Cambridge International Examinations

Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level

ECONOMICS 9708/42
Paper 4 Data Response and Essays October/November 2018
2 hours 15 minutes
No Additional Materials are required.
* 9 0 5 3 1 7 0 1 2 1 *

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An answer booklet is provided inside this question paper. You should follow the instructions on the front cover
of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet.

Section A
Answer Question 1.

Section B
Answer two questions.

You may answer with reference to your own economy or other economies that you have studied where
relevant to the question.

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

This document consists of 4 printed pages and 1 Insert.

DC (NH/JG) 143828/2
© UCLES 2018 [Turn over
 2

Section A

Answer this question.

1 What’s to be done about rising inequality?

There is great inequality of income and wealth in the United States (US), that many believe is not
equitable. It seems, even to some of those who benefit from this inequality, that something should
be done to reduce it. What are the strongest reasons for trying to bring about greater equality of
income and wealth?

One obvious reason for redistributing resources from the rich to the poor is simply that this is a
way of making the poor better off. Many people in the world are poor, and the improvement in their
lives that richer people could bring about by giving money is enormous by comparison with the
small sacrifice that this would involve. Redistributing assets increases the well-being of the poor
more than it decreases that of the rich.

A justification for reducing inequality through non-voluntary means, such as taxation, needs to
explain why redistribution of this kind is not just arbitrary.

The possibility of making the poor better off is not the only reason for seeking to reduce the world’s
rising level of economic inequality. Many people in the US believe that high and rising levels of
inequality are objectionable.

It is worth inquiring into why this might be so.

1. Economic inequality can give wealthier people an unacceptable degree of control over the
lives of others, for example over where and how they can work, what they can buy and in
general what their lives will be like.

2. Economic inequality can undermine the fairness of political institutions. If those who hold
political offices depend on large private contributions for their election campaigns, they may
be more responsive to the interests and demands of wealthy contributors, and those who are
not rich will not be fairly represented.

3. Economic inequality undermines the fairness of the economic system itself by making it
difficult, if not impossible, to create equality of opportunity. For example, it means that some
children will enter the workforce much better prepared than others and people with few assets
find it harder to access a loan to start a business or to pay for higher education.

Source: Reasons we should fix economic inequality, TM Scanlon, accessed 19 April 2016

© UCLES 2018 9708/42/O/N/18

180%
160%
top 1% of wage
140%
earners
120%
Percentage
change 100%
in real pay 80%
60%
40% average wage
20% earners
0%
–20%
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Fig. 1.1: Change in real annual pay in the US, 1979–2013

Source: Adapted from EPI analysis of data from Kopczuk, Saez and Song (2010) and Social Administration wage statistics.
(Accessed 19 April 2016)

(a) The article says that many in the US believe that inequality is not equitable.

What is the difference between equality and equity? [2]

(b) Explain, using the article, two ways in which inequality is considered harmful. [4]

(c) Consider whether the changes in real annual pay shown in Fig. 1.1 support the idea of rising
inequality in the US. [6]

(d) The article refers to a reduction of inequality through taxation. Discuss the effectiveness of
fiscal policy in redistributing income. [8]

© UCLES 2018 9708/42/O/N/18 [Turn over

Section B

Answer two questions.

2 Discuss whether economic efficiency is always achievable in a market economy. [25]

3 (a) Analyse the factors which determine the price of a firm’s product and its output in monopolistic
competition. [12]

(b) Assess the effect on output and price if a monopoly firm maximises its sales revenue rather
than its profit. Consider who will benefit the most from this change. [13]

4 Consider whether wages are only determined by the market forces of supply and demand. [25]

5 Robots are increasingly used in various areas of production.

(a) Explain the type of unemployment which may arise as a result of the increased use of robots.
Consider the contribution this may make to total unemployment in an economy. [12]

(b) Discuss whether GDP is always a good measure of living standards. [13]

6 A country with an open economy has an increasing demand for its exports and a fall in the supply
of labour.

(a) Explain the effects of these changes on the general price level and national output in that
economy. [12]

(b) Consider the effectiveness of using only monetary policy in this situation. [13]

7 (a) Explain how developing countries differ from developed countries. [12]

(b) Assess the extent to which a multinational company’s investment in a developing country
leads to economic growth. [13]

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© UCLES 2018 9708/42/O/N/18