A-level Economics Tutor

June 2018: Paper 3

100 marks · 10 question parts · Paper, mark scheme and report on Pearson's site

Question by question

QTopicMarksAOType
1(a) Oligopoly 5AO1=2,AO2=2,AO3=1Short answer
1(b) Oligopoly 12AO1=2,AO2=2,AO3=4,AO4=4Extended response
1(c) Government intervention in markets, Market failure and externalities 8AO1=2,AO2=2,AO3=2,AO4=2Extended response
1(d) Business growth and business objectives, Globalisation, specialisation and trade 25AO1=4,AO2=4,AO3=8,AO4=9Essay
1(e) Supply, demand and price determination, The circular flow, national income and the multiplier 25AO1=4,AO2=4,AO3=8,AO4=9Essay
2(a) Globalisation, specialisation and trade 5AO1=2,AO2=2,AO3=1Short answer
2(b) Revenues, costs and profits 8AO1=2,AO2=2,AO3=2,AO4=2Extended response
2(c) Emerging and developing economies 12AO1=2,AO2=2,AO3=4,AO4=4Extended response
2(d) Emerging and developing economies, Price, income and cross elasticities of demand 25AO1=4,AO2=4,AO3=8,AO4=9Essay
2(e) Supply-side policies, Government intervention: competition policy and regulation 25AO1=4,AO2=4,AO3=8,AO4=9Essay

The questions

1(a)1(b)1(c)1(d)1(e)2(a)2(b)2(c)2(d)2(e)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q1(a) 5 marks AO1=2, AO2=2, AO3=1 Short answer oligopoly
Data and extracts for question 1Branded coffee shops Figure 1: Market share of UK branded coffee shops, 2015, percentages Others Costa Coffee 29% 31% Pret a Manger 5% Morrisons Starbucks 6% 13% Tesco Caffè Nero 7% 9% (Source: http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/14/the-uks-most-popular- coffee-shop-has-been-revealed-5564569/) Figure 2: Number of Starbucks coffee shops worldwide, 2003–2016 Number of coffee shops 30 000 25 085 25 000 23 043 21 366 19 767 20 000 18 066 17 003 16 63516 858 16 680 15 011 15 000 12 440 8 569 10 241 10 000 7 225 5 000 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266465/ number-of-starbucks-stores-worldwide/) Figure 3: Price comparison in selected London coffee retailers, February 2017 Coffee style Starbucks Costa Coffee Caffè Nero Greggs McDonald’s Espresso Double £2.00 £2.00 £1.70 £1.65 £0.99 Latte Medium £2.60 £2.50 £2.50 £1.80 £1.79 Latte Large £2.80 £2.70 £2.80 £2.10 £2.09 (Source: data collected from coffee shops in Holborn, London on 25 February 2017) Extract A Starbucks in Britain – a loss-making business? Coffee shops are among the most profitable parts of the food and drink industry, and few are doing quite as well as Starbucks, a US-based transnational company. Starbucks may be complaining of adverse global market conditions but that did not stop the world’s biggest coffee chain from reporting record annual profits in 2016. It made a profit of 5 almost US$4.2 billion for the year, up 16% on 2015. That was mainly the result of a strong performance in its biggest market, America, where revenue rose 11%. The fastest growth was in the China and Asia Pacific region, with revenue up 23%. Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, said its Chinese coffee shops were the most efficient and profitable. While Starbucks still makes most of its profit in the US, Mr Schultz has said expansion in China 10 will secure its future for “decades to come” and announced plans to more than double the number of shops in China to 5 000 by 2021. However its British subsidiary, at first glance, appears to be doing less well. It has announced its first ever profit in Britain in 2015 – of just £1 million – despite opening its first coffee shop in the UK in 1998. It now has 849 UK outlets. The main reason why 15 Starbucks has reported persistent losses in the UK is not due to a lack of demand for its coffee, but to minimise its tax bill. It is claimed that some of Starbucks’ revenue earned in the UK is transferred to its Dutch subsidiary, which is charged lower rates of tax. Starbucks is not finding life as easy in Britain as in the USA. It faces competition from home-grown chains such as Costa and Caffè Nero. Accusations of tax avoidance have also 20 damaged Starbucks’ sales to the benefit of its competitors. A survey found that a third less people rated Starbucks as their preferred coffee shop than they did before the tax- avoidance allegations were first published. These issues have forced Starbucks to change its strategy. It has slowed down its expansion plans in the UK and has closed 67 underperforming coffee shops over the past 25 year. It has also tried to repair its reputation by transferring its European headquarters from Amsterdam to London. (Sources: adapted from The Economist 14 February 2015 http://www.economist.com/ news/business-and-finance/21643271-tax and Starbucks company report 2016 and http://s21.q4cdn.com/369030626/files/doc_financials/ 2015/Starbucks-Fiscal-2015_Financial-Highlights.pdf) Extract B Tax on disposable coffee cups? Two and a half billion disposable cups are thrown away every year in the UK, that is, seven million every day. Only one in 400 is recycled. The UK Environment Minister has suggested that a coffee cup tax could work in a similar manner to the plastic bag charge. The 5 pence a bag charge has led to an 85% reduction in the number of bags 5 being given out since October 2015. It is estimated that introducing a tax on disposable coffee cups would cut usage by two billion every year. One environment spokesperson, Kate Parminter, said: “We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and it is clearly time to extend it to coffee cups. Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even 10 thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact.” In response, another MP welcomed her comments but said he did not believe a tax was the solution. He said: “My initial reaction is charging 5p or 10p for the cup will not work. It will not encourage people to take their own cups in if a coffee goes up from £2.60 to 15 £2.65. I suspect a more technological answer is what we need – either the composition of the disposable cups being changed so they’re more easily recyclable, or changing the technology in the recycling.” Disposable coffee cups contain a plastic coating inside the cups which prevent them from becoming soggy, making them difficult to recycle. There are just two specialist 20 facilities in the UK that have the required equipment to separate plastic from paper for recycling. Almost no recycled paper is used in the production of disposable cups, meaning that some 43 000 trees must be cut down annually to keep up with the demand. CO emissions of around 83 000 tonnes are generated every year for their production. 25 (Sources: adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disposable-coffee- cups-could-be-taxed-like-plastic-bags-environment-minister-says-a6938126.html 05/09/16 and https://www.cchdaily.co.uk/lib-dems-call-5p-plastic-bag-tax-coffee-cups) Extract C German city of Freiburg takes action on cutting the use of disposable coffee cups The ‘Freiburg cup’, made from dishwasher-proof plastic, can be reused hundreds of times. Cups are issued with a one-euro deposit, and can be returned to any of the participating coffee shops in the German city. The cups, which are provided to coffee shops by local councils, are washed in the cafés and bakeries that have signed up to the scheme before 5 being reused. 56 coffee retailers have signed up, and 10 000 cups are being used. One of the main obstacles facing a wider-reaching scheme, however, is the number of café chains in Germany that are unwilling to use unbranded multi-use cups, particularly Starbucks and McDonald’s. Starbucks already offers a discounted coffee for customers with a multi-use cup, but only if it is bearing the unmistakable Starbucks logo. 10 (Source: adapted from http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-love-for-coffee-to-go- leaves-environmental-groups-demanding-action/a-36689719)
(a) With reference to Figure 1, briefly explain the market structure that best describes the UK branded coffee shop market. (5)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q1(b) 12 marks AO1=2, AO2=2, AO3=4, AO4=4 12-mark response oligopoly
Data and extracts for question 1Branded coffee shops Figure 1: Market share of UK branded coffee shops, 2015, percentages Others Costa Coffee 29% 31% Pret a Manger 5% Morrisons Starbucks 6% 13% Tesco Caffè Nero 7% 9% (Source: http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/14/the-uks-most-popular- coffee-shop-has-been-revealed-5564569/) Figure 2: Number of Starbucks coffee shops worldwide, 2003–2016 Number of coffee shops 30 000 25 085 25 000 23 043 21 366 19 767 20 000 18 066 17 003 16 63516 858 16 680 15 011 15 000 12 440 8 569 10 241 10 000 7 225 5 000 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266465/ number-of-starbucks-stores-worldwide/) Figure 3: Price comparison in selected London coffee retailers, February 2017 Coffee style Starbucks Costa Coffee Caffè Nero Greggs McDonald’s Espresso Double £2.00 £2.00 £1.70 £1.65 £0.99 Latte Medium £2.60 £2.50 £2.50 £1.80 £1.79 Latte Large £2.80 £2.70 £2.80 £2.10 £2.09 (Source: data collected from coffee shops in Holborn, London on 25 February 2017) Extract A Starbucks in Britain – a loss-making business? Coffee shops are among the most profitable parts of the food and drink industry, and few are doing quite as well as Starbucks, a US-based transnational company. Starbucks may be complaining of adverse global market conditions but that did not stop the world’s biggest coffee chain from reporting record annual profits in 2016. It made a profit of 5 almost US$4.2 billion for the year, up 16% on 2015. That was mainly the result of a strong performance in its biggest market, America, where revenue rose 11%. The fastest growth was in the China and Asia Pacific region, with revenue up 23%. Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, said its Chinese coffee shops were the most efficient and profitable. While Starbucks still makes most of its profit in the US, Mr Schultz has said expansion in China 10 will secure its future for “decades to come” and announced plans to more than double the number of shops in China to 5 000 by 2021. However its British subsidiary, at first glance, appears to be doing less well. It has announced its first ever profit in Britain in 2015 – of just £1 million – despite opening its first coffee shop in the UK in 1998. It now has 849 UK outlets. The main reason why 15 Starbucks has reported persistent losses in the UK is not due to a lack of demand for its coffee, but to minimise its tax bill. It is claimed that some of Starbucks’ revenue earned in the UK is transferred to its Dutch subsidiary, which is charged lower rates of tax. Starbucks is not finding life as easy in Britain as in the USA. It faces competition from home-grown chains such as Costa and Caffè Nero. Accusations of tax avoidance have also 20 damaged Starbucks’ sales to the benefit of its competitors. A survey found that a third less people rated Starbucks as their preferred coffee shop than they did before the tax- avoidance allegations were first published. These issues have forced Starbucks to change its strategy. It has slowed down its expansion plans in the UK and has closed 67 underperforming coffee shops over the past 25 year. It has also tried to repair its reputation by transferring its European headquarters from Amsterdam to London. (Sources: adapted from The Economist 14 February 2015 http://www.economist.com/ news/business-and-finance/21643271-tax and Starbucks company report 2016 and http://s21.q4cdn.com/369030626/files/doc_financials/ 2015/Starbucks-Fiscal-2015_Financial-Highlights.pdf) Extract B Tax on disposable coffee cups? Two and a half billion disposable cups are thrown away every year in the UK, that is, seven million every day. Only one in 400 is recycled. The UK Environment Minister has suggested that a coffee cup tax could work in a similar manner to the plastic bag charge. The 5 pence a bag charge has led to an 85% reduction in the number of bags 5 being given out since October 2015. It is estimated that introducing a tax on disposable coffee cups would cut usage by two billion every year. One environment spokesperson, Kate Parminter, said: “We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and it is clearly time to extend it to coffee cups. Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even 10 thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact.” In response, another MP welcomed her comments but said he did not believe a tax was the solution. He said: “My initial reaction is charging 5p or 10p for the cup will not work. It will not encourage people to take their own cups in if a coffee goes up from £2.60 to 15 £2.65. I suspect a more technological answer is what we need – either the composition of the disposable cups being changed so they’re more easily recyclable, or changing the technology in the recycling.” Disposable coffee cups contain a plastic coating inside the cups which prevent them from becoming soggy, making them difficult to recycle. There are just two specialist 20 facilities in the UK that have the required equipment to separate plastic from paper for recycling. Almost no recycled paper is used in the production of disposable cups, meaning that some 43 000 trees must be cut down annually to keep up with the demand. CO emissions of around 83 000 tonnes are generated every year for their production. 25 (Sources: adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disposable-coffee- cups-could-be-taxed-like-plastic-bags-environment-minister-says-a6938126.html 05/09/16 and https://www.cchdaily.co.uk/lib-dems-call-5p-plastic-bag-tax-coffee-cups) Extract C German city of Freiburg takes action on cutting the use of disposable coffee cups The ‘Freiburg cup’, made from dishwasher-proof plastic, can be reused hundreds of times. Cups are issued with a one-euro deposit, and can be returned to any of the participating coffee shops in the German city. The cups, which are provided to coffee shops by local councils, are washed in the cafés and bakeries that have signed up to the scheme before 5 being reused. 56 coffee retailers have signed up, and 10 000 cups are being used. One of the main obstacles facing a wider-reaching scheme, however, is the number of café chains in Germany that are unwilling to use unbranded multi-use cups, particularly Starbucks and McDonald’s. Starbucks already offers a discounted coffee for customers with a multi-use cup, but only if it is bearing the unmistakable Starbucks logo. 10 (Source: adapted from http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-love-for-coffee-to-go- leaves-environmental-groups-demanding-action/a-36689719)
(b) With reference to Figure 3 and other information provided, discuss the price and non-price strategies that Starbucks may use to increase profitability. (12)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q1(c) 8 marks AO1=2, AO2=2, AO3=2, AO4=2 8-mark response government intervention in marketsexternalities
Data and extracts for question 1Branded coffee shops Figure 1: Market share of UK branded coffee shops, 2015, percentages Others Costa Coffee 29% 31% Pret a Manger 5% Morrisons Starbucks 6% 13% Tesco Caffè Nero 7% 9% (Source: http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/14/the-uks-most-popular- coffee-shop-has-been-revealed-5564569/) Figure 2: Number of Starbucks coffee shops worldwide, 2003–2016 Number of coffee shops 30 000 25 085 25 000 23 043 21 366 19 767 20 000 18 066 17 003 16 63516 858 16 680 15 011 15 000 12 440 8 569 10 241 10 000 7 225 5 000 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266465/ number-of-starbucks-stores-worldwide/) Figure 3: Price comparison in selected London coffee retailers, February 2017 Coffee style Starbucks Costa Coffee Caffè Nero Greggs McDonald’s Espresso Double £2.00 £2.00 £1.70 £1.65 £0.99 Latte Medium £2.60 £2.50 £2.50 £1.80 £1.79 Latte Large £2.80 £2.70 £2.80 £2.10 £2.09 (Source: data collected from coffee shops in Holborn, London on 25 February 2017) Extract A Starbucks in Britain – a loss-making business? Coffee shops are among the most profitable parts of the food and drink industry, and few are doing quite as well as Starbucks, a US-based transnational company. Starbucks may be complaining of adverse global market conditions but that did not stop the world’s biggest coffee chain from reporting record annual profits in 2016. It made a profit of 5 almost US$4.2 billion for the year, up 16% on 2015. That was mainly the result of a strong performance in its biggest market, America, where revenue rose 11%. The fastest growth was in the China and Asia Pacific region, with revenue up 23%. Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, said its Chinese coffee shops were the most efficient and profitable. While Starbucks still makes most of its profit in the US, Mr Schultz has said expansion in China 10 will secure its future for “decades to come” and announced plans to more than double the number of shops in China to 5 000 by 2021. However its British subsidiary, at first glance, appears to be doing less well. It has announced its first ever profit in Britain in 2015 – of just £1 million – despite opening its first coffee shop in the UK in 1998. It now has 849 UK outlets. The main reason why 15 Starbucks has reported persistent losses in the UK is not due to a lack of demand for its coffee, but to minimise its tax bill. It is claimed that some of Starbucks’ revenue earned in the UK is transferred to its Dutch subsidiary, which is charged lower rates of tax. Starbucks is not finding life as easy in Britain as in the USA. It faces competition from home-grown chains such as Costa and Caffè Nero. Accusations of tax avoidance have also 20 damaged Starbucks’ sales to the benefit of its competitors. A survey found that a third less people rated Starbucks as their preferred coffee shop than they did before the tax- avoidance allegations were first published. These issues have forced Starbucks to change its strategy. It has slowed down its expansion plans in the UK and has closed 67 underperforming coffee shops over the past 25 year. It has also tried to repair its reputation by transferring its European headquarters from Amsterdam to London. (Sources: adapted from The Economist 14 February 2015 http://www.economist.com/ news/business-and-finance/21643271-tax and Starbucks company report 2016 and http://s21.q4cdn.com/369030626/files/doc_financials/ 2015/Starbucks-Fiscal-2015_Financial-Highlights.pdf) Extract B Tax on disposable coffee cups? Two and a half billion disposable cups are thrown away every year in the UK, that is, seven million every day. Only one in 400 is recycled. The UK Environment Minister has suggested that a coffee cup tax could work in a similar manner to the plastic bag charge. The 5 pence a bag charge has led to an 85% reduction in the number of bags 5 being given out since October 2015. It is estimated that introducing a tax on disposable coffee cups would cut usage by two billion every year. One environment spokesperson, Kate Parminter, said: “We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and it is clearly time to extend it to coffee cups. Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even 10 thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact.” In response, another MP welcomed her comments but said he did not believe a tax was the solution. He said: “My initial reaction is charging 5p or 10p for the cup will not work. It will not encourage people to take their own cups in if a coffee goes up from £2.60 to 15 £2.65. I suspect a more technological answer is what we need – either the composition of the disposable cups being changed so they’re more easily recyclable, or changing the technology in the recycling.” Disposable coffee cups contain a plastic coating inside the cups which prevent them from becoming soggy, making them difficult to recycle. There are just two specialist 20 facilities in the UK that have the required equipment to separate plastic from paper for recycling. Almost no recycled paper is used in the production of disposable cups, meaning that some 43 000 trees must be cut down annually to keep up with the demand. CO emissions of around 83 000 tonnes are generated every year for their production. 25 (Sources: adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disposable-coffee- cups-could-be-taxed-like-plastic-bags-environment-minister-says-a6938126.html 05/09/16 and https://www.cchdaily.co.uk/lib-dems-call-5p-plastic-bag-tax-coffee-cups) Extract C German city of Freiburg takes action on cutting the use of disposable coffee cups The ‘Freiburg cup’, made from dishwasher-proof plastic, can be reused hundreds of times. Cups are issued with a one-euro deposit, and can be returned to any of the participating coffee shops in the German city. The cups, which are provided to coffee shops by local councils, are washed in the cafés and bakeries that have signed up to the scheme before 5 being reused. 56 coffee retailers have signed up, and 10 000 cups are being used. One of the main obstacles facing a wider-reaching scheme, however, is the number of café chains in Germany that are unwilling to use unbranded multi-use cups, particularly Starbucks and McDonald’s. Starbucks already offers a discounted coffee for customers with a multi-use cup, but only if it is bearing the unmistakable Starbucks logo. 10 (Source: adapted from http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-love-for-coffee-to-go- leaves-environmental-groups-demanding-action/a-36689719)
(c) Examine the advantages of using an indirect tax as a means of reducing the use of disposable coffee cups. (8)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q1(d) 25 marks AO1=4, AO2=4, AO3=8, AO4=9 25-mark essay Either/or business growth and objectivesglobalisation and trade
Data and extracts for question 1Branded coffee shops Figure 1: Market share of UK branded coffee shops, 2015, percentages Others Costa Coffee 29% 31% Pret a Manger 5% Morrisons Starbucks 6% 13% Tesco Caffè Nero 7% 9% (Source: http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/14/the-uks-most-popular- coffee-shop-has-been-revealed-5564569/) Figure 2: Number of Starbucks coffee shops worldwide, 2003–2016 Number of coffee shops 30 000 25 085 25 000 23 043 21 366 19 767 20 000 18 066 17 003 16 63516 858 16 680 15 011 15 000 12 440 8 569 10 241 10 000 7 225 5 000 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266465/ number-of-starbucks-stores-worldwide/) Figure 3: Price comparison in selected London coffee retailers, February 2017 Coffee style Starbucks Costa Coffee Caffè Nero Greggs McDonald’s Espresso Double £2.00 £2.00 £1.70 £1.65 £0.99 Latte Medium £2.60 £2.50 £2.50 £1.80 £1.79 Latte Large £2.80 £2.70 £2.80 £2.10 £2.09 (Source: data collected from coffee shops in Holborn, London on 25 February 2017) Extract A Starbucks in Britain – a loss-making business? Coffee shops are among the most profitable parts of the food and drink industry, and few are doing quite as well as Starbucks, a US-based transnational company. Starbucks may be complaining of adverse global market conditions but that did not stop the world’s biggest coffee chain from reporting record annual profits in 2016. It made a profit of 5 almost US$4.2 billion for the year, up 16% on 2015. That was mainly the result of a strong performance in its biggest market, America, where revenue rose 11%. The fastest growth was in the China and Asia Pacific region, with revenue up 23%. Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, said its Chinese coffee shops were the most efficient and profitable. While Starbucks still makes most of its profit in the US, Mr Schultz has said expansion in China 10 will secure its future for “decades to come” and announced plans to more than double the number of shops in China to 5 000 by 2021. However its British subsidiary, at first glance, appears to be doing less well. It has announced its first ever profit in Britain in 2015 – of just £1 million – despite opening its first coffee shop in the UK in 1998. It now has 849 UK outlets. The main reason why 15 Starbucks has reported persistent losses in the UK is not due to a lack of demand for its coffee, but to minimise its tax bill. It is claimed that some of Starbucks’ revenue earned in the UK is transferred to its Dutch subsidiary, which is charged lower rates of tax. Starbucks is not finding life as easy in Britain as in the USA. It faces competition from home-grown chains such as Costa and Caffè Nero. Accusations of tax avoidance have also 20 damaged Starbucks’ sales to the benefit of its competitors. A survey found that a third less people rated Starbucks as their preferred coffee shop than they did before the tax- avoidance allegations were first published. These issues have forced Starbucks to change its strategy. It has slowed down its expansion plans in the UK and has closed 67 underperforming coffee shops over the past 25 year. It has also tried to repair its reputation by transferring its European headquarters from Amsterdam to London. (Sources: adapted from The Economist 14 February 2015 http://www.economist.com/ news/business-and-finance/21643271-tax and Starbucks company report 2016 and http://s21.q4cdn.com/369030626/files/doc_financials/ 2015/Starbucks-Fiscal-2015_Financial-Highlights.pdf) Extract B Tax on disposable coffee cups? Two and a half billion disposable cups are thrown away every year in the UK, that is, seven million every day. Only one in 400 is recycled. The UK Environment Minister has suggested that a coffee cup tax could work in a similar manner to the plastic bag charge. The 5 pence a bag charge has led to an 85% reduction in the number of bags 5 being given out since October 2015. It is estimated that introducing a tax on disposable coffee cups would cut usage by two billion every year. One environment spokesperson, Kate Parminter, said: “We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and it is clearly time to extend it to coffee cups. Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even 10 thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact.” In response, another MP welcomed her comments but said he did not believe a tax was the solution. He said: “My initial reaction is charging 5p or 10p for the cup will not work. It will not encourage people to take their own cups in if a coffee goes up from £2.60 to 15 £2.65. I suspect a more technological answer is what we need – either the composition of the disposable cups being changed so they’re more easily recyclable, or changing the technology in the recycling.” Disposable coffee cups contain a plastic coating inside the cups which prevent them from becoming soggy, making them difficult to recycle. There are just two specialist 20 facilities in the UK that have the required equipment to separate plastic from paper for recycling. Almost no recycled paper is used in the production of disposable cups, meaning that some 43 000 trees must be cut down annually to keep up with the demand. CO emissions of around 83 000 tonnes are generated every year for their production. 25 (Sources: adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disposable-coffee- cups-could-be-taxed-like-plastic-bags-environment-minister-says-a6938126.html 05/09/16 and https://www.cchdaily.co.uk/lib-dems-call-5p-plastic-bag-tax-coffee-cups) Extract C German city of Freiburg takes action on cutting the use of disposable coffee cups The ‘Freiburg cup’, made from dishwasher-proof plastic, can be reused hundreds of times. Cups are issued with a one-euro deposit, and can be returned to any of the participating coffee shops in the German city. The cups, which are provided to coffee shops by local councils, are washed in the cafés and bakeries that have signed up to the scheme before 5 being reused. 56 coffee retailers have signed up, and 10 000 cups are being used. One of the main obstacles facing a wider-reaching scheme, however, is the number of café chains in Germany that are unwilling to use unbranded multi-use cups, particularly Starbucks and McDonald’s. Starbucks already offers a discounted coffee for customers with a multi-use cup, but only if it is bearing the unmistakable Starbucks logo. 10 (Source: adapted from http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-love-for-coffee-to-go- leaves-environmental-groups-demanding-action/a-36689719)
(d) Evaluate the microeconomic and macroeconomic factors that may influence Starbucks’ decision whether to expand in a particular country. (25)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q1(e) 25 marks AO1=4, AO2=4, AO3=8, AO4=9 25-mark essay Either/or supply and demandnational income and the multiplier
Data and extracts for question 1Branded coffee shops Figure 1: Market share of UK branded coffee shops, 2015, percentages Others Costa Coffee 29% 31% Pret a Manger 5% Morrisons Starbucks 6% 13% Tesco Caffè Nero 7% 9% (Source: http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/14/the-uks-most-popular- coffee-shop-has-been-revealed-5564569/) Figure 2: Number of Starbucks coffee shops worldwide, 2003–2016 Number of coffee shops 30 000 25 085 25 000 23 043 21 366 19 767 20 000 18 066 17 003 16 63516 858 16 680 15 011 15 000 12 440 8 569 10 241 10 000 7 225 5 000 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266465/ number-of-starbucks-stores-worldwide/) Figure 3: Price comparison in selected London coffee retailers, February 2017 Coffee style Starbucks Costa Coffee Caffè Nero Greggs McDonald’s Espresso Double £2.00 £2.00 £1.70 £1.65 £0.99 Latte Medium £2.60 £2.50 £2.50 £1.80 £1.79 Latte Large £2.80 £2.70 £2.80 £2.10 £2.09 (Source: data collected from coffee shops in Holborn, London on 25 February 2017) Extract A Starbucks in Britain – a loss-making business? Coffee shops are among the most profitable parts of the food and drink industry, and few are doing quite as well as Starbucks, a US-based transnational company. Starbucks may be complaining of adverse global market conditions but that did not stop the world’s biggest coffee chain from reporting record annual profits in 2016. It made a profit of 5 almost US$4.2 billion for the year, up 16% on 2015. That was mainly the result of a strong performance in its biggest market, America, where revenue rose 11%. The fastest growth was in the China and Asia Pacific region, with revenue up 23%. Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, said its Chinese coffee shops were the most efficient and profitable. While Starbucks still makes most of its profit in the US, Mr Schultz has said expansion in China 10 will secure its future for “decades to come” and announced plans to more than double the number of shops in China to 5 000 by 2021. However its British subsidiary, at first glance, appears to be doing less well. It has announced its first ever profit in Britain in 2015 – of just £1 million – despite opening its first coffee shop in the UK in 1998. It now has 849 UK outlets. The main reason why 15 Starbucks has reported persistent losses in the UK is not due to a lack of demand for its coffee, but to minimise its tax bill. It is claimed that some of Starbucks’ revenue earned in the UK is transferred to its Dutch subsidiary, which is charged lower rates of tax. Starbucks is not finding life as easy in Britain as in the USA. It faces competition from home-grown chains such as Costa and Caffè Nero. Accusations of tax avoidance have also 20 damaged Starbucks’ sales to the benefit of its competitors. A survey found that a third less people rated Starbucks as their preferred coffee shop than they did before the tax- avoidance allegations were first published. These issues have forced Starbucks to change its strategy. It has slowed down its expansion plans in the UK and has closed 67 underperforming coffee shops over the past 25 year. It has also tried to repair its reputation by transferring its European headquarters from Amsterdam to London. (Sources: adapted from The Economist 14 February 2015 http://www.economist.com/ news/business-and-finance/21643271-tax and Starbucks company report 2016 and http://s21.q4cdn.com/369030626/files/doc_financials/ 2015/Starbucks-Fiscal-2015_Financial-Highlights.pdf) Extract B Tax on disposable coffee cups? Two and a half billion disposable cups are thrown away every year in the UK, that is, seven million every day. Only one in 400 is recycled. The UK Environment Minister has suggested that a coffee cup tax could work in a similar manner to the plastic bag charge. The 5 pence a bag charge has led to an 85% reduction in the number of bags 5 being given out since October 2015. It is estimated that introducing a tax on disposable coffee cups would cut usage by two billion every year. One environment spokesperson, Kate Parminter, said: “We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and it is clearly time to extend it to coffee cups. Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even 10 thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact.” In response, another MP welcomed her comments but said he did not believe a tax was the solution. He said: “My initial reaction is charging 5p or 10p for the cup will not work. It will not encourage people to take their own cups in if a coffee goes up from £2.60 to 15 £2.65. I suspect a more technological answer is what we need – either the composition of the disposable cups being changed so they’re more easily recyclable, or changing the technology in the recycling.” Disposable coffee cups contain a plastic coating inside the cups which prevent them from becoming soggy, making them difficult to recycle. There are just two specialist 20 facilities in the UK that have the required equipment to separate plastic from paper for recycling. Almost no recycled paper is used in the production of disposable cups, meaning that some 43 000 trees must be cut down annually to keep up with the demand. CO emissions of around 83 000 tonnes are generated every year for their production. 25 (Sources: adapted from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disposable-coffee- cups-could-be-taxed-like-plastic-bags-environment-minister-says-a6938126.html 05/09/16 and https://www.cchdaily.co.uk/lib-dems-call-5p-plastic-bag-tax-coffee-cups) Extract C German city of Freiburg takes action on cutting the use of disposable coffee cups The ‘Freiburg cup’, made from dishwasher-proof plastic, can be reused hundreds of times. Cups are issued with a one-euro deposit, and can be returned to any of the participating coffee shops in the German city. The cups, which are provided to coffee shops by local councils, are washed in the cafés and bakeries that have signed up to the scheme before 5 being reused. 56 coffee retailers have signed up, and 10 000 cups are being used. One of the main obstacles facing a wider-reaching scheme, however, is the number of café chains in Germany that are unwilling to use unbranded multi-use cups, particularly Starbucks and McDonald’s. Starbucks already offers a discounted coffee for customers with a multi-use cup, but only if it is bearing the unmistakable Starbucks logo. 10 (Source: adapted from http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-love-for-coffee-to-go- leaves-environmental-groups-demanding-action/a-36689719)
(e) With reference to the information provided and your own knowledge, evaluate the microeconomic and macroeconomic effects of increased UK demand for coffee at branded coffee shops. (25)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q2(a) 5 marks AO1=2, AO2=2, AO3=1 Short answer globalisation and trade
Data and extracts for question 2Indonesia Figure 4: World coal prices, 2006–2016, US dollars per tonne 250 200 150 $ per tonne 100 50 0 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Figure 5: Indonesia’s real GDP, annual percentage change 10 5 + % 0 change – in GDP 5 10 15 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Extract D Indonesia’s economic outlook The Indonesian economy is expected to grow by an average of 4.8% a year between 2017 and 2021. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia since 2014, is increasingly confident in his role and now has enough political support to pass some of his desired supply-side reforms. His government has been aggressively trying to improve the business and investment 5 environment by easing regulations and offering tax incentives, for example to firms investing in special economic zones. Indonesia receives US$2.3 billion a year in overseas development aid, which is mainly spent on education and healthcare. There is also ongoing aid from international institutions and non-government organisations paying for restructuring after the 2004 10 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which led to the loss of over 170 000 lives and much damage to economic livelihood. Aid agencies have supported the Indonesian government in providing healthcare free at the point of access for 88 million of the poorest people, free schooling for 12 years for each child, and tertiary education for students accepted into university. There is a scheme to provide each of Indonesia’s 15 15.5 million poorest households with a cash transfer of 200 000 rupiah (US$14.37) a month. The World Bank has approved US$800 million in infrastructure loans to Indonesia, with another US$950 million as conditional loans. The Asian Development Bank has committed itself to lending US$2 billion. In December Japan’s development agency lent Indonesia US$535 million to construct two power stations. 20 (Sources: adapted from http://country.eiu.com/Indonesia and http://www.economist.com/ news/special-report/21693404-after-decades-underinvestment- infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last) Extract E Indonesia’s economic policies as commodity prices collapse Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest exporter of coal and the raw material accounts for 11% of its exports. Its other main exports are crude oil, palm oil, rubber and tin. Its main commodity exports tripled in value between 2000 and 2010, and as exports boomed, so did the economy. But the value of commodity exports has fallen by more than half from 5 its peak. Coal now sells for just US$50 per tonne, against US$125 in 2011. In the decade to 2014, Indonesia’s real GDP grew by an annual average of 6%, but the collapse in commodity prices has slowed the economy. In 2015 growth was 4.8%, the slowest rate since 2009. But compared with many other commodity exporters, Indonesia is getting off lightly. 10 The value of the rupiah, Indonesia’s currency, against the US dollar has fallen by 30% since 2013, but has since stabilised. Other emerging market currencies have depreciated even more steeply over that period. Despite the weak exchange rate, Indonesia’s inflation rate has mostly remained within the central bank’s target range of 3-5%. The main impact of the rupiah’s fall has been to curb imports, helping limit Indonesia’s current account 15 deficit to around 2% of GDP despite weaker export earnings. A cautious fiscal policy during the boom years has allowed for a modest fiscal expansion to offset the effects of weak exports and investment. The national debt is just 26% of GDP. Mr Widodo knows that Indonesia cannot raise its long-term growth rate if the economy remains reliant on coal. It needs a broader range of manufacturing and service industries. 20 If new enterprise is to flourish, Indonesia must support local entrepreneurship. The labour market is inflexible. To start a business takes an average of 47 days, compared with four in Malaysia and two in Singapore. The President’s supply-side policies are improving the business climate. The average number of days needed to approve a new power plant has declined from 900 to 200. The government recently revised its “negative investment 25 list” of sectors in which foreign ownership is banned or restricted, fully opening up the rubber, film and restaurant sectors, among others. In 2015 he launched a series of measures to try to reduce government failure, including easing some regulations, streamlining licensing procedures for firms on industrial estates and providing tax incentives to invest in special economic zones. 30 The government has used savings from cutting fuel subsidies, worth over 4% of GDP, to fund extra capital spending. But the budget deficit still widened to 2.8% of GDP, very close to the legal limit of 3%. If public expenditure is to increase further, the government will need to raise more revenue. That will not be easy. Most workers and employers pay little or no tax. Only 27 million of Indonesia’s 255 million people are registered taxpayers, 35 and in 2014 just 900 000 of them paid what they owed, leaving it with a tax revenue to GDP ratio of around 10%. Big companies say that they are being squeezed harder by the tax authorities because they are an easier target. Infrastructure spending will help bring foreign investment and good jobs to Indonesia as well as encouraging exports. Indonesia’s infrastructure problem can be summed up 40 as too few roads and congested ports. In the short term, infrastructure spending puts people to work and boosts demand for raw materials. In the longer term this spending offers the chance to make up for decades of neglect and underinvestment. Indonesia has plans for 65 dams, 16 of which are already under construction. In 2015 work started on the Keureuto Dam, designed to boost agricultural productivity in Aceh. Recently fields 45 were flooded for the massive Jatigede Dam in West Java, after 20 years of delays. Once complete, the dam will irrigate 90 000 hectares of rice paddy, increasing efficiency by giving farmers two harvests a year instead of one. (Sources: adapted from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693405- secure-growth-it-needs-indonesia-must-resist-its-protectionist-urges-roll- out and http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693404-after- decades-underinvestment-infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last)
(a) Using the data in Figure 4 and other information provided, explain the likely change to Indonesia’s terms of trade since 2011. (5)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q2(b) 8 marks AO1=2, AO2=2, AO3=2, AO4=2 8-mark response Hard revenues costs and profits
Data and extracts for question 2Indonesia Figure 4: World coal prices, 2006–2016, US dollars per tonne 250 200 150 $ per tonne 100 50 0 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Figure 5: Indonesia’s real GDP, annual percentage change 10 5 + % 0 change – in GDP 5 10 15 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Extract D Indonesia’s economic outlook The Indonesian economy is expected to grow by an average of 4.8% a year between 2017 and 2021. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia since 2014, is increasingly confident in his role and now has enough political support to pass some of his desired supply-side reforms. His government has been aggressively trying to improve the business and investment 5 environment by easing regulations and offering tax incentives, for example to firms investing in special economic zones. Indonesia receives US$2.3 billion a year in overseas development aid, which is mainly spent on education and healthcare. There is also ongoing aid from international institutions and non-government organisations paying for restructuring after the 2004 10 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which led to the loss of over 170 000 lives and much damage to economic livelihood. Aid agencies have supported the Indonesian government in providing healthcare free at the point of access for 88 million of the poorest people, free schooling for 12 years for each child, and tertiary education for students accepted into university. There is a scheme to provide each of Indonesia’s 15 15.5 million poorest households with a cash transfer of 200 000 rupiah (US$14.37) a month. The World Bank has approved US$800 million in infrastructure loans to Indonesia, with another US$950 million as conditional loans. The Asian Development Bank has committed itself to lending US$2 billion. In December Japan’s development agency lent Indonesia US$535 million to construct two power stations. 20 (Sources: adapted from http://country.eiu.com/Indonesia and http://www.economist.com/ news/special-report/21693404-after-decades-underinvestment- infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last) Extract E Indonesia’s economic policies as commodity prices collapse Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest exporter of coal and the raw material accounts for 11% of its exports. Its other main exports are crude oil, palm oil, rubber and tin. Its main commodity exports tripled in value between 2000 and 2010, and as exports boomed, so did the economy. But the value of commodity exports has fallen by more than half from 5 its peak. Coal now sells for just US$50 per tonne, against US$125 in 2011. In the decade to 2014, Indonesia’s real GDP grew by an annual average of 6%, but the collapse in commodity prices has slowed the economy. In 2015 growth was 4.8%, the slowest rate since 2009. But compared with many other commodity exporters, Indonesia is getting off lightly. 10 The value of the rupiah, Indonesia’s currency, against the US dollar has fallen by 30% since 2013, but has since stabilised. Other emerging market currencies have depreciated even more steeply over that period. Despite the weak exchange rate, Indonesia’s inflation rate has mostly remained within the central bank’s target range of 3-5%. The main impact of the rupiah’s fall has been to curb imports, helping limit Indonesia’s current account 15 deficit to around 2% of GDP despite weaker export earnings. A cautious fiscal policy during the boom years has allowed for a modest fiscal expansion to offset the effects of weak exports and investment. The national debt is just 26% of GDP. Mr Widodo knows that Indonesia cannot raise its long-term growth rate if the economy remains reliant on coal. It needs a broader range of manufacturing and service industries. 20 If new enterprise is to flourish, Indonesia must support local entrepreneurship. The labour market is inflexible. To start a business takes an average of 47 days, compared with four in Malaysia and two in Singapore. The President’s supply-side policies are improving the business climate. The average number of days needed to approve a new power plant has declined from 900 to 200. The government recently revised its “negative investment 25 list” of sectors in which foreign ownership is banned or restricted, fully opening up the rubber, film and restaurant sectors, among others. In 2015 he launched a series of measures to try to reduce government failure, including easing some regulations, streamlining licensing procedures for firms on industrial estates and providing tax incentives to invest in special economic zones. 30 The government has used savings from cutting fuel subsidies, worth over 4% of GDP, to fund extra capital spending. But the budget deficit still widened to 2.8% of GDP, very close to the legal limit of 3%. If public expenditure is to increase further, the government will need to raise more revenue. That will not be easy. Most workers and employers pay little or no tax. Only 27 million of Indonesia’s 255 million people are registered taxpayers, 35 and in 2014 just 900 000 of them paid what they owed, leaving it with a tax revenue to GDP ratio of around 10%. Big companies say that they are being squeezed harder by the tax authorities because they are an easier target. Infrastructure spending will help bring foreign investment and good jobs to Indonesia as well as encouraging exports. Indonesia’s infrastructure problem can be summed up 40 as too few roads and congested ports. In the short term, infrastructure spending puts people to work and boosts demand for raw materials. In the longer term this spending offers the chance to make up for decades of neglect and underinvestment. Indonesia has plans for 65 dams, 16 of which are already under construction. In 2015 work started on the Keureuto Dam, designed to boost agricultural productivity in Aceh. Recently fields 45 were flooded for the massive Jatigede Dam in West Java, after 20 years of delays. Once complete, the dam will irrigate 90 000 hectares of rice paddy, increasing efficiency by giving farmers two harvests a year instead of one. (Sources: adapted from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693405- secure-growth-it-needs-indonesia-must-resist-its-protectionist-urges-roll- out and http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693404-after- decades-underinvestment-infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last)
(b) Examine the likely effects on the profitability of Indonesian rice farmers of the government’s increased investment in dams (Extract E, lines 43-48). Use a cost and revenue diagram to support your answer. (8)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q2(c) 12 marks AO1=2, AO2=2, AO3=4, AO4=4 12-mark response emerging and developing economies
Data and extracts for question 2Indonesia Figure 4: World coal prices, 2006–2016, US dollars per tonne 250 200 150 $ per tonne 100 50 0 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Figure 5: Indonesia’s real GDP, annual percentage change 10 5 + % 0 change – in GDP 5 10 15 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Extract D Indonesia’s economic outlook The Indonesian economy is expected to grow by an average of 4.8% a year between 2017 and 2021. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia since 2014, is increasingly confident in his role and now has enough political support to pass some of his desired supply-side reforms. His government has been aggressively trying to improve the business and investment 5 environment by easing regulations and offering tax incentives, for example to firms investing in special economic zones. Indonesia receives US$2.3 billion a year in overseas development aid, which is mainly spent on education and healthcare. There is also ongoing aid from international institutions and non-government organisations paying for restructuring after the 2004 10 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which led to the loss of over 170 000 lives and much damage to economic livelihood. Aid agencies have supported the Indonesian government in providing healthcare free at the point of access for 88 million of the poorest people, free schooling for 12 years for each child, and tertiary education for students accepted into university. There is a scheme to provide each of Indonesia’s 15 15.5 million poorest households with a cash transfer of 200 000 rupiah (US$14.37) a month. The World Bank has approved US$800 million in infrastructure loans to Indonesia, with another US$950 million as conditional loans. The Asian Development Bank has committed itself to lending US$2 billion. In December Japan’s development agency lent Indonesia US$535 million to construct two power stations. 20 (Sources: adapted from http://country.eiu.com/Indonesia and http://www.economist.com/ news/special-report/21693404-after-decades-underinvestment- infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last) Extract E Indonesia’s economic policies as commodity prices collapse Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest exporter of coal and the raw material accounts for 11% of its exports. Its other main exports are crude oil, palm oil, rubber and tin. Its main commodity exports tripled in value between 2000 and 2010, and as exports boomed, so did the economy. But the value of commodity exports has fallen by more than half from 5 its peak. Coal now sells for just US$50 per tonne, against US$125 in 2011. In the decade to 2014, Indonesia’s real GDP grew by an annual average of 6%, but the collapse in commodity prices has slowed the economy. In 2015 growth was 4.8%, the slowest rate since 2009. But compared with many other commodity exporters, Indonesia is getting off lightly. 10 The value of the rupiah, Indonesia’s currency, against the US dollar has fallen by 30% since 2013, but has since stabilised. Other emerging market currencies have depreciated even more steeply over that period. Despite the weak exchange rate, Indonesia’s inflation rate has mostly remained within the central bank’s target range of 3-5%. The main impact of the rupiah’s fall has been to curb imports, helping limit Indonesia’s current account 15 deficit to around 2% of GDP despite weaker export earnings. A cautious fiscal policy during the boom years has allowed for a modest fiscal expansion to offset the effects of weak exports and investment. The national debt is just 26% of GDP. Mr Widodo knows that Indonesia cannot raise its long-term growth rate if the economy remains reliant on coal. It needs a broader range of manufacturing and service industries. 20 If new enterprise is to flourish, Indonesia must support local entrepreneurship. The labour market is inflexible. To start a business takes an average of 47 days, compared with four in Malaysia and two in Singapore. The President’s supply-side policies are improving the business climate. The average number of days needed to approve a new power plant has declined from 900 to 200. The government recently revised its “negative investment 25 list” of sectors in which foreign ownership is banned or restricted, fully opening up the rubber, film and restaurant sectors, among others. In 2015 he launched a series of measures to try to reduce government failure, including easing some regulations, streamlining licensing procedures for firms on industrial estates and providing tax incentives to invest in special economic zones. 30 The government has used savings from cutting fuel subsidies, worth over 4% of GDP, to fund extra capital spending. But the budget deficit still widened to 2.8% of GDP, very close to the legal limit of 3%. If public expenditure is to increase further, the government will need to raise more revenue. That will not be easy. Most workers and employers pay little or no tax. Only 27 million of Indonesia’s 255 million people are registered taxpayers, 35 and in 2014 just 900 000 of them paid what they owed, leaving it with a tax revenue to GDP ratio of around 10%. Big companies say that they are being squeezed harder by the tax authorities because they are an easier target. Infrastructure spending will help bring foreign investment and good jobs to Indonesia as well as encouraging exports. Indonesia’s infrastructure problem can be summed up 40 as too few roads and congested ports. In the short term, infrastructure spending puts people to work and boosts demand for raw materials. In the longer term this spending offers the chance to make up for decades of neglect and underinvestment. Indonesia has plans for 65 dams, 16 of which are already under construction. In 2015 work started on the Keureuto Dam, designed to boost agricultural productivity in Aceh. Recently fields 45 were flooded for the massive Jatigede Dam in West Java, after 20 years of delays. Once complete, the dam will irrigate 90 000 hectares of rice paddy, increasing efficiency by giving farmers two harvests a year instead of one. (Sources: adapted from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693405- secure-growth-it-needs-indonesia-must-resist-its-protectionist-urges-roll- out and http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693404-after- decades-underinvestment-infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last)
(c) Discuss the benefits of aid to Indonesia. (12)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q2(d) 25 marks AO1=4, AO2=4, AO3=8, AO4=9 25-mark essay Either/or emerging and developing economiesprice elasticity of demand
Data and extracts for question 2Indonesia Figure 4: World coal prices, 2006–2016, US dollars per tonne 250 200 150 $ per tonne 100 50 0 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Figure 5: Indonesia’s real GDP, annual percentage change 10 5 + % 0 change – in GDP 5 10 15 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Extract D Indonesia’s economic outlook The Indonesian economy is expected to grow by an average of 4.8% a year between 2017 and 2021. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia since 2014, is increasingly confident in his role and now has enough political support to pass some of his desired supply-side reforms. His government has been aggressively trying to improve the business and investment 5 environment by easing regulations and offering tax incentives, for example to firms investing in special economic zones. Indonesia receives US$2.3 billion a year in overseas development aid, which is mainly spent on education and healthcare. There is also ongoing aid from international institutions and non-government organisations paying for restructuring after the 2004 10 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which led to the loss of over 170 000 lives and much damage to economic livelihood. Aid agencies have supported the Indonesian government in providing healthcare free at the point of access for 88 million of the poorest people, free schooling for 12 years for each child, and tertiary education for students accepted into university. There is a scheme to provide each of Indonesia’s 15 15.5 million poorest households with a cash transfer of 200 000 rupiah (US$14.37) a month. The World Bank has approved US$800 million in infrastructure loans to Indonesia, with another US$950 million as conditional loans. The Asian Development Bank has committed itself to lending US$2 billion. In December Japan’s development agency lent Indonesia US$535 million to construct two power stations. 20 (Sources: adapted from http://country.eiu.com/Indonesia and http://www.economist.com/ news/special-report/21693404-after-decades-underinvestment- infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last) Extract E Indonesia’s economic policies as commodity prices collapse Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest exporter of coal and the raw material accounts for 11% of its exports. Its other main exports are crude oil, palm oil, rubber and tin. Its main commodity exports tripled in value between 2000 and 2010, and as exports boomed, so did the economy. But the value of commodity exports has fallen by more than half from 5 its peak. Coal now sells for just US$50 per tonne, against US$125 in 2011. In the decade to 2014, Indonesia’s real GDP grew by an annual average of 6%, but the collapse in commodity prices has slowed the economy. In 2015 growth was 4.8%, the slowest rate since 2009. But compared with many other commodity exporters, Indonesia is getting off lightly. 10 The value of the rupiah, Indonesia’s currency, against the US dollar has fallen by 30% since 2013, but has since stabilised. Other emerging market currencies have depreciated even more steeply over that period. Despite the weak exchange rate, Indonesia’s inflation rate has mostly remained within the central bank’s target range of 3-5%. The main impact of the rupiah’s fall has been to curb imports, helping limit Indonesia’s current account 15 deficit to around 2% of GDP despite weaker export earnings. A cautious fiscal policy during the boom years has allowed for a modest fiscal expansion to offset the effects of weak exports and investment. The national debt is just 26% of GDP. Mr Widodo knows that Indonesia cannot raise its long-term growth rate if the economy remains reliant on coal. It needs a broader range of manufacturing and service industries. 20 If new enterprise is to flourish, Indonesia must support local entrepreneurship. The labour market is inflexible. To start a business takes an average of 47 days, compared with four in Malaysia and two in Singapore. The President’s supply-side policies are improving the business climate. The average number of days needed to approve a new power plant has declined from 900 to 200. The government recently revised its “negative investment 25 list” of sectors in which foreign ownership is banned or restricted, fully opening up the rubber, film and restaurant sectors, among others. In 2015 he launched a series of measures to try to reduce government failure, including easing some regulations, streamlining licensing procedures for firms on industrial estates and providing tax incentives to invest in special economic zones. 30 The government has used savings from cutting fuel subsidies, worth over 4% of GDP, to fund extra capital spending. But the budget deficit still widened to 2.8% of GDP, very close to the legal limit of 3%. If public expenditure is to increase further, the government will need to raise more revenue. That will not be easy. Most workers and employers pay little or no tax. Only 27 million of Indonesia’s 255 million people are registered taxpayers, 35 and in 2014 just 900 000 of them paid what they owed, leaving it with a tax revenue to GDP ratio of around 10%. Big companies say that they are being squeezed harder by the tax authorities because they are an easier target. Infrastructure spending will help bring foreign investment and good jobs to Indonesia as well as encouraging exports. Indonesia’s infrastructure problem can be summed up 40 as too few roads and congested ports. In the short term, infrastructure spending puts people to work and boosts demand for raw materials. In the longer term this spending offers the chance to make up for decades of neglect and underinvestment. Indonesia has plans for 65 dams, 16 of which are already under construction. In 2015 work started on the Keureuto Dam, designed to boost agricultural productivity in Aceh. Recently fields 45 were flooded for the massive Jatigede Dam in West Java, after 20 years of delays. Once complete, the dam will irrigate 90 000 hectares of rice paddy, increasing efficiency by giving farmers two harvests a year instead of one. (Sources: adapted from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693405- secure-growth-it-needs-indonesia-must-resist-its-protectionist-urges-roll- out and http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693404-after- decades-underinvestment-infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last)
(d) With reference to the information provided and your own knowledge, evaluate the microeconomic and macroeconomic effects on Indonesia of the volatility of prices of commodities such as coal. (25)
June 2018 · Paper 3 · Q2(e) 25 marks AO1=4, AO2=4, AO3=8, AO4=9 25-mark essay Either/or supply side policiescompetition policy and regulation
Data and extracts for question 2Indonesia Figure 4: World coal prices, 2006–2016, US dollars per tonne 250 200 150 $ per tonne 100 50 0 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Figure 5: Indonesia’s real GDP, annual percentage change 10 5 + % 0 change – in GDP 5 10 15 2006 08 10 12 14 16 (Source: http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21697025-business-week) Extract D Indonesia’s economic outlook The Indonesian economy is expected to grow by an average of 4.8% a year between 2017 and 2021. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia since 2014, is increasingly confident in his role and now has enough political support to pass some of his desired supply-side reforms. His government has been aggressively trying to improve the business and investment 5 environment by easing regulations and offering tax incentives, for example to firms investing in special economic zones. Indonesia receives US$2.3 billion a year in overseas development aid, which is mainly spent on education and healthcare. There is also ongoing aid from international institutions and non-government organisations paying for restructuring after the 2004 10 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which led to the loss of over 170 000 lives and much damage to economic livelihood. Aid agencies have supported the Indonesian government in providing healthcare free at the point of access for 88 million of the poorest people, free schooling for 12 years for each child, and tertiary education for students accepted into university. There is a scheme to provide each of Indonesia’s 15 15.5 million poorest households with a cash transfer of 200 000 rupiah (US$14.37) a month. The World Bank has approved US$800 million in infrastructure loans to Indonesia, with another US$950 million as conditional loans. The Asian Development Bank has committed itself to lending US$2 billion. In December Japan’s development agency lent Indonesia US$535 million to construct two power stations. 20 (Sources: adapted from http://country.eiu.com/Indonesia and http://www.economist.com/ news/special-report/21693404-after-decades-underinvestment- infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last) Extract E Indonesia’s economic policies as commodity prices collapse Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest exporter of coal and the raw material accounts for 11% of its exports. Its other main exports are crude oil, palm oil, rubber and tin. Its main commodity exports tripled in value between 2000 and 2010, and as exports boomed, so did the economy. But the value of commodity exports has fallen by more than half from 5 its peak. Coal now sells for just US$50 per tonne, against US$125 in 2011. In the decade to 2014, Indonesia’s real GDP grew by an annual average of 6%, but the collapse in commodity prices has slowed the economy. In 2015 growth was 4.8%, the slowest rate since 2009. But compared with many other commodity exporters, Indonesia is getting off lightly. 10 The value of the rupiah, Indonesia’s currency, against the US dollar has fallen by 30% since 2013, but has since stabilised. Other emerging market currencies have depreciated even more steeply over that period. Despite the weak exchange rate, Indonesia’s inflation rate has mostly remained within the central bank’s target range of 3-5%. The main impact of the rupiah’s fall has been to curb imports, helping limit Indonesia’s current account 15 deficit to around 2% of GDP despite weaker export earnings. A cautious fiscal policy during the boom years has allowed for a modest fiscal expansion to offset the effects of weak exports and investment. The national debt is just 26% of GDP. Mr Widodo knows that Indonesia cannot raise its long-term growth rate if the economy remains reliant on coal. It needs a broader range of manufacturing and service industries. 20 If new enterprise is to flourish, Indonesia must support local entrepreneurship. The labour market is inflexible. To start a business takes an average of 47 days, compared with four in Malaysia and two in Singapore. The President’s supply-side policies are improving the business climate. The average number of days needed to approve a new power plant has declined from 900 to 200. The government recently revised its “negative investment 25 list” of sectors in which foreign ownership is banned or restricted, fully opening up the rubber, film and restaurant sectors, among others. In 2015 he launched a series of measures to try to reduce government failure, including easing some regulations, streamlining licensing procedures for firms on industrial estates and providing tax incentives to invest in special economic zones. 30 The government has used savings from cutting fuel subsidies, worth over 4% of GDP, to fund extra capital spending. But the budget deficit still widened to 2.8% of GDP, very close to the legal limit of 3%. If public expenditure is to increase further, the government will need to raise more revenue. That will not be easy. Most workers and employers pay little or no tax. Only 27 million of Indonesia’s 255 million people are registered taxpayers, 35 and in 2014 just 900 000 of them paid what they owed, leaving it with a tax revenue to GDP ratio of around 10%. Big companies say that they are being squeezed harder by the tax authorities because they are an easier target. Infrastructure spending will help bring foreign investment and good jobs to Indonesia as well as encouraging exports. Indonesia’s infrastructure problem can be summed up 40 as too few roads and congested ports. In the short term, infrastructure spending puts people to work and boosts demand for raw materials. In the longer term this spending offers the chance to make up for decades of neglect and underinvestment. Indonesia has plans for 65 dams, 16 of which are already under construction. In 2015 work started on the Keureuto Dam, designed to boost agricultural productivity in Aceh. Recently fields 45 were flooded for the massive Jatigede Dam in West Java, after 20 years of delays. Once complete, the dam will irrigate 90 000 hectares of rice paddy, increasing efficiency by giving farmers two harvests a year instead of one. (Sources: adapted from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693405- secure-growth-it-needs-indonesia-must-resist-its-protectionist-urges-roll- out and http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21693404-after- decades-underinvestment-infrastructure-spending-picking-up-last)
(e) Evaluate the likely microeconomic and macroeconomic effects of the supply-side policies recently introduced in Indonesia. (25)

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