AQA A-Level Economics | Every 10 Marker
June 2017
To what extent, if at all, do you consider that the UK manufacturing sector has been in decline since 2003? You must use the data in Extract B to support your assessment.
Figure 4 shows that the average rate of growth of the UK manufacturing sector declined in 2008 by -2.8% and by -9.4% in 2009 and only recovered by 1.1% from 2010-2015. This data suggests that the UK manufacturing sector declined. However, you could evaluate this as the entire UK GDP declined in 2008 and 2009 and there was a financial crisis then too. Also, the data is grouped weirdly so one of the groups starts from 1993 so we do not have good data for the years 2003-2007, so it may be difficult to suggest that the manufacturing sector has declined overall since 2003.
Figure 2 shows the employment rates in the uk manufacturing industry from 2003 to 2015. Employment in this sector has experinced decline. There was around 3,650,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry in the first quater of 2003 which went on to fall to 3,000,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2015. However this does not neceserially show a decline in the industry. Jobs in the uk manfufacturing industry may have been replaced by capital (machines).
Figure 1 also shows that the manufacturing sector may have declined as the index of output has gone down from around 98 to 96. I could evaluate this by saying that it has gone by a small amount (an index number of 1) and also there have been many fluctuations in between 2003 to 2015. For example, if we only look at the graph from Q3 2009, the index has gone up, so if it was to continue at this rate, the manufacturing would recover.
Overall, despite some limitations in the data, I would conclude that the manufacture sector in the UK has declined but not by much.
June 2018
To what extent, if at all, do the data suggest that the reliance on fossil fuels to produce energy is falling? You must use the data in Extract C to support your assessment.
June 2019
To what extent, if at all, do the data suggest that houses in the UK were more affordable in 2017 than they were in 2007? You must use the data in Extract C to support your assessment.
June 2020
To what extent, if at all, do the data suggest that living standards in the UK improved between 2007 and 2017? You must use the data in Extract B to support your assessment.
June 2021
The UK government has set a target to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero by 2050.
To what extent, if at all, do the data suggest that to achieve its net-zero emissions target, the government should focus on reducing GHG emissions from the transport sector? You must use the data in Extract C to support your assessment.
June 2022
To what extent do the data support the view that Boeing has been more successful than Airbus since 2014? You must use the data in Extract B to support your assessment.
Specimen
How does Brazil compare with the UK in relation to human capital and macroeconomic stability? You must use the data in Extract C to support your assessment.