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← Unit 4: Developments in the Global Economy

Growth and Development — Exam Questions & Model Answers

Section 4.3.6 — worked exam questions with mark schemes, model answers and examiner commentary.

Economics · WEC14 · Unit 4 · 4.3.6

2 written questions · 12 marks

Time estimates come from one constant per paper — Economics Unit 4 is 2 hours · 80 marks — not from a per-question guess.

This page examines 0 of 43 requirements in 4.3.6 Growth and Development0.0%

Counted over the 2 written questions on this page and nothing else — not the whole question bank, and not the revision notes, which are measured separately and are much better covered. 2 of them carry no spec tag yet, so this number is a floor, not an estimate.

43 requirements in 4.3.6 that no question on this page examines
  • ECON-4.3.6-1a The three components of the Human Development Index (HDI): education, health, income; how they are measured.
  • ECON-4.3.6-1b Advantages and limitations of the HDI in comparing living standards between countries and over time.
  • ECON-4.3.6-1c-1 the percentage of adult male labour in agriculture
  • ECON-4.3.6-1c-2 access to clean water
  • ECON-4.3.6-1c-3 energy consumption per capita
  • ECON-4.3.6-1c-4 access to internet per thousand of population
  • ECON-4.3.6-1c-5 access to mobile phones per thousand of population
  • ECON-4.3.6-1c-6 access to doctors per thousand of population.
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-1 volatility of commodity prices
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-2 primary product dependency (the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis)
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-3 savings gap (the Harrod-Domar model)
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-4 foreign currency gap
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-5 capital flight
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-6 demographic factors (size and age distribution of population; migration)
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-7 debt (household and overseas)
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-8 access to credit and banking
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-9 infrastructure
  • ECON-4.3.6-2a-10 education and skills.
  • ECON-4.3.6-2b-1 corruption
  • ECON-4.3.6-2b-2 poor governance
  • ECON-4.3.6-2b-3 civil wars
  • ECON-4.3.6-2b-4 migration
  • ECON-4.3.6-2b-5 terrorism. economies (continued)
  • ECON-4.3.6-3a-1 trade liberalisation
  • ECON-4.3.6-3a-2 promotion of FDI
  • ECON-4.3.6-3a-3 removal of government subsidies
  • ECON-4.3.6-3a-4 privatisation
  • ECON-4.3.6-3a-5 floating exchange rate systems
  • ECON-4.3.6-3a-6 microfinance schemes.
  • ECON-4.3.6-3b-1 development of human capital
  • ECON-4.3.6-3b-2 protectionism
  • ECON-4.3.6-3b-3 managed exchange rates
  • ECON-4.3.6-3b-4 infrastructure development
  • ECON-4.3.6-3b-5 promoting joint ventures with TNCs
  • ECON-4.3.6-3b-6 buffer stock schemes.
  • ECON-4.3.6-3c-1 industrialisation (the Lewis structural dual-sector model)
  • ECON-4.3.6-3c-2 development of tourism
  • ECON-4.3.6-3c-3 development of primary industries
  • ECON-4.3.6-3c-4 debt relief
  • ECON-4.3.6-3c-5 aid.
  • ECON-4.3.6-3d-1 the World Bank
  • ECON-4.3.6-3d-2 the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • ECON-4.3.6-3d-3 non-government organisations (NGOs).

Exam questions

Every question here carries a tariff that exists in IAL Economics. Open the mark scheme before the model answer and you will see what the examiner is paid to look for.

  1. Explain4 marksAO1 · AO26 min

    Explain two barriers to economic development in developing countries.

    Mark scheme
    1–2 marks
    First barrier identified and explained
    3–4 marks
    Second barrier identified and explained with development
    Model answer — 4 / 4
    What the marks in the margin meanKKnowledgeAApplication
    First, corruption and weak governance divert resources away from productive use. K When government officials embezzle aid money or demand bribes, investment in infrastructure, education, and healthcare is reduced. This discourages foreign investment and prevents the efficient allocation of resources needed for development. A

    Second, primary product dependency makes countries vulnerable to volatile commodity prices. K Countries like Nigeria, which relies heavily on oil exports, experience boom-and-bust cycles — when oil prices fall, government revenue collapses and development spending is cut. A Reliance on a narrow export base also means the country fails to develop diversified manufacturing and services sectors needed for sustained development.
    Examiner commentary
    Two distinct barriers with clear mechanisms. Corruption links to misallocation of resources and deterrence of FDI. Primary product dependency links to price volatility and lack of diversification. Nigeria provides concrete application.

  2. Examine8 marksAO1 · AO2 · AO3 · AO412 min

    Examine the view that trade is more effective than aid in promoting economic development.

    Mark scheme
    Examine (8)
    Appendix 6: Requires knowledge, understanding, application, analysis and evaluation. Requires an explanation which includes a chain of reasoning, and diagrams where appropriate. Focuses on depth rather than breadth. Any relevant data provided needs to be interpreted. There should be a brief assessment of the arguments/factors/evidence.
    Level 1 — 1–2 marks
    Isolated knowledge and understanding. No application to the context and no chain of reasoning.
    Level 2 — 3–4 marks
    Knowledge applied to the context. A chain of reasoning is begun but not carried through; any data given is described rather than interpreted.
    Level 3 — 5–6 marks
    A developed chain of reasoning in context, with a diagram where one is appropriate. Depth rather than breadth; data interpreted. Assessment is implied rather than made.
    Level 4 — 7–8 marks
    A developed chain of reasoning in context AND a brief assessment of the arguments, factors or evidence — the clause that separates Examine from Analyse.
    Indicative content
    Knowledge: definitions of aid and trade in context of development. Application: named country examples. Analysis: mechanisms through which trade and aid promote development, limitations of each.
    Model answer — 7–8 / 8
    What the marks in the margin meanKKnowledgeAApplicationAnAnalysis chain

    Para 1

    Foreign aid is financial or technical assistance from developed to developing countries, while trade involves developing countries exporting goods and services to earn income. K Both aim to promote development, but through different mechanisms. K

    Para 2

    Trade can be more effective because it provides sustainable, self-generating income rather than dependence on external donors. An Vietnam's integration into global supply chains since the 1990s — exporting textiles, electronics, and agricultural products — has lifted over 40 million people out of poverty and generated tax revenue that funds domestic infrastructure. A Trade also incentivises productivity improvements — firms must become competitive to sell internationally, driving efficiency gains across the economy. An

    Para 3

    However, trade alone has limitations. Developing countries often face barriers to market access — developed countries' tariffs, quotas, and subsidies (e.g. EU agricultural subsidies) can make it difficult for developing country exports to compete. An Aid is essential in specific contexts — emergency humanitarian aid saves lives during crises, and infrastructure aid (roads, ports, power) builds the foundation that makes trade possible in the first place. An Without basic infrastructure, a country cannot export competitively regardless of trade opportunities. The challenge with aid is dependency and corruption — long-term aid flows can reduce the incentive for governments to reform and may be captured by elites. An
    Examiner commentary
    Both sides are developed, with Vietnam's integration into global supply chains giving the application. Level 4 is earned because the answer reaches a judgement instead of alternating: trade's advantage is that the income is self-generating, but market access is not guaranteed, and aid builds the infrastructure without which a country cannot export at all — so the two are complements, and the answer says which combination it prefers. That is the brief assessment the command asks for.
    Why this loses marks — a mid-band attempt at the same question

    Not a real script, and not written for this panel. It is 2 of 3 paragraphs of the model answer above, with “Para 3” removed. Nothing is rewritten. Open the model answer above and the difference is exactly the paragraphs named here.

    What the marks in the margin meanKKnowledgeAApplicationAnAnalysis chain

    Para 1

    Foreign aid is financial or technical assistance from developed to developing countries, while trade involves developing countries exporting goods and services to earn income. K Both aim to promote development, but through different mechanisms. K

    Para 2

    Trade can be more effective because it provides sustainable, self-generating income rather than dependence on external donors. An Vietnam's integration into global supply chains since the 1990s — exporting textiles, electronics, and agricultural products — has lifted over 40 million people out of poverty and generated tax revenue that funds domestic infrastructure. A Trade also incentivises productivity improvements — firms must become competitive to sell internationally, driving efficiency gains across the economy. An

    The band this attempt cannot reach

    Level 4 — 7–8 marks
    A developed chain of reasoning in context AND a brief assessment of the arguments, factors or evidence — the clause that separates Examine from Analyse.

    Where it tops out instead

    Level 3 — 5–6 marks
    A developed chain of reasoning in context, with a diagram where one is appropriate. Depth rather than breadth; data interpreted. Assessment is implied rather than made.

    No mark is put on this attempt. The full answer above is marked 7–8 / 8 by its own commentary; what a truncated version scores depends on the script, and inventing a number for it would be the kind of false precision this page exists to avoid.

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