Theme 1 interim assessment Possible answers
Section A (20 marks)
1 (a) C
1 (b) Definition of income elasticity of demand or correct formula (the responsiveness of
demand for a good due to a change in income, or, %ΔQD ÷ %ΔY = YED)
1 (c) A 10% increase in income leads to a 1.2% fall in demand for tobacco
%ΔQD ÷ 10% = -0.12
%ΔQD = -0.12 x 10%
%ΔQD = -1.2
2 (a) C
2 (b) B
2 (c) Consumer goods produced to satisfy peoples’ needs and wants; capital goods are fixed
assets used to produce other goods (machinery, equipment, factories)
3 (a) B
3 (b) Consumer surplus is the difference between the price consumers are willing to pay for
a good and the actual market price paid / the area above the equilibrium price and below
the demand curve whereas producer surplus is the difference between the price at which
producers are willing to supply and the actual market price received.
3 (c) Shift in supply to the left
4 (a) B
4 (b) K1Ap1An1
Europe much more price elastic -1.2 than sub-Saharan Africa – 0.5
More substitutes in Europe e.g. ferries, trains, Eurostar, TGV
A greater number of substitutes means that consumers can switch more easily and are more
likely to be sensitive to price changes.
5 (a) C
5 (b) Complementary goods - sugar is a complement because you add sugar to coffee to
sweeten it
5 (c)
Section B (30 marks)
(a) With reference to Figure 1 and Extract 1, explain why the price of cotton more than
doubled in 2010. Use a supply and demand diagram in your answer.
(5)
Question
Number
Answer
Mark
Knowledge 1, Application 1, Analysis 3
6 (a)
Knowledge/understanding:
• accurate supply and demand diagram with original
equilibrium
Application:
Use of data: explicit reference to Figure 1 on the rise in price
of cotton in 2010 e.g. a rise from around 70 US cents to 160
US cents per pound (1)
A decrease in supply e.g. flooding in China and Pakistan /
Indian Government export ban (1)
An increase in demand due to speculative buying (1)
Analysis:



Supply shifted leftwards (1)
Demand shifted rightwards (1)
Accurate new equilibrium sowing higher price (1)
development of either a supply or demand factor e.g.
discussion of supply being highly price inelastic, so
speculative demand will have a bigger impact upon
price.(1)
(5)
(b) Referring to cross elasticity of demand, explain the likely relationship between the
price of cotton and the demand for synthetic materials used in making clothing. (5)
6 (b)
Knowledge 1, Application 2, Analysis 2
Knowledge/understanding:
Definition or formula for cross elasticity of demand (the
responsiveness in demand for one good due to a change in
price of another good or %ΔQD good x ÷ %ΔP good y)
Application:
• Strong increase in cotton prices in 2010
• Cotton and synthetic materials are substitutes or in
competitive demand
Analysis:
• They have a positive cross elasticity of demand
• a rise in price of cotton has caused an increase in demand for
synthetic materials / diagram depicting this relationship
(5)
(c) With reference to Extract 1, examine two factors that are likely to influence the price
elasticity of supply of cotton.
(8)
Question
Number
6 (c)
Answer
Mark
Knowledge 2, Application 2, Analysis, Evaluation 2
Knowledge/understanding: 2 marks for identification of
two factors (1+1)
• Definition or formula of price elasticity of supply (the
responsiveness of supply due to a change in price or %ΔQS ÷
%ΔP)
• Diagram distinguishing between inelastic and elastic supply
• Clear written understanding of the difference between price
inelastic and price elastic supply
Application: 2 marks for reference to the data (1+1)
• Extract 1 refers to farmers devoting more land to grow cotton
which implies spare capacity
• Extract 1 refers to stocks of cotton at their lowest level for
five years
Analysis: 2 marks for linked explanation of two factors (1+1)
Factors may include:
• Time period / it appears to be price inelastic in supply within
100 days which is the growing period / but more elastic after
this period
• Spare capacity in the industry or resources in economy /
• Indian Government ban on cotton exports /might contribute
to overall inelastic supply for rest of world
• Ease of entry and exit to the market for farmers /
development e.g. problems of raising finance
• Distinction between short run (at least one input fixed) and
long run (all inputs variable) /application to type of inputs
Evaluation : 2 marks for 2 evaluative comments, e.g.
• Evaluative use of the data: cotton may be less price inelastic
in supply in long run since although price more than doubles,
output is set to increase from 101m bales to 117m bales
between 2010 and 2011.
• Discussion of level of stocks: supply is inelastic / perishability
of cotton stocks.
(8)
(d) With reference to Extract 2, discuss the likely effects of the increase in the price of
cotton on retail clothing firms such as Next.
(12)
Question
Number
6(d)
Indicative content
Mark
Knowledge 2, Application 2, Analysis 4
Possible effects:
• Increase in production costs / retail stores are likely to
increase the price of clothing
• Diagrammatic analysis depicting supply curve shifting
inwards / depicting an increase in price of clothing
(diagram or explanation of diagram must refer to
clothing market)
• Decrease in profits / Investec analysts forecast fall from
£560m to £542m / it may lead to a decrease in share price of
retail stores - Investec do not recommend buying / fall in
dividend payments / fall in producer surplus
• Fall in number of stores / fall in employment / fall in
investment into clothing retail stores
• Retail firms might try and cut costs e.g. focus more on
online sales and catalogue shopping / relocate stores
to parts of town where rents are cheaper / staff wage
freeze / switch to cheaper synthetic materials / reduce
quality
• Consideration of further diversification e.g. home
furnishings / might explain why Next shares rose by
20% over the year
(8)
Question
Number
Indicative content
6 (d)
continued
Mark
Evaluation 4
Factors might include
• Discussion of time; Lord Wolfson refers to cotton price
bubble – so it might fall back / Figure 1 refers to the forecast
increase in cotton supply to 117m bales for 2011.
• Discussion of magnitude of cotton price rise (more than
100%) and impact on clothing prices (up to 10%).
• Discussion of the proportion of cotton costs out of total
costs for clothing.
• Discussion of price elasticity of demand: clothing prices
have hardly increased for nearly 20 years so there might be
some scope to raise price and still keep consumer demand /
impact on total revenue.
• Discount clothing firms such as Primark may gain or lose
customers from high-end retailers such as Next and Marks &
Spencer.
• Not much scope to source cheaper suppliers from far East
as clothes retailers already use them.
• Other factors may come into play e.g. the recession or
rising population or increase in marketing may impact on
clothing market.
(4)