9708 · June 2024
Economics
Most candidates answered between 14 and 23 questions correctly. Question 2 and 13 were the only questions answered successfully by more than three-quarters of the candidates.
Source: Cambridge International
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
No data available in official reports
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
Candidates need to ensure they focus on the particular ‘command’ or ‘directive’ word that is being used in a question, such as ‘assess’, ‘calculate’, ‘consider’, ‘explain’ or ‘identify’ something.
Candidates need to understand that an appropriate formula should be included in answers when they are explicitly asked for in a question, such as the formula for income elasticity of demand in Question 3(a).
Candidates need to ensure that diagrams are correctly drawn and clearly labelled. There were, unfortunately, a number of examples of poor labelling and, in some cases, no labelling at all. There were a number of questions where diagrams could have been used to good effect to support an answer, such as Question 4(a).
For Question 1, data response, one important change within the new syllabus is that 4– and 6-mark questions will contain a requirement for explained analysis and evaluation. Similarly, knowledge and understanding marks will only be awarded if they are relevant to the question and, where possible, within the context of the data itself.
In part (b) of essay questions, answers which examine one side of the question only will be highly unlikely to gain more than mid-Level 2 analysis and will not be awarded evaluation marks as they are unlikely to fully answer the question.
Candidates therefore need to be fully prepared by centres to follow this approach to maximise their marks.
Centres are further reminded that questions may be drawn from any part of the syllabus and therefore full coverage (including all new areas) of the syllabus is essential.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
9708/11
AS Level Multiple Choice
9708/12
AS Level Multiple Choice
9708/13
AS Level Multiple Choice
9708/21
AS Level Data Response and Essays
9708/22
AS Level Data Response and Essays
9708/23
AS Level Data Response and Essays
9708/31
A Level Multiple Choice
9708/32
A Level Multiple Choice
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
No data available in official reports
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
No data available in official reports
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report for Teachers © 2024 Question 12 shows the continued misunderstanding by candidates when identifying the nature of a good. Just because a good is provided free of charge does not make it a ‘free good’ (a good with no opportunity cost). Just because it is provided by the government does not make it a ‘public good’ (a non-excludable and non-rival good). However, option A (a free good) and option B (a public good) were the most popular answers chosen, especially by lower performing candidates. Option C was not popular, as most candidates recognised that food was vital for survival so could not be a demerit good. This left option D as the correct answer, although only chosen by a quarter of the candidates. Question 16 required candidates to identify why NNI would be less than GNI. Option D was the correct answer, as the standard difference between the two terms is net depreciation (the difference between gross and net data). It was surprising that only 37 per cent of the candidates chose this option. Options A and B were popular answers, chosen by 30 per cent and 22 per cent of the candidates respectively. However, option A is incorrect as income from overseas affects the difference between national and domestic income, not gross and net. Option B is also incorrect, as inflation is the difference between nominal and real data. Question 26 required candidates to identify when gains from specialisation and free trade would be the smallest. This was the least well answered question and may have been due to candidates not reading the question carefully enough, although the word ‘smallest’ was emboldened. Specialisation requires high mobility of factors within a country. Therefore, low factor mobility between goods would not facilitate specialisation. This rules out options A and B, although these two options were chosen by over a third of the candidates. Option D was the most popular. However, low mobility of factors between the two countries would encourage trade, as each country would have little option than trading to gain the goods it cannot produce. This leaves option C as the correct answer.
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report for Teachers © 2024 ECONOMICS Paper 9708/21 AS Level Data Response and Essays Key messages • Candidates need to ensure they focus on the particular ‘command’ or ‘directive’ word that is being used in a question, such as ‘assess’, ‘calculate’, ‘consider’, ‘explain’ or ‘identify’ something. • It is important candidates understand that in some questions, a certain number of marks can be awarded for ‘evaluation’. These were Questions 1(c), 1(d), 1(e) and all questions in Sections B and C. There is often a clue in the question to guide candidates towards this, such as in Question 1(c) which required candidates to consider the extent to which depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee could improve the country’s balance of trade in goods and services, or in Question 3(a) which required candidates to explain, with the help of a formula, what is meant by the income elasticity of demand for a product and consider the extent to which demand for the product will always rise at the same rate as the income of its consumers, or in Question 5(b) which required candidates to assess which expansionary macroeconomic policy would be most likely to enable a government to meet its economic objective of a low rate of unemployment. • Candidates need to understand that an appropriate formula should be included in answers when they are explicitly asked for in a question, such as the formula for income elasticity of demand in Question 3(a). • Candidates need to ensure that diagrams are correctly drawn and clearly labelled. There were, unfortunately, a number of examples of poor labelling and, in some cases, no labelling at all. There were a number of questions where diagrams could have been used to good effect to support an answer, such as Question 4(a). • It is important that candidates read the questions very carefully to avoid making an error in their answer. For example, in Question 1 (a), some candidates described what happened in all of the months shown in Table 1.1 rather than identifying the overall trend in Sri Lanka’s balance of trade in goods and services between January 2022 and January 2023, while in Question 2 (a), some candidates wrote about demerit goods despite the fact that there was no reference to demerit goods in the question. General comments It was obvious in some answers that candidates had not looked closely at the ‘command’ or ‘directive’ word being used in the question. It is important that candidates do recognise whether they are being asked to ‘assess’, ‘calculate, ‘consider’, ‘explain’ or ‘identify’ something. It is also important that candidates focus on whether there is any additional guidance provided in a particular question, such as in Question 2 (b), where candidates were required to assess whether a planned economic system should always switch to a mixed economy. Comments on specific questions Section A Question 1 (a) (i) Many candidates were able to correctly identify the overall trend in Sri Lanka’s balance of trade in goods and services between January 2022 and January 2023, recognising that the trade deficit had declined, but some candidates wrote about what was happening in each of the months shown in Table 1.1 rather than the overall trend over the whole period.
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report for Teachers © 2024 (ii) Most candidates were able to calculate the percentage change in Sri Lanka’s balance of trade in goods and services between January 2022 and January 2023 as 52 per cent. (b) Many candidates were able to explain what was meant by ‘Sri Lanka has enjoyed a comparative advantage in growing and exporting tea’, stressing that this meant that Sri Lanka could grow and export tea at a lower opportunity cost than another country. (c) Many candidates were able to write about the possible link between a depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee and an improvement in the country’s balance of trade in goods and services, in terms of making the price of exports relatively cheaper and the price of imports relatively dearer. Very few of them made any attempt to offer any evaluation despite the fact that the question explicitly asked them to consider the extent to which depreciation of the rupee could improve the country’s balance of trade. (d) The majority of candidates were able to offer an explanation and analysis of the possible link between the removal of protectionism and the likely effect on the balance of trade deficit, but relatively few then went on to offer a meaningful evaluation of how likely the removal of all protectionism would reduce the balance of trade deficit. It is important that candidates realise when they are required to offer some evaluation; this is why a careful reading of the question is so important. (e) A number of candidates made quite a good attempt to assess the possible supply-side policies that could have been taken to ‘lead Sri Lanka back into economic growth’, such as in relation to education and training, but unfortunately, as in the previous question, many candidates did not attempt to offer any evaluation of the different policies despite the fact that the command word used in the question was ‘assess’. Section B Question 2 (a) In this part of the question, candidates were required to explain, with the use of examples, the difference between public goods and merit goods and to consider whether markets would always provide enough of both goods. Most candidates were able to demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of both public goods and merit goods, although some of the examples given were incorrect. The analysis and evaluation, however, was somewhat limited in relation to market provision. (b) In the second part of the question, candidates were required to assess whether a planned economic system should always switch to a mixed economy. Candidates were generally able to analyse the potential advantages and disadvantages of the two types of economic system but did not always offer a convincing evaluation in relation to the switch. It needs to be remembered that although eight marks are allocated to ‘knowledge and understanding’ (AO1) and ‘analysis’ (AO2) in the part (b) questions, four marks are allocated to ‘evaluation’ (AO3). Question 3 (a) In this part of the question, candidates were required to explain, with the help of a formula, what is meant by the income elasticity of demand for a product and to consider the extent to which demand for the product will always rise at the same rate as the income of its consumers. Most candidates were able to provide the appropriate formula, although many of them left out the percentage change. Many candidates were able to analysis how the outcome would depend on whether the product was a normal good or an inferior good. Unfortunately, some candidates were confused about when there would be a positive coefficient and when there would be a negative coefficient. Relatively few candidates made any attempt to offer a considered evaluation of the possible outcomes; this shows the importance of candidates reading the question as carefully as possible. (b) In the second part of the question, candidates were required to assess the extent to which price elasticity of supply or cross elasticity of demand was more useful to a business. Most candidates were able to provide an assessment of the usefulness of the two elasticities, but as in Question 2 (b), little evaluation was provided by the majority of candidates in terms of offering a valid comparison of the two, despite the fact that four of the twelve marks available were for evaluation.
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report for Teachers © 2024 Section C Question 4 (a) In this part of the question, candidates were required to explain three of the components of aggregate demand and to consider the extent to which they may be increased without leading to inflation. Most candidates were able to demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of three of the components, but the analysis of the link with inflation was often rather limited. (b) In the second part of the question, candidates were required to assess the extent to which it would be possible for the Chinese government to achieve its objective by fiscal policy alone. Most candidates were able to offer a reasonable analysis of using fiscal policy to achieve the objective, but there was a more limited analysis of possible alternative policies, such as monetary policies or supply-side policies. Unfortunately, relatively few candidates made an attempt to offer any evaluation of which policy approach was likely to be more successful in achieving the objective of the Chinese government, despite the fact that although eight marks are allocated to ‘knowledge and understanding’ (AO1) and ‘analysis’ (AO2) in the part (b) questions, four marks are allocated to ‘evaluation’ (AO3). Question 5 (a) In this part of the question, candidates were required to explain three causes of unemployment and to consider which cause was likely to be the most damaging to a high-income country. Most candidates demonstrated a sound knowledge and understanding of three possible causes of unemployment, but the analysis of the link to a high-income country was, in most cases, rather limited. Relatively few candidates were able to offer any meaningful evaluation. (b) In the second part of the question, candidates were required to assess which expansionary macroeconomic policy would be most likely to enable a government to meet its economic objective of a low rate of unemployment. A number of candidates did refer to different possible macroeconomic policies, but some of them only referred to one. This made it very difficult for such candidates to offer any meaningful evaluation as to which policy would be most likely to achieve the objective of a low rate of unemployment.
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
No data available in official reports
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Different market structures
Equity and redistribution of income and wealth (A Level)
Links between macroeconomic problems and their interrelatedness
Indifference curves and budget lines
Government policies to achieve efficient resource allocation and correct market failure
Effectiveness of policy options to meet all macroeconomic objectives
Economic development
Indifference curves and budget lines (A Level)
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
No data available in official reports
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Self-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
Candidates need to ensure they focus on the particular ‘command’ or ‘directive’ word that is being used in a question, such as ‘assess’, ‘calculate’, ‘consider’, ‘explain’ or ‘identify’ something.
- 2Message
Candidates need to understand that an appropriate formula should be included in answers when they are explicitly asked for in a question, such as the formula for income elasticity of demand in Question 3(a).
- 3Message
Candidates need to ensure that diagrams are correctly drawn and clearly labelled. There were, unfortunately, a number of examples of poor labelling and, in some cases, no labelling at all. There were a number of questions where diagrams could have been used to good effect to support an answer, such as Question 4(a).
- 4Message
For Question 1, data response, one important change within the new syllabus is that 4– and 6-mark questions will contain a requirement for explained analysis and evaluation. Similarly, knowledge and understanding marks will only be awarded if they are relevant to the question and, where possible, within the context of the data itself.
- 5Message
In part (b) of essay questions, answers which examine one side of the question only will be highly unlikely to gain more than mid-Level 2 analysis and will not be awarded evaluation marks as they are unlikely to fully answer the question.
- 6Message
Candidates therefore need to be fully prepared by centres to follow this approach to maximise their marks.
- 7Message
Centres are further reminded that questions may be drawn from any part of the syllabus and therefore full coverage (including all new areas) of the syllabus is essential.
- 8Strength
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…: Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report
- 9Strength
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…: Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report
- 10Strength
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Exami…: Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
June 2024 2024
Economics
Cambridge International Advanced Subsidiary Level 9708 Economics June 2024 Principal Examiner Report for Teachers © 2024 ECONOMICS Paper 9708/11 AS Level Multiple Choice Question Number Key Question Number Key Question Number Key 1 C 11 D 21 D 2 D 12 D 22 B 3 A 13 C 23 D 4 B 14 C
Candidates need to ensure they focus on the particular ‘command’ or ‘directive’ word that is being used in a question, such as ‘assess’, ‘calculate’, ‘consider’, ‘explain’ or ‘identify’ something.
Candidates need to understand that an appropriate formula should be included in answers when they are explicitly asked for in a question, such as the formula for income elasticity of demand in Question 3(a).
Candidates need to ensure that diagrams are correctly drawn and clearly labelled. There were, unfortunately, a number of examples of poor labelling and, in some cases, no labelling at all. There were a number of questions where diagrams could have been used to good effect to support an answer, such as Question 4(a).
Examiner insights
General comments
- •Most candidates answered between 14 and 23 questions correctly.
- •Question 2 and 13 were the only questions answered successfully by more than three-quarters of the candidates.
- •However, Questions 7, 12 and 26 were the only ones answered correctly by fewer than a third of the candidates.
- •Candidates performed significantly less well in the macroeconomic questions.