OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Economics: Production and specialisation (9640) – 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.

The questions are based on the OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Economics (9640) specification, version 1.2, sections 3.1.3.1 and 3.1.3.2 (International AS content), using the quantitative skills in section 3.5. All data is invented. Learn the content first from the study guide or the revision notes. Course pages are the OxfordAQA Economics hub and the checklist.

Questions

1. A small laundry (illustrative) cleans 4,200 garments in a week. It has 7 staff, each working 40 hours. Calculate labour productivity as (a) garments per worker and (b) garments per worker-hour. [2]

2. The laundry in question 1 hires 3 more staff, each working 40 hours, and cleans 5,500 garments. Calculate the percentage change in (a) output and (b) output per worker, and comment on what has happened to productivity. [3]

3. Country Q (illustrative) has real output of 2,000, 2,100 and 2,288 (billions of units) in years 1, 2 and 3, with hours worked of 50, 50 and 52 (billions). Calculate output per hour for each year, express it as an index with year 1 = 100, and find the percentage change in output per hour from year 2 to year 3. [4]

4. In another country, output per hour at current prices is 36.0 in year 1 (price index 100) and 39.9 in year 2 (price index 105). Calculate the percentage rise in real output per hour. [3]

5. A forest (illustrative) holds 800 thousand cubic metres of timber. Loggers take 60 a year and regrowth adds 45 a year. Calculate the stock after 8 years and the percentage fall, then explain how this shows a link between production and the natural environment. [4]

6. Output per worker-hour in five firms is 12, 15, 16, 19 and 48. Calculate the mean and the median, and explain which better represents a typical firm. [5]

7. A mug workshop (illustrative) has four workers, each working 40 hours. A mug needs three tasks: shaping (1 hour), glazing (2 hours) and decorating (1 hour). When each worker does all three, 1 hour is lost switching tasks per mug. After division of labour (one shaper, two glazers, one decorator), each task is 20% faster. Calculate weekly output in each case and the percentage rise in output per worker-hour. [6]

8. Explain two costs of division of labour for a firm or its workers. [4]

9. A tailor wants eggs, the egg seller wants shoes, and the shoemaker wants a coat. Explain why exchange between them is difficult under barter, and how money helps. [4]

10. Calculate the number of exchange ratios needed under barter for 15 goods, and compare it with the number of money prices. [3]

11. Evaluate the view that division of labour always raises a firm’s productivity. [8]

Answers

1. (a) 4,200 ÷ 7 = 600 garments per worker [1]. (b) Hours = 7 × 40 = 280; 4,200 ÷ 280 = 15 garments per hour [1]. [2] Examiner insight: State the unit, and use total hours (workers × hours each) when finding a per-hour figure; a bare number is harder to credit.

2. (a) (5,500 − 4,200) ÷ 4,200 × 100 = +31.0% [1]. (b) Output per worker = 5,500 ÷ 10 = 550, and (550 − 600) ÷ 600 × 100 = −8.3% [1]. Output rose but productivity fell, because staff rose by 43% (3 ÷ 7) and output by less; hiring explains the gain in output, not better use of workers [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Comparing the growth rate of output with the growth rate of the input is the clearest way to show you understand the gap between production and productivity.

3. Output per hour: 2,000 ÷ 50 = 40; 2,100 ÷ 50 = 42; 2,288 ÷ 52 = 44 [1]. Index (year 1 = 100): 100, 105, 110 [1]. Percentage change year 2 to 3: (44 − 42) ÷ 42 × 100 [1] = +4.8% [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Take the earlier year as the starting value for a percentage change, and do not confuse a rise of 5 index points with a rise of 5%.

4. Real output per hour in year 2 = 39.9 ÷ 105 × 100 = 38.0 [1]. Year 1 real value = 36.0 because the base price index is 100 [1]. Rise = (38.0 − 36.0) ÷ 36.0 × 100 = 5.6% [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Deflate before calculating growth; using the nominal rise of 10.8% would overstate the real gain.

5. Net fall = 60 − 45 = 15 a year [1]. After 8 years: 800 − 120 = 680 [1]. Percentage fall = 120 ÷ 800 × 100 = 15% [1]. The forest supplies timber as an input to production, but extraction faster than regrowth reduces the stock, so future output is threatened [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Link the calculation to the idea in the question; a correct number with no economic comment leaves the explanation incomplete.

6. Mean = (12 + 15 + 16 + 19 + 48) ÷ 5 = 110 ÷ 5 = 22 [1]. Median = middle value of 12, 15, 16, 19, 48 = 16 [1]. One firm at 48 is far above the rest [1]. It pulls the mean above four of the five firms [1]. The median therefore better represents a typical firm [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Naming the outlier and saying how it affects each average is usually stronger than stating that the median is “less affected”.

7. Everyone does everything: time per mug = 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 (switching) = 5 hours [1]. Team hours = 160, so output = 160 ÷ 5 = 32 mugs [1]. Division of labour: shaping 0.8, glazing 1.6, decorating 0.8 hours [1]. Two glazers give 1.6 ÷ 2 = 0.8 hours per mug, so every stage takes 0.8 hours and the team makes 1.25 mugs an hour [1]. Weekly output = 1.25 × 40 = 50 mugs [1]. Output per worker-hour rises from 32 ÷ 160 = 0.2 to 50 ÷ 160 = 0.3125, a rise of 56.25% [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Show the time each stage takes. The balance of workers across stages is why the output figure is what it is.

8. First cost, such as monotony: repetitive tasks lower motivation [1], which can raise absence and staff turnover and lower quality [1]. Second cost, such as interdependence: if one stage stops or is slow, the whole process is held up [1], so output falls even if other workers are fully able to work [1]. (Narrow skills or training costs are also acceptable.) [4] Examiner insight: Each cost needs a reason and a consequence. Naming a cost alone does not complete the explanation.

9. The tailor wants eggs but the egg seller wants shoes, not coats [1]. There is no double coincidence of wants between any pair, so a direct swap fails [1]. With money, the tailor sells a coat to anyone for money [1], then uses the money to buy eggs, so no matching of wants is needed [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Use the stated goods to show the missing match, not just the definition of barter.

10. Barter ratios = 15 × 14 ÷ 2 = 105 [1]. Money prices = 15, one for each good [1]. Money cuts the number of prices to compare from 105 to 15, saving time and information [1]. [3] Examiner insight: State the formula or the pairing logic as well as the answer, and make the comparison explicit.

11. Benefit: repetition raises skill and speed, and less time is lost switching tasks, so output per worker-hour rises [1]. The mug case shows this: output per worker-hour can rise sharply when stages are balanced [1]. Capital can be kept in constant use [1]. Against this: monotony can lower motivation and quality, offsetting gains [1]. Interdependence means one weak stage limits the process [1]. Narrow skills reduce flexibility if demand or technology changes [1]. Judgement: the effect depends on how well stages are balanced, the size of the market, and whether management uses rotation or training [1]. Conclusion: the claim is too strong; division of labour usually raises productivity but not always, and the gains are less secure if the costs are ignored [1]. [8] Examiner insight: A reasoned conclusion that answers “always” directly, with conditions, is stronger than a list of points.

Where marks are usually lost

• Not stating units, or giving per-worker figures when per-hour was asked for.
• Treating a rise in output as proof of a rise in productivity.
• Dividing a change by the later year’s value instead of the earlier one.
• Confusing index points with percentage points.
• Forgetting to deflate nominal values before comparing real output.
• Quoting the mean without checking for an outlier.
• Naming costs of division of labour without a consequence.
• Describing barter without applying it to the goods in the question.
• Ending an evaluation without a conclusion that answers the question.

Next steps

• Revise with the revision notes and re-read the study guide.
• Take all free 10-minute diagnostic tests.
• Use the OxfordAQA Economics hub and the checklist.
• Book a free trial class at /trial/.

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA, International AS and A-level Economics (9640) specification, version 1.2, sections 3.1.3.1 and 3.1.3.2, with section 3.5 (quantitative skills). First teaching September 2020.