Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Development, trade and aid – 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 are for Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457), using the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). “Development, trade and aid” is one of the topics in section 3, and the skills come from the assessment objectives in section 2 and the component details in section 4. Topic knowledge is not assessed, so answer from the sources, not from what you already know. Questions 1-9 practise Component 1 Written Exam skills; Questions 10 and 11 practise planning for Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project. All sources are original, and all places, people, organisations and data are fictional.

Revise first with the study guide and revision notes. For a different set of skills questions, try the Written Exam practice. The hub and checklist cover the whole syllabus.

Questions

1. Explain what is meant by a vested interest and by a generalisation. [2]

2. Read Source A.

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. An opinion article by Dara Velin, chair of the Kelmora Garment Exporters’ Association. Kelmora is a fictional country.

“The Northbridge Trading Bloc still charges a 12% tariff on our clothing. If it removes this tariff, our factories will double their orders within five years. Last year our sector employed 180,000 people. Every worker in this country will be better off. Aid makes governments lazy. Trade, not aid, is the only route out of poverty.”

Identify from Source A:

(a) one fact [1] (b) one prediction [1] (c) one generalisation [1] (d) one opinion [1]

3. Explain why the author of Source A may not give a balanced view of the trade deal. [3]

4. Study Source D.

Source D – original data written for Marlbridge. Money flowing into fictional Kelmora from outside, US$ million (invented data).

Year	Aid	Remittances	Foreign direct investment
1	420	600	180
2	390	690	220
3	350	770	280

(a) Using Source D, work out remittances as a percentage of all money flowing into Kelmora in Year 3. Show your working. [2] (b) Using Source D, explain how the data challenge the claim that Kelmora depends mainly on aid. [3]

5. Read Source B.

Source B – original text written for Marlbridge. A summary from Open Fields Trust, a fictional charity that campaigns for fair trade. All data are invented.

“We interviewed 40 coffee farmers in Kelmora last year: 20 in a fair-trade-certified cooperative in the hill district of Ambrel and 20 uncertified farmers in the lowland district of Sorrin. Average yearly household income from coffee was 2,450 crowns for certified farmers and 1,960 crowns for uncertified farmers. Fair trade raises farmers’ incomes by a quarter.”

(a) Evaluate the research described in Source B. [6] (b) Suggest how you could research more reliably the claim that fair trade certification raises farmers’ incomes. [6]

6. Read Source C.

Source C – original text written for Marlbridge. Two views on aid. All people and figures are fictional.

Rowan Hale, a member of parliament in the fictional donor country of Westmarch: “Charity begins at home. Our hospitals have waiting lists, yet we send 400 million a year abroad. Much aid is lost to corruption. Even Kelmora’s own exporters say trade, not aid, is the answer. We should cut aid by half.”

Amina Sorel, a nurse with Kelmora Health Link, a fictional charity funded mainly by aid: “Last year, aid-funded clinics in Kelmora’s three poorest districts vaccinated 52,000 children. When aid to one clinic was paused for six months, visits fell from about 900 a month to about 300. Trade deals take years to help the poorest. Children need vaccines now.”

Explain two different perspectives on aid in Source C, and why each speaker might hold their perspective. [4]

7. Using Source A, explain one possible positive and one possible negative consequence for Kelmora’s garment workers if the tariff is removed. [4]

8. Evaluate the two arguments in Source C. Which argument is better supported? Give reasons for your judgement. [10]

9. Kelmora’s government is considering three courses of action:

• Action 1: sign the Northbridge trade deal, with a clause requiring factories to meet agreed labour standards.
• Action 2: ask donor countries for more aid for health and education.
• Action 3: invest in a coffee-roasting and packaging plant so that Kelmora exports roasted coffee instead of raw beans.

Using all the sources, evaluate which course of action would be most effective in improving living standards for Kelmora’s poorest households. [12]

10. A student plans an Individual Report on development, trade and aid.

(a) Explain why “How much aid does Westmarch give?” is not a suitable title for an Individual Report. [2] (b) Suggest a suitable global research question on this topic, and identify one local or national perspective and one global perspective you would research. [4]

11. A team of four students at a school in the fictional town of Corvenhill finds that their canteen buys almost all its fruit from abroad, while local growers struggle to sell.

(a) Suggest one action the team could carry out, and explain how it addresses the local issue. [2] (b) Suggest two ways the team could measure the success of the action. [2] (c) Explain one way the team could divide the research between its members. [2]

Answers

1. A vested interest: a person or group gains (money, power, reputation) from a particular outcome, which may shape what they say [1]. A generalisation: a broad statement that applies something true of some cases to all or most cases [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A definition needs the idea of gain from the outcome; “being biased” alone does not define vested interest.

2. (a) “Last year our sector employed 180,000 people.” [1] (b) “Our factories will double their orders within five years.” [1] (c) “Every worker in this country will be better off.” [1] (d) “Aid makes governments lazy.” or “Trade, not aid, is the only route out of poverty.” [1] [4] Examiner insight: Quote the exact words; a paraphrase can blur a prediction into a claim and lose the mark.

3. Dara Velin chairs the Garment Exporters’ Association [1]. Its members would win more orders and profit if the tariff were removed, so the author has a vested interest in the deal going ahead [1]. The source mentions only benefits and says nothing about wages, conditions or who might lose, so it is one-sided [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Link the author’s role to the specific gain, then show the effect on the content; naming the role alone earns one mark at most.

4. (a) Total in Year 3 = 350 + 770 + 280 = 1,400 [1]. 770 / 1,400 x 100 = 55% [1]. [2] (b) Aid fell from 420 to 350, from 35% to 25% of all inflows [1]. Remittances rose from 600 to 770 and were more than twice aid in Year 3, so aid is not the main source of outside money [1]. However, the data show only totals, not who receives each flow; aid may still matter most to the poorest districts [1]. [3] Examiner insight: “Using Source D” means quoting figures; a limitation of the data lifts an explanation from description to evaluation.

5. (a) Only 40 farmers were interviewed, too few to represent all coffee farmers in Kelmora [1]. The two groups come from different districts (hill and lowland), so differences in land, climate or coffee quality could explain the income gap [1]. It measures income from coffee, not profit; certification costs are not counted [1]. It covers one year only, so it cannot show change over time [1]. Open Fields Trust campaigns for fair trade, so it has a vested interest in a positive result [1]. The figures do show 25% higher income, but “raises” claims cause when the data show only a difference [1]. [6] (b) Use a much larger sample from several districts [1]. Compare certified and uncertified farmers in the same area with similar farm sizes [1]. Follow the same farmers before and after certification over several years [1]. Measure profit by subtracting costs, including certification fees [1]. Use independent researchers and sales records rather than only farmers’ own reports [1]. Compare the findings with other published studies to see if they agree [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Each weakness in (a) should be matched by a fix in (b); vague suggestions such as “ask more people” without saying who and how earn little.

6. Rowan Hale’s perspective is that aid should be cut, a national view from a donor country [1]. He may hold it because he answers to voters who want money spent on services at home, such as hospitals [1]. Amina Sorel’s perspective is that aid must continue, a local view from someone who sees its effects directly [1]. She may hold it because she sees the children it helps, and her charity is funded mainly by aid [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Marks come from the why; naming two views without linking each to the speaker’s role or values caps the answer at half marks.

7. Positive: removing the 12% tariff makes Kelmora’s clothing cheaper in Northbridge [1], so more orders could mean more jobs or steadier work for the 180,000 people in the sector [1]. Negative: pressure to fill larger orders cheaply could lead to longer hours or poorer safety [1], and Source A says nothing about protecting conditions, so workers might not share in the gains [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each consequence needs a link back to the source and a developed effect; “more jobs” on its own is one mark.

8. The real exam marks extended answers with levels of response, not point by point; the points below show what a strong answer would include. Hale raises a relevant concern about value for money and spending at home [1]. But “much aid is lost to corruption” is an assertion with no evidence or figures [1]. “Charity begins at home” is a value statement, not evidence [1]. He presents a false choice between aid and hospitals, and gives no idea what share of the budget 400 million is [1]. He relies on Kelmora’s exporters, who have a vested interest in trade [1]. Sorel gives specific evidence: 52,000 children vaccinated, and visits falling by about two-thirds when aid paused [1]. This links aid directly to an outcome, which supports her reasoning [1]. But her charity is funded by aid, so she has a vested interest [1]. Her pause figure comes from one clinic, none of her figures is independently checked, and the fall could have other causes [1]. Judgement: Sorel’s argument is better supported because her evidence is specific and relevant, although it needs independent checking; Hale raises a fair question but gives no evidence for his key claim [1]. [10] Examiner insight: The judgement must compare the quality of support, not whether you agree with the speaker’s view.

9. The real exam marks extended answers with levels of response, not point by point; these are indicative points. Action 1: Source A suggests the deal could bring more orders in a sector employing 180,000 people [1]. The labour clause addresses the risk to conditions raised by the source’s silence on wages [1]. But the doubling is a prediction from a vested interest, and garment jobs may not reach the poorest rural households, such as coffee farmers [1]. Action 2: Source C shows aid-funded clinics reaching 52,000 children, and visits fell sharply when aid paused, so aid helps the poorest directly [1]. But Source D shows aid falling from 420 to 350, and Hale wants it cut by half, so more aid may not be feasible [1]. It also depends on donors’ choices and may not last [1]. Action 3: Exporting roasted coffee keeps more value in Kelmora and could raise farmers’ earnings [1]. Source B hints that better prices matter to farm incomes, but its evidence is weak [1]. The plant is slow and costly; Source D shows foreign investment rising from 180 to 280, so investors might help fund it [1]. Comparison against the same criteria: reaching the poorest, feasibility and sustainability [1]. Judgement, for example: Action 3 is most effective in the long term because it builds lasting income, while aid for health fills the gap in the short term; any judgement is credited if reasoned [1]. Say what would change your view, such as independent data on who gains from garment jobs [1]. [12] Examiner insight: Strong answers use evidence from every source and judge each action against the same criteria before choosing.

10. (a) It asks for a single figure that can be looked up, so it is descriptive [1]. It does not divide opinion or allow different perspectives to be explored [1]. [2] (b) For example: “Should aid to poorer countries be tied to trade or political conditions?” [1]. This divides opinion because donors, governments and charities disagree about it [1]. Local or national perspective: a receiving government that wants control over how aid is spent [1]. Global perspective: an international organisation setting aid targets [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A good title is a question with more than one reasonable answer; check it by naming two groups who would answer it differently.

11. (a) Propose and run a weekly stall or menu day using fruit from Corvenhill growers [1]. This gives growers a new buyer and shows the canteen local fruit is available [1]. [2] (b) Record sales or portions of local fruit sold before and after [1]; survey students and growers on whether they would continue [1]. [2] (c) Give each member a different perspective, such as growers, canteen managers, students and import suppliers [1], so the team gathers a range of views without repeating work [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Success measures must be things the team can count or compare; “people liked it” is not measurable.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using knowledge about aid and trade that is not in the sources; it earns nothing in Component 1.
• Saying “biased” without naming the gain and quoting the words that show it.
• Copying numbers from a table without working out what they show.
• Treating a difference between two groups as proof of cause.
• Suggesting research improvements that do not fix the weaknesses identified.
• Naming perspectives without explaining why people hold them.
• Evaluating courses of action without a clear judgement.
• Choosing a coursework question that cannot divide opinion.

Next steps

Check your answers, then try a timed source question from your school’s past papers. Find gaps with the diagnostics, or Book a free trial class with a Global Perspectives teacher.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025).