International A Level Unit 4, Jan 2023

Q1 The US dollar appreciated about 10% against the euro in 2021. Identify the likely cause. (falling speculator confidence in the USA / slower US growth / capital flight to the eurozone / a higher US base rate relative to the eurozone)

Q2 Paraguay's national debt rose from $3.6bn to $13.3bn between 2012 and 2021. Identify the most likely effect of rising national debt. (lower inflation / lower debt servicing costs / more crowding out / higher tax revenues)

Q3 Nigeria's 2021 levy of N10 on each litre of sugary drinks: identify the tax type (ad valorem tax / specific tax / income tax / corporation tax).

Q4 Lorenz curves for 2010 and 2020 have moved; choose the likeliest explanation (lower transfer payments / lower unemployment / a higher minimum wage / more training spending).

Q5 A tariff is imposed in the diagram shown; infer what happens to producer surplus, net welfare loss, government revenue and consumer surplus.

Q6 France slipped from 31st to 32nd on the Global Competitiveness Index on falling labour productivity; identify the most likely combination of effects on unit labour costs and export prices.

Q7(a) Show workings to calculate the change in New Zealand's average yearly inflation, given 2.5% in Q1 2020 and 5.4% in Q4 2021.

Q7(b) Analyse two forces pushing inflation higher, drawing on Figure 1 plus the opening paragraph of Extract A.

Q7(c) Give the meaning of the phrase 'monetary policy instruments' used in Extract A.

Q7(d) Examine two difficulties a central bank meets in using monetary policy to bring inflation down, per Extract A.

Q7(e) Using Extract B, discuss ways population change could hold back growth in developed economies.

Q10 For a developing country you choose, evaluate interventionist routes to faster development, given Libya's HDI at 0.80 in 2010 and 0.72 in 2019.

Q8 Evaluate what a nation stands to gain economically from trading bloc membership, as with the UK's February 2021 CPTPP application.

Q9 Choosing a developed economy, evaluate why a current account surplus might arise; Singapore's 2021 surplus topped $60 billion.