PPC / PPF Diagram Maker
The production possibilities curve is the first diagram in the IB course and a favourite for short Paper 1 questions: scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, and the difference between actual and potential growth all live on this one curve.
Free forever · no account needed · no watermark · exports as SVG, PNG & JPEG
IB EconGraph AI's bezier tool draws the classic concave-to-origin bow shape smoothly, with labelled points inside, on, and outside the frontier, plus shifted curves for economic growth.
What the PPC diagram shows
The PPC plots the maximum combinations of two goods an economy can produce:
- The frontier: concave to the origin because resources are not equally suited to both goods (increasing opportunity cost).
- Points on the curve: productive efficiency, all resources fully employed.
- Points inside: unemployment or inefficiency (e.g. a recession).
- Points outside: currently unattainable, reachable only through growth.
- Outward shifts: potential growth from more/better resources or technology; movements from inside toward the curve are actual growth.
How to draw it in IB EconGraph AI
- Draw a bezier curve from the y-axis to the x-axis and drag the control point outward for the concave bow shape.
- Label the axes with your two goods (e.g. "Capital goods" and "Consumer goods").
- Add annotated points: A and B on the curve, C inside (unemployment), D outside (unattainable).
- For growth questions, duplicate the curve and drag it outward, label PPC₁ and PPC₂.
- A straight-line PPC (constant opportunity cost) is just the line tool, useful for comparative advantage questions.
IA & exam tips
- Use arrows between labelled points to show the story: C to A is actual growth, curve shift is potential growth.
- For opportunity cost questions, mark the movement along the curve and annotate how much of one good is given up.
- Asymmetric shifts (pivot on one axis) show growth biased toward one sector, a subtle detail that impresses examiners.
Frequently asked questions
Can I draw both straight and curved PPCs?
Yes, the line tool gives constant opportunity cost, the bezier tool gives the standard concave frontier.
How do I show economic growth?
Duplicate the curve and drag it outward (or ask the AI for "PPC with outward shift showing potential growth").
Is this free for classroom use?
Completely, teachers and students can use everything without accounts or licences, and the project is open source under the AGPL-3.0.
Related diagram makers
Free, unlimited, forever.
Everything a student needs to finish their IA is free: unlimited diagrams, every tool, full-quality exports with no watermark, and unlimited AI generation with your own free API key.
Start drawing, it's free