaceful use of nuclear energy |
NATO, the Bretton Woods institutions and other organisations7 rows
| Organisation | Founded and seat | Role |
|---|---|---|
| NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) | 1949; Brussels | Military alliance for collective defence |
| IMF (International Monetary Fund) | 1944; Washington DC | Short-term loans to countries in balance-of-payments crises; watches exchange rates |
| World Bank | 1944; Washington DC | Long-term loans for development and reducing poverty |
| WTO (World Trade Organization) | 1995, replacing GATT (1947); Geneva | Sets and enforces the rules of trade between nations; settles trade disputes |
| OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) | 1961; Paris | Policy research among advanced economies; runs the PISA school tests |
| OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) | 1960 in Baghdad; Vienna | Coordinates oil production among producers |
| Council of Europe | 1949; Strasbourg | Human rights and democracy; not part of the EU |
Human rights texts and non-governmental organisations7 rows
| Body or text | Date and place | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights | 10 December 1948, Paris | 30 articles of basic rights, adopted by the UN |
| European Convention on Human Rights | 1950, Council of Europe | Binding treaty; enforced by the court in Strasbourg |
| International Committee of the Red Cross | 1863, Geneva; founder Henry Dunant | Neutral help to victims of war; guardian of the Geneva Conventions; Dunant shared the first Nobel Peace Prize (1901) |
| Amnesty International | 1961, London | Human rights campaigns; against torture and the death penalty |
| Médecins Sans Frontières | 1971, Paris | Independent medical aid in wars and disasters; Nobel Peace Prize 1999 |
| Greenpeace | 1971, Vancouver | Environmental campaigns |
| Emergency | 1994, Milan; founder Gino Strada | Free surgery and care for victims of war |
Watch out for (6)
- Three councils, only two of them in the EU→ The institutions of the European Union
- EU member does not mean euro user→ The euro and EU membership
- Promoting trade is not one of the UN's stated purposes→ The United Nations and its agencies
- Big economies are not automatically permanent members→ The United Nations and its agencies
- IMF, World Bank and WTO do different jobs→ NATO, the Bretton Woods institutions and other organisations
- The UDHR is a declaration, not a treaty→ Human rights texts and non-governmental organisations
Reference tables (5)
Supply, demand and market prices6 rows
| Change | Effect on price | Effect on quantity traded |
|---|---|---|
| Demand rises (more buyers, higher incomes, a fashion) | Rises | Rises |
| Demand falls | Falls | Falls |
| Supply rises (cheaper inputs, better technology) | Falls | Rises |
| Supply falls (bad harvest, new tax on producers) | Rises | Falls |
| Maximum price set below equilibrium (price ceiling) | Held down | Shortage: buyers want more than sellers offer |
| Minimum price set above equilibrium (price floor) | Held up | Surplus: sellers offer more than buyers want |
GDP, inflation and unemployment7 rows
| Measure | Definition | Note |
|---|---|---|
| GDP | Value of final goods and services produced within a country in a year | Counts production inside the borders, whoever owns it |
| GNI (formerly GNP) | Income earned by a country's residents, at home or abroad | Adds income from abroad, subtracts income paid abroad |
| Inflation | General rise in prices | The ECB aims for 2% a year over the medium term |
| Stagflation | High inflation with weak growth and high unemployment | Seen after the oil shocks of the 1970s |
| Unemployment rate | Unemployed divided by labour force | People not looking for work are outside the labour force |
| Budget deficit and public debt | Deficit: one year's spending above revenue; debt: total borrowing accumulated | EU limits: 3% and 60% of GDP |
| Gini coefficient | Measure of income inequality from 0 (all equal) to 1 (one person has everything) | Higher means more unequal |
Monetary policy, fiscal policy and central banks7 rows
| Term | Who acts | Tools or role |
|---|---|---|
| Monetary policy | Central bank | Interest rates, bond purchases, money supply |
| Fiscal policy | Government and parliament | Taxes and public spending |
| Expansionary policy | Either | Cut rates, cut taxes or raise spending to boost demand |
| Contractionary policy | Either | Raise rates, raise taxes or cut spending to cool inflation |
| European Central Bank | Euro area, Frankfurt (1998) | Sets interest rates for the euro; inflation target 2% |
| Federal Reserve | USA (1913) | Central bank of the United States |
| Bank of England | United Kingdom (1694) | One of the oldest central banks |
Economists and their ideas11 rows
| Economist | Country and date | Key idea or work |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Smith | Scotland, 1776 | The Wealth of Nations; the "invisible hand" of the market; division of labour |
| Thomas Malthus | England, 1798 | Population grows faster than food supply |
| David Ricardo | England, 1817 | Comparative advantage: countries gain by specialising and trading |
| Karl Marx | Germany, 1867 | Capital: a critique of capitalism; class struggle |
| Vilfredo Pareto | Italy, about 1900 | Pareto efficiency; the 80/20 principle |
| John Maynard Keynes | England, 1936 | The General Theory: governments should spend to fight unemployment |
| Joseph Schumpeter | Austria, 1942 | Creative destruction by innovation |
| Friedrich Hayek | Austria, 1944 | The Road to Serfdom: against central planning |
| John Nash | USA, 1950 | Nash equilibrium in game theory; Nobel 1994 |
| Milton Friedman | USA, 1960s | Monetarism |
| Amartya Sen | India, Nobel 1998 | Welfare economics, poverty and famine |
Currencies of the world17 rows
| Currency | Where it is used |
|---|---|
| Pound sterling | United Kingdom |
| Swiss franc | Switzerland and Liechtenstein |
| Krona or krone | Sweden (krona); Denmark and Norway (krone); Iceland (króna) |
| Złoty | Poland |
| Forint | Hungary |
| Koruna | Czech Republic |
| Leu | Romania and Moldova |
| Rouble | Russia |
| Yen | Japan |
| Yuan (renminbi) | China |
| Rupee | India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal |
| Real | Brazil |
| Peso | Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and others |
| Rand | South Africa |
| Baht | Thailand |
| Won | South Korea |
| Lira | Turkey (and Italy until 2002) |
Watch out for (5)
- A price floor causes a surplus, a ceiling a shortage→ Supply, demand and market prices
- Unemployed means looking for work→ GDP, inflation and unemployment
- Taxes are fiscal, interest rates are monetary→ Monetary policy, fiscal policy and central banks
- The invisible hand is Smith's, not Marx's or Keynes's→ Economists and their ideas
- EU membership does not mean the euro→ Currencies of the world
Reference tables (5)
Types of economy and modern economic terms8 rows
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed economy | Private markets alongside a large public sector | Italy and most of Europe |
| Planned (command) economy | The state decides what is produced and at what price | The Soviet Union |
| Digital economy | Production and exchange built on digital technology, the internet and ICT | Online shops, app stores, streaming |
| Sharing economy | People share access to under-used goods and services through platforms; access is preferred to ownership | Car sharing, home sharing |
| Gig economy | Short-term, task-by-task work arranged through apps | Food-delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers |
| Circular economy | Products and materials kept in use by repair, reuse and recycling, so waste becomes a resource | Opposite of the linear take, make, dispose model |
| Globalisation | Growing integration of world trade, finance, people and culture | Global supply chains |
| Sustainable development | Growth that does not harm future generations | UN 2030 Agenda: 17 Sustainable Development Goals (2015) |
Social science and research vocabulary10 rows
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Census | An official count of a whole population (in Italy, run by ISTAT) |
| Sample | A part of a population studied to draw conclusions about the whole |
| Birth rate | Births per 1,000 people per year |
| Fertility rate | Average number of children per woman |
| Ageing population | A rising share of older people in the population |
| Urbanisation | The movement of people from the countryside to cities |
| Placebo | An inactive substance or treatment given for comparison |
| Double-blind trial | Neither the patients nor the researchers know who receives the real treatment |
| Social mobility | Movement of people between social classes or income levels |
| Meritocracy | A system in which positions are earned by ability and effort |
Milestones in voting rights and women in leadership11 rows
| Date | Milestone | Country or person |
|---|---|---|
| 1893 | First country where women vote in national elections | New Zealand |
| 1906 | First European country to give women the vote and the right to stand | Finland |
| 1918 and 1928 | Women's vote, then on equal terms with men | United Kingdom |
| 1946 | Women vote in a national election | Italy |
| 1971 | Women's vote at federal level | Switzerland |
| 1960 | World's first woman prime minister | Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka |
| 1966, 1969, 1979 | Women prime ministers | Indira Gandhi (India), Golda Meir (Israel), Margaret Thatcher (United Kingdom) |
| 1988 | First woman to lead a Muslim-majority country | Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan |
| 1964 | Civil Rights Act ends legal segregation | USA, after the movement led by Martin Luther King |
| 1994 | First free elections, end of apartheid | South Africa; Nelson Mandela president |
| 2021 and 2022 | First women prime ministers | Magdalena Andersson (Sweden); Giorgia Meloni (Italy) |
Newspapers and technology companies15 rows
| Name | Country or type | Fact to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Corriere della Sera; La Repubblica | Italy | Milan, 1876; Rome, 1976 |
| Le Monde; Le Figaro | France | Paris dailies |
| The Times; The Guardian | United Kingdom | London dailies |
| El País | Spain | Madrid, 1976 |
| Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Süddeutsche Zeitung | Germany | Frankfurt; Munich |
| De Telegraaf | Netherlands | Amsterdam |
| The New York Times; The Washington Post | USA | Washington Post broke the Watergate story (1972) |
| Microsoft | Tech company, 1975 | Bill Gates and Paul Allen |
| Apple | Tech company, 1976 | Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak |
| Amazon | Tech company, 1994 | Jeff Bezos |
| Tech company, 1998 | Larry Page and Sergey Brin | |
| Wikipedia | Online encyclopedia, 2001 | Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger |
| Facebook (now Meta) | Social network, 2004 | Mark Zuckerberg |
| YouTube | Video platform, 2005 | Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim; bought by Google in 2006 |
| Twitter (now X) | Social network, 2006 | Jack Dorsey and others |
Island groups and the countries they belong to11 rows
| Islands | Country | Fact to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Azores and Madeira | Portugal | Autonomous regions in the Atlantic |
| Canary Islands | Spain | Atlantic, off the coast of Morocco |
| Balearic Islands | Spain | Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, in the Mediterranean |
| Corsica | France | Birthplace of Napoleon |
| Sicily and Sardinia | Italy | Regions with a special statute |
| Greenland and the Faroe Islands | Denmark | Self-governing territories |
| Svalbard | Norway | Arctic archipelago |
| Falkland Islands | United Kingdom | Claimed by Argentina (Malvinas); war of 1982 |
| Galápagos Islands | Ecuador | Visited by Darwin in 1835 |
| Hawaii | USA | Became the 50th state in 1959 |
| Cape Verde | Independent republic since 1975 | Former Portuguese colony off West Africa |
Watch out for (5)
- Sharing economy is not charity, and it is not anti-market→ Types of economy and modern economic terms
- A placebo has no active ingredient→ Social science and research vocabulary
- Progressive does not mean early→ Milestones in voting rights and women in leadership
- Netherlands and Denmark are different countries→ Newspapers and technology companies
- Portuguese-speaking does not mean Brazilian→ Island groups and the countries they belong to
PYQ weightage by concept
22 concepts · 0 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
22 concepts · 0 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Monarchy and republic, unitary and federal statesfoundation | — | — |
| Parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systemsfoundation | — | — |
| The separation of powers and how parliaments are builtfoundation | — | — |
| Religion and the state in European countriesfoundation | — | — |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The birth of the Italian Constitution and its key articlesfoundation | — | — |
| Parliament, President of the Republic and Government of Italyfoundation | — | — |
| Regions, referendums and the National Health Servicefoundation | — | — |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The institutions of the European Unionfoundation | — | — |
| The euro and EU membershipfoundation | — | — |
| The United Nations and its agenciesfoundation | — | — |
| NATO, the Bretton Woods institutions and other organisationsfoundation | — | — |
| Human rights texts and non-governmental organisationsfoundation | — | — |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Supply, demand and market pricesfoundation | — | — |
| GDP, inflation and unemploymentfoundation | — | — |
| Monetary policy, fiscal policy and central banksfoundation | — | — |
| Economists and their ideasfoundation | — | — |
| Currencies of the worldfoundation | — | — |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Types of economy and modern economic termsfoundation | — | — |
| Social science and research vocabularyfoundation | — | — |
| Milestones in voting rights and women in leadershipfoundation | — | — |
| Newspapers and technology companiesfoundation | — | — |
| Island groups and the countries they belong tofoundation | — | — |