Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Economics: Factors of production, sectors and productivity (4EC1) – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Economics (4EC1) specification, Issue 3, February 2026, a single tier of entry. Every country, firm and figure is invented and illustrative. Read the study guide or the revision notes first, and see the course hub and checklist. The mark totals below are the totals for these practice questions only.

Questions

1. A furniture workshop buys hardwood timber, employs carpenters and uses saws and a lathe. The owner set up the business and carries the risk of failure. State the factor of production shown by each of these: the timber, the carpenters, the saws and lathe, and the owner. [4]

2. A clothing factory has 15 workers making 3,000 shirts a week. It hires 5 more workers and output rises to 3,800 shirts.

(a) Define productivity. [2] (b) Calculate output per worker before and after the new workers were hired. [2] (c) Calculate the percentage change in productivity and suggest one reason for it. [3]

3. A farm of 25 hectares produces 100 tonnes of maize. After irrigation is installed, the same land produces 125 tonnes.

(a) Calculate the yield per hectare before and after irrigation. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage rise in yield. [2] (c) The farmer then reclaims 5 hectares of marshland, which produce 10 tonnes. Calculate the average yield on the whole farm and explain why it is lower than after irrigation. [3]

4. A call centre trains 12 workers. Before the training each worker handled 40 calls a day. Afterwards each handles 46.

(a) Calculate the percentage increase in productivity. [2] (b) Calculate the extra calls handled each day by the 12 workers. [1] (c) Explain how education and training can raise the productivity of labour. [3]

5. A small workshop has 5 workers making 500 bicycle wheels a week. After it buys a wheel-truing machine, it makes 650 a week with the same workers.

(a) Calculate the percentage change in output per worker. [2] (b) Explain one way in which capital can raise labour productivity. [2] (c) Explain one drawback to the workshop of buying the machine. [2]

6. In a town, 60 workers each produce USD 50 of output a day. 15 migrants then arrive and start work, each producing USD 40 a day at first.

(a) Calculate the average output per worker after the migrants arrive. [3] (b) Explain why total output rises while average productivity falls. [2] (c) After training, each migrant produces USD 60 a day. Calculate the new average output per worker. [2]

7. Classify each activity as primary, secondary or tertiary: (a) a salt mine, (b) a firm turning steel sheets into cooking pots, (c) a driving school, (d) a business growing tea. [4]

8. In Country D, total employment rises from 8 million in Year 1 to 10 million in Year 2. The share working in the primary sector falls from 55% to 30%.

(a) Calculate the number employed in the primary sector in each year. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in the number of primary jobs. [2] (c) Explain two reasons why the primary sector’s share of employment tends to fall as a developing economy grows. [4]

9. In Country A, total employment rises from 12 million to 15 million. Manufacturing’s share of employment falls from 35% to 15%, while an index of manufacturing output rises from 100 to 150.

(a) Calculate the number employed in manufacturing in each year. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage rise in manufacturing output per worker. [3] (c) Evaluate whether the fall in manufacturing’s share of employment shows that manufacturing in Country A is in decline. [5]

10. A jam firm has 6 workers. Each makes whole jars from start to finish, producing 24 jars a day. The firm then divides the work into separate tasks and daily output rises to 216 jars. Each worker is paid USD 108 a day.

(a) Define division of labour. [2] (b) Calculate the labour cost per jar before and after the change. [2] (c) Evaluate whether the firm should keep the division of labour. [7]

Answers

1. Timber is land [1]. Carpenters are labour [1]. Saws and lathe are capital [1]. The owner is enterprise [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Answers that name a factor and link it to the item given, such as “the owner, because they take the risk”, leave no doubt. Money is not capital in this unit.

2. (a) Output per unit of input [1] in a given time, for example per worker [1]. (b) Before: 3,000 / 15 = 200 shirts [1]. After: 3,800 / 20 = 190 shirts [1]. (c) (190 - 200) / 200 x 100 [1] = -5% [1]. A reason: the extra workers share the same machines and space, so each adds less [1]. [7] Examiner insight: Output rose 26.7%, which tempts some answers to say productivity rose. Dividing by the number of workers before judging is what separates productivity from production.

3. (a) Before: 100 / 25 = 4 tonnes per hectare [1]. After: 125 / 25 = 5 tonnes per hectare [1]. (b) (5 - 4) / 4 x 100 [1] = 25% [1]. (c) Total output 125 + 10 = 135 tonnes on 30 hectares: 135 / 30 = 4.5 tonnes [1]. Lower because the reclaimed land yields only 2 tonnes per hectare [1], which pulls the average below the irrigated 5 [1]. [7] Examiner insight: Explanations that compare the yield of the new land (2) with the existing yield (5) are stronger than saying only that reclaimed land is “worse”.

4. (a) (46 - 40) / 40 x 100 [1] = 15% [1]. (b) 12 x 6 = 72 extra calls [1]. (c) Training gives workers more skills or knowledge, which is human capital [1]. Skilled workers make fewer errors and work faster [1], so output per worker rises [1]. [6] Examiner insight: A chain of reasoning, from training to skills to speed or accuracy to output per worker, is more convincing than “training makes workers better”.

5. (a) Before: 500 / 5 = 100; after: 650 / 5 = 130 [1]. (130 - 100) / 100 x 100 = 30% [1]. (b) The machine does the task faster or more accurately [1], so each worker makes more units every hour [1]. (c) The machine costs money to buy and maintain [1], so unit costs may not fall unless output is high enough to cover it [1]. [6] Examiner insight: A drawback needs a consequence for this workshop, not just a name. Explain what the cost or the training need does to profit or to workers.

6. (a) Original total 60 x 50 = USD 3,000 [1]. New total 3,000 + 15 x 40 = USD 3,600 [1]. Average 3,600 / 75 = USD 48 [1]. (b) Total output rises because there are more workers [1]. The average falls because the new workers produce less than the existing USD 50 average [1]. (c) 3,000 + 15 x 60 = USD 3,900 [1]. 3,900 / 75 = USD 52 [1]. [7] Examiner insight: State both the total and the average, since the question is about the difference between them. Quote units in the answer.

7. (a) Primary [1]. (b) Secondary [1]. (c) Tertiary [1]. (d) Primary [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Classify by what the activity does. Growing tea is primary even though the product is later sold; processing the leaves into packets would be secondary.

8. (a) Year 1: 55% of 8 million = 4.4 million [1]. Year 2: 30% of 10 million = 3.0 million [1]. (b) (3.0 - 4.4) / 4.4 x 100 [1] = -31.8% [1]. (c) Reason 1: machinery and better farming methods raise productivity [1], so fewer workers can grow the food needed [1]. Reason 2: as incomes rise, people spend more on manufactured goods and services [1], and factories and offices draw workers away from farms [1]. [8] Examiner insight: The share fell 25 percentage points, but the number of jobs fell 31.8%. Use the right unit for what is asked, and give a reason with a link, not a bare statement.

9. (a) Year 1: 35% of 12 million = 4.2 million [1]. Year 2: 15% of 15 million = 2.25 million [1]. (b) Output per worker: 100 / 4.2 = 23.8 and 150 / 2.25 = 66.7 [1]. Ratio 66.7 / 23.8 = 2.8 [1], so a rise of 180% [1]. (c) Output rose 50% while jobs fell from 4.2 to 2.25 million, so the sector is producing more, not less [1]. Productivity has risen, probably through capital or technology [1]. Total employment rose by 3 million, so displaced workers may find jobs in other sectors [1]. However, the fall in jobs (46.4%) may hurt workers who cannot retrain or live far from new jobs [1]. Judgement: the data show a more productive sector, not a declining one, though the cost to affected workers depends on how easily they move [1]. [10] Examiner insight: Evaluation scores best when the data are used in the argument and the final judgement answers the exact question: share of jobs against the sector’s output.

10. (a) Splitting production into separate tasks [1], each done by a different worker or group [1]. (b) Wage bill 6 x 108 = USD 648. Before: 648 / (6 x 24 = 144 jars) = USD 4.50 [1]. After: 648 / 216 = USD 3.00 [1]. (c) Output rises 50% and labour cost per jar falls 33.3% [1]. Workers repeat one task, so skill grows and switching time falls [1]. Workers may find it boring and narrow, so motivation falls [1]. The firm may face absence and staff turnover, and the line stops if one worker is missing [1]. It works best for a standard product with a market large enough to sell the extra jars [1]. Job rotation could reduce the boredom [1]. Judgement: keep it if the lower cost outweighs the extra turnover costs, which seems likely on these figures [1]. [11] Examiner insight: The data give a clear case for keeping it; the stronger answers still weigh the human costs and end with a decision reached from both sides.

Where marks are usually lost

• Dividing by the wrong year’s inputs, or forgetting to divide at all, when finding productivity.
• Quoting the 25 percentage point fall in a share when the number of jobs was asked for.
• Describing a result without saying what it shows: “it fell 5%” with no conclusion about productivity.
• Giving a factor without a link to output, such as naming irrigation but not yield.
• Calling money capital.
• Writing only advantages of division of labour, or no judgement.
• Mixing total output and average output when migration is the topic.
• Leaving out units: tonnes, shirts, dollars.

Next steps

• Revise from the revision notes and the study guide.
• Visit the course hub and tick off topics on the checklist.
• Take one of the free 10-minute diagnostics to find weak spots.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Economics (4EC1) specification, Issue 3, February 2026, sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.2, published by Pearson Education Limited.