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AQA A-level Economics new 7136 - 06, 13 & 19 Jun 2017 [Exam Discussion]

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Reply 560
yeah the exam was pretty easy, think i would have got around 76-78
Original post by junky27
9 marker:

Define key terms

Point 1- in a perfectly competitive market demand for labour is derived from the MRP define MRP. In an industry such as construction, some argue that women have a lower marginal product due to a lack of strength in comparison to men. As a result of this there MRP will be lower resulting in lower wages for women and higher wages for men.

DIagrams- falling MRP for women, increasing MRP for men. Title above Construction Market

2nd point- women may have lifestyle commitments such as school for children and thus are not as available as men which means there marginal revenue is likely to be lower than that of men. As a result of this womens MRP will be lower as the MRP is the mr x mp. This will result in lower wages women.

3rd point- often imperfections in labour market such as discrimination so wages are not always dictated in relation to womens true MRP as a result of this imperfections may result in women being paid less than men despite their MRP being higher than men.

Facts- 32% Women UK claim to be feel as though they are paid less than men (career build.co.uk).

25 Marker

Define key terms
Many laws have been implemented in the past to prevent inequality most significant being that of the 1970 Equal pay act. Despite this 32% Women UK claim to be feel as though they are paid less than men (career build.co.uk).

First arg- MIN Wage. Increase wages can increase earnings for women resulting in a more equal distribution of income and closing gender gap. MW UK= £7.50 for 21 plus

MW diagram Increasing MW (not implementing a MW)

Strong- Extract- 2 million women in UK do not want to work. This increase in the MW may create an incentive for them to work and also on a macro level may improve voluntary unemployment as the real market equilibrium wage is higher. Weak- the quantity demanded of labour falls and if the demand for labour is wage elastic the decrease will be larger. Final judgement- can't remember what I said.

Point 2- In a perfectly competitive labour market the wage is derived from the MRP and thus women would be demanded in relation to their true MRP. Though there is often imperfections i.e discrimination (quoted extract). Therefore the MRP for women is often ower resulting in a larger pay gap. Solution- stricter laws to bring the demand for women back to their true MRP.

Diagrams- Discrimination diagram and then a diagram showing the demand shifting back to the right as opposed to laws preventing discrimination.

Weak- Figure D showed that the wage gap from 2000 to 2015 for smaller by £495 indicating the relevance of discrimination is weak. Moreover, women in their twenties often earning more than men (quote). Strong- not sure what I said.

Conclusion- evaluated my arguments. My judgement- leave it to the market forces as minimum wages can have significant macro effects increasing costs for firms resulting in cost push inf and falling bop and AD. Imperfections such as minimum wages keep wages artificially high and the wage gap is falling. Said some more stuff- supply side policies may be best if gov intervention is necessary as this will increase skills of women resulting in a higher MRP.

Missed out a fair bit but yeah you can get the gist.



Hi, I did context 2 on the gender pay gap and the essay 2 on poverty.

For the first 25 marker I wrote about how trade unions/ the NMW and progressive taxation and benefits could be used to reduce the gao in the economy and how successful each policy was that a government could use.

For the second 25 marker I wrote about how the trickle down effect/economic growth could be used by the market forces to reduce poverty, and the NMW/progressive taxation and benefits for government intervention,

Does this sound about right to you on the whole, especially on the one you did? Found the paper fairly good. Your answers seem to be very good, think I left out some good points looking at yours.
(edited 6 years ago)
Orrible exam!!!! Absolute nightmare but I still reckon I only dropped about 2 marks😂😂😂
Original post by pelomba7
Orrible exam!!!! Absolute nightmare but I still reckon I only dropped about 2 marks😂😂😂


Only joking haha probably got around 50
Original post by Hjjhgnnh
anyone please?:smile:


market share wasn't it?
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Hamza Rashid
Yes definitely because this could arguably be more effective than a tax.
However, I tried to implement more than one policy together. So what I said was that a tax allows for revenue which provides funding to subsidise things like a gym. I then linked this to how this could be complemented by choice architecture as this is a nudge, therefore, has no risk of government failure like all the other policies.
Hope this helps



Yeah I did that for the conclusion but I forgot to mention no government failure xD but its fine i think I did pretty alright then
Reply 566
Original post by pelomba7
Only joking haha probably got around 50


50? that's poor
Original post by junky27
Great exam

Context 2;

2 marker- 69.1% something like that or 63.9% can't remember exactly

4 marker- easy just showing how the pay gap got smaller by £445 from 2000 to 2015

9 marker- define key terms, demand for labour derived from MRP in perfectly competitive labour markets. Construction for example men may have more natural strength and can lift heavier objects so they can produce more i.e. marginal product higher than women so higher MRP for men than women here. Though imperfections do exist so women may also gain less due to discrimination. Also they may supply their labour less or not as available due to lifestyle commitments and thus men have higher marginal revenue so higher wages.

25 marker- define key terms. Min wage- increase earnings for women in employment, more equal dist of income. Weak- q of lab falls and even more so if demand for labour is wage elastic. Strong- can't remember what I said.

2nd point- imperfections such as discrimination often evident in labour market so womens MRP is lower than their true MRP so increase laws aimed at preventing this to bring MRP up to true MKT mrp.

Weak- wage gap fallen by £445 over 15 years so not as relevant and equal pay act prevents this. Strong- 32% women claim they are paid less than men according to career build.co.uk

Conclusion- other policies, leave to market forces etc.

Double essay:
define terms

de-merit good diagram with the MPB greater than MSB

Reasons- consumers imperf info on lr private costs

Firms ignore externalities so over provide and we demand at that q

Some sugary drinks have elasticities in the region of 0.3-.06 due to addictive nature so even if price increases to attempt to reduce demand demand will still be at an over consumption as demand is price inelastic.

Facts- NHS 16.1 billion costs obesity. 20% obese population

25 marker:

Define terms

Tax- internalise market failure etc due to fall in supply from tax reduced quantity back to optimum

Weak- demand for goods may be inelastic so fall is unrealistic. Strong is tax rev is used for subsidising healthy alternatives.

2nd point- prof max firms e.g apple earn large supernormal profits e.g 54.1 billion in 2015 and evade tax e.g relocating to Ireland. Tax may not have such an affect on these firms so gov provision is necessary. Gov provision diagram.

Weak- orgs in free market may be a charity or attempt to raise awareness of risks so produce at q where mc=mr so gov provision unnecessary. Strong- can't remember

Conclsuion- evaluated args. Behavioural economics also relevant e.g nudge policies such as mandating choice etc.


did you remember all that from the exam?
Reply 568
Original post by dashhh
mannn that exam ****ed me



You and I both, I didn't realise it was there under all those blank pages at the end. I had a huge shock when I realised there was a 25 marker left when I only had 15 minutes
In my exam I answered context 2 and essay 3

Context 2
2 marker- 69.6% or something

4 marker the differences in pay between 2000 and 2015 and how they have reduced from £6000 ish to £5000

9 marker
I wrote about how women exit the labour market at a key time of the promotion ladder and due to their time out of work lack behind men interms of skills and experience = a decrease in MRP. I also went on to say that because of this women also tend to work in lower productivity jobs such as the retail sector, which has an elastic supply due to the lack of qualifications. I included a demand supply diagram where the MRP of women is lower than men's.

25 marker
My first argument was in giving trade unions more power and how they affect the wage in a monopsony market. I included this diagram. I then evaluated by saying they are more powerful in boom periods where firms are more profitable and also that the ACFTU in china is an example of where trade unions don't give good outcomes for workers.

My second point was raising the NMW or now as it's the NLW. I talked about the excess supply created but that actually wage increase can incentivise an increase in productivity and therefore MRP of workers which shift demand to the right and gives the outcomes of higher wage with no unemployment. I also referred to the fact men could demand higher wages to compensate and also that you can't exclude men from the increase in NLW. I also referenced the fact high wages incentives women to get in work and get on the promotion ladder.


15 marker

I wrote about the classic information failure and included a negative externality diagram in consumption. I then went on to make I feel vague points about the fact marginal utility for sugary drinks is perceived to be larger than water and also that due to inequality in the economy and the fact sugary drinks are inferior goods that there's is more consumed that the socially efficient level


25 marker

Started with the tax and analysed it. I then went to say its limitations due to elasticises and also the tax revenue it generates. I then went on to use the example of mexicos sugar tax and how it's changed consumer habits and generated large taxes for the government.

By second policy was behavioural economics and framing. I suggested that it would become legal for suppliers to have to display sugar and fat levels on the front of packages only and this would restrict information and hopefully bipassing bounded rational. I then evaluated by saying That these policies are paternalistic and that the government should use collective filtering from other individuals to understand groups more and this may offset the idea that an individual may just join the hoard.

What do you think in terms of what a got wrong and mark?
If anyone did essay 1, please can you tell me what points you made, etc.? cos I done messed up. Half way through, realised I should have done sugar tax question :/
Reply 571
Guys for context 1 the 9 marker some people said that average costs shifts up because of the resources for the extra days of work but then there's others who put costs go down as the Royal Mail (monopoly firm) exploits their productive efficiency gains and economies of scale. Which one is right or if explained well enough could both points have been valid?
Reply 572
What was the answer to the 2 marker?
I did essay 3 i talked about the tax like the general stuff such as it will increase the price thn i evaluated it saying suguary drinks are inelastics due to their addictive nature so talked abwt the tax will have little or no effect and tht if u look at the burdens of the tax the consumer takes more of the burden meaning producers will still supply. I then talked abwt alternative methods such as a minimum prices on these goods and us cigarettes as anexample also another way i talked abwt was the government subsidising firms to make a healthier alternative lowering their cost of production. In my end evaluation i suggested tht the tax maybe wasnt the best as it maybe regressive in nature and tlked abwt implications such a inequality thn suggested in my opinion how a subsidy would be the better idea.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Sikander345
I did essay 3 i talked about the tax like the general stuff such as it will increase the price thn i evaluated it saying suguary drinks are inelastics due to their addictive nature so talked abwt the tax will have little or no effect and tht if u look at the burdens of the tax the consumer takes more of the burden meaning producers will still supply. I then talked abwt alternative methods such as a minimum prices on these goods and us cigarettes as anexample also another way i talked abwt was the government subsidising firms to make a healthier alternative lowering their cost of production. In my end evaluation i suggested tht the tax maybe wasnt the best as it maybe regressive in nature and tlked abwt implications such a inequality thn suggested in my opinion how a subsidy would be the better idea.


I did something very similar. However, in my final conclusion, I spoke about how it depended on the type of Tax ie. Ad-valorem tax is more regressive in nature than a specific tax. I also spoke about how it depends on the size of the tax and the duration too. I then also spoke a bit about government failure and how nudges like choice architecture could be used as a means to minimize the government failure. However, the rest was quite the same.
What points did people make for context 1 25 marker on privatisation of the Royal Mail?
Original post by Holdsworth1
Hi, I did context 2 on the gender pay gap and the essay 2 on poverty.

For the first 25 marker I wrote about how trade unions/ the NMW and progressive taxation and benefits could be used to reduce the gao in the economy and how successful each policy was that a government could use.

For the second 25 marker I wrote about how the trickle down effect/economic growth could be used by the market forces to reduce poverty, and the NMW/progressive taxation and benefits for government intervention,

Does this sound about right to you on the whole, especially on the one you did? Found the paper fairly good. Your answers seem to be very good, think I left out some good points looking at yours.


Yours sounds very good. It is impossible to get in everything and I would have liked to have got in some more stuff and I like how you brought in the more detailed side of taxes with progressive etc. I think you will have done well from what you have said you've done!
Original post by ThankyouJesus
did you remember all that from the exam?


Yep
Original post by Tommiller123
In my exam I answered context 2 and essay 3

Context 2
2 marker- 69.6% or something

4 marker the differences in pay between 2000 and 2015 and how they have reduced from £6000 ish to £5000

9 marker
I wrote about how women exit the labour market at a key time of the promotion ladder and due to their time out of work lack behind men interms of skills and experience = a decrease in MRP. I also went on to say that because of this women also tend to work in lower productivity jobs such as the retail sector, which has an elastic supply due to the lack of qualifications. I included a demand supply diagram where the MRP of women is lower than men's.

25 marker
My first argument was in giving trade unions more power and how they affect the wage in a monopsony market. I included this diagram. I then evaluated by saying they are more powerful in boom periods where firms are more profitable and also that the ACFTU in china is an example of where trade unions don't give good outcomes for workers.

My second point was raising the NMW or now as it's the NLW. I talked about the excess supply created but that actually wage increase can incentivise an increase in productivity and therefore MRP of workers which shift demand to the right and gives the outcomes of higher wage with no unemployment. I also referred to the fact men could demand higher wages to compensate and also that you can't exclude men from the increase in NLW. I also referenced the fact high wages incentives women to get in work and get on the promotion ladder.


15 marker

I wrote about the classic information failure and included a negative externality diagram in consumption. I then went on to make I feel vague points about the fact marginal utility for sugary drinks is perceived to be larger than water and also that due to inequality in the economy and the fact sugary drinks are inferior goods that there's is more consumed that the socially efficient level


25 marker

Started with the tax and analysed it. I then went to say its limitations due to elasticises and also the tax revenue it generates. I then went on to use the example of mexicos sugar tax and how it's changed consumer habits and generated large taxes for the government.

By second policy was behavioural economics and framing. I suggested that it would become legal for suppliers to have to display sugar and fat levels on the front of packages only and this would restrict information and hopefully bipassing bounded rational. I then evaluated by saying That these policies are paternalistic and that the government should use collective filtering from other individuals to understand groups more and this may offset the idea that an individual may just join the hoard.

What do you think in terms of what a got wrong and mark?


Sounds very good to me.
Original post by Hamza Rashid
What points did people make for context 1 25 marker on privatisation of the Royal Mail?


Literally was thinking on the spot as this wasn't my favourite topic but I wrote

That left to the free market there would be profit motives and incentives which in theory could lead to an outcome close to perfect competition. If firms strived for efficiency. This would benefit consumers, justify privatisation

But it depended on whether it not it had just caused a natural monopoly or in the case an oligopolistic market

Talked about how that it could lead to inefficiencies mentioned the data, reverse the good.Perhaps even market failure as firms do not care about consumer welfare unlike government's they want to make profit. Said this could cause government failure? And it was wrong to privatise idek.

Then said it depended on the threat of contestability, talked about the potential threat of innovation from the data and the behaviour of a firm depending on what it did with abnormal profits

I think I even talked about even though they may be no long term investments as it's not run by the goverment, but the possibility of r&d by firms could be good. I don't know If that was relevant
(edited 6 years ago)

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