OxfordAQA International GCSE Economics: Globalisation: benefits and drawbacks (9214) – 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 aligned to the OxfordAQA International GCSE Economics (9214) specification, for exams from May/June 2025 onwards, section 3.2.4.3 (Globalisation: benefits and drawbacks), assessed in Paper 2. All countries, firms and figures are invented and illustrative. Learn the content in the study guide and the revision notes. Course pages: hub and checklist.

Questions

1. Define globalisation. [2]

2. In Country A, exports are 18, imports are 22 and GDP is 80 (currency units, billions).

(a) Calculate trade as a percentage of GDP. [2] (b) Ten years earlier the figure was 35%. State the change in percentage points and what it suggests. [2]

3. Explain two ways in which new technology has contributed to the growth of globalisation. [4]

4. Explain two ways in which multinational companies have contributed to the growth of globalisation. [4]

5. A small firm makes 15,000 bags a year at home, selling each for 44. Home cost per bag: labour 18, materials 10, other 4. Offshore cost per bag: labour 6, materials 10, other 3, shipping 3.

(a) Calculate the saving per bag and the percentage saving on the home cost. [3] (b) Calculate the annual saving if all 15,000 bags are made offshore. [1] (c) Calculate the percentage rise in profit per bag. [2]

6. Explain one benefit and one drawback of globalisation for consumers in a developed country. [4]

7. An MNC in Country G pays 440 a month for a 50-hour week. A local employer pays 320 a month for a 40-hour week. Assume a 4-week month.

(a) Calculate the percentage difference in monthly pay. [2] (b) Calculate pay per hour in each job and the percentage difference. [3] (c) Explain what this suggests about the benefit to workers of working for the MNC. [1]

8. Country H’s manufacturing employment falls from 60,000 to 45,000 and its services employment rises from 100,000 to 112,000.

(a) Calculate the percentage change in manufacturing employment. [2] (b) Calculate the net change in total employment, as a number and a percentage. [2] (c) Explain why some of the displaced workers may stay unemployed even though services are growing. [2]

9. Explain two moral or ethical issues that arise when producers trade with other countries. [4]

10. An MNC mine produces 30,000 tonnes a year, sold at 70 a tonne. Private cost is 55 a tonne. Pollution imposes an external cost of 9 a tonne on local people. A cleaner process costs 3 a tonne and removes the pollution.

(a) Define sustainability. [1] (b) Calculate the total external cost and the net gain to society from the cleaner process. [3] (c) Calculate the percentage fall in the firm’s profit if it adopts the cleaner process. [2]

11. “Globalisation benefits less developed countries more than developed countries.” Evaluate this statement. [9]

Answers

1. Economies becoming more closely linked and reliant on one another [1] through trade, investment, people, ideas or technology moving across borders [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A bare “countries trading more” is only half a definition; the word interdependence or integration, or the range of flows, supplies the second point.

2. (a) (18 + 22) / 80 x 100 [1] = 50% [1]. (b) 50 - 35 = 15 percentage points [1]. Trade has grown relative to output, so the economy is more integrated with others [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Say “percentage points” for a change between two percentages; calling it 15% can be read as a different quantity.

3. Cheaper and faster communication, such as the internet [1], lets firms manage suppliers and customers in many countries at low cost, so trade and investment rise [1]. Online selling [1] lets even small firms reach overseas buyers, so more goods and services cross borders [1]. Cheaper and faster transport is an equally valid second route. [4] Examiner insight: Naming a technology gains little alone; the link to firms trading, producing or investing abroad is what completes each point.

4. MNCs build or buy plants abroad (foreign direct investment) [1], which moves capital and technology between countries and links their economies [1]. They organise supply chains across countries [1], so goods and components cross borders several times before sale [1]. Global brands spreading similar tastes is a valid alternative. [4] Examiner insight: Answers that describe what an MNC is, without saying how that raises trade or investment, stay at description.

5. (a) Home 18 + 10 + 4 = 32 [1]; offshore 6 + 10 + 3 + 3 = 22 [1]. Saving 10, which is 10 / 32 x 100 = 31.25% [1]. (b) 10 x 15,000 = 150,000 [1]. (c) Profit per bag rises from 44 - 32 = 12 to 44 - 22 = 22 [1]; (22 - 12) / 12 x 100 = 83.3% [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Include shipping in the offshore cost; leaving it out is the usual slip, and showing both totals lets a reader see where an error began.

6. Benefit: lower prices from cheaper imports [1], so consumers can buy more with the same income, a rise in real income [1]. Drawback: some goods are made abroad under poor conditions [1], so buyers may be funding practices they would object to, or may lose local brands and choice [1]. Other valid pairs include wider choice, and local job losses that cut some buyers’ incomes. [4] Examiner insight: A benefit and a drawback each need a developed link; naming two items scores less than explaining one of each.

7. (a) (440 - 320) / 320 x 100 [1] = 37.5% [1]. (b) MNC: 440 / (50 x 4) = 2.20 [1]; local: 320 / (40 x 4) = 2.00 [1]. Difference (2.20 - 2.00) / 2.00 x 100 = 10% [1]. (c) The monthly gap overstates the gain; once longer hours are counted the MNC job pays only slightly more per hour, so the benefit is real but smaller [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Comparing pay per hour, not per month, shows you have checked hours; a conclusion that matches your own figures is needed for the final point.

8. (a) (45,000 - 60,000) / 60,000 x 100 [1] = -25% [1]. (b) Before 160,000, after 157,000 [1]; change -3,000, or -1.9% (3,000 / 160,000 x 100 = 1.875%) [1]. (c) Their skills are suited to manufacturing, not the new service jobs [1], and the new jobs may be in other places, so it takes time to retrain or move (structural unemployment) [1]. [6] Examiner insight: A net figure hides who loses; part (c) earns credit when it names why a particular group cannot move into the new jobs.

9. Working conditions: low pay, unsafe workplaces or child labour in supply chains [1] are wrong because workers are harmed to keep costs and prices low [1]. Unfair prices: small producers may receive a small share of the final price [1], which is unjust when large MNCs hold the bargaining power [1]. Environmental harm or resource depletion are equally valid. [4] Examiner insight: Say who is harmed and how; stating that something is “unethical” with no reason gains nothing.

10. (a) Using and producing in ways that leave future generations able to meet their own needs [1]. (b) External cost 30,000 x 9 = 270,000 [1]; cleaner process cost 30,000 x 3 = 90,000 [1]; net gain 270,000 - 90,000 = 180,000 [1]. (c) Profit now 30,000 x (70 - 55) = 450,000; after, 30,000 x 12 = 360,000 [1]; fall (450,000 - 360,000) / 450,000 x 100 = 20% [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Show profit before and after so a slip in one step is easy to find; the point that society gains but the firm loses explains why regulation may be needed.

11. Points for the statement (up to 4 points from):

• MNC investment brings new jobs and incomes where jobs are scarce [1].
• Technology and skills spread to local workers and firms [1].
• Access to large overseas markets can raise exports and growth [1].
• A given job gain matters more in a country with low incomes [1].

Points against (up to 4 points from):

• Low pay, long hours and weak safety rules can limit gains [1].
• Local firms may be undercut and the MNC may leave [1].
• Developed countries gain cheaper goods and bigger markets [1].
• Developed countries also lose factory jobs [1].
• Environmental damage may fall on the less developed country [1].

Judgement [1 for a reasoned conclusion]: for example, less developed countries can gain more where incomes are low and rules protect workers and the environment, but the gain depends on the conditions of the jobs and on whether local firms can compete. [9] Examiner insight: A strong evaluation compares both country types, names the condition on which the outcome depends, and then commits to a view.

Where marks are usually lost

• Naming a benefit or drawback with no explanation of why it follows.
• Not stating the group (producers, workers or consumers) or the type of country.
• Writing about globalisation in general when the question asks about technology or MNCs.
• Leaving shipping and handling out of offshore costs.
• Comparing monthly pay without checking hours.
• Writing “15%” for a change between two percentages.
• Listing ethical issues without saying who is harmed.
• Giving a one-sided evaluation, or no judgement.

Next steps

• Re-read the revision notes for any weak point.
• Review the study guide.
• Visit the course hub and the checklist.
• Try the free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International GCSE Economics (9214), specification version 1.0, for International GCSE exams May/June 2025 onwards, published by OxfordAQA. Section 3.2.4.3, Globalisation: benefits and drawbacks.