The basic economic problem: past paper questions
Real questions on the basic economic problem
The newest 20 of 99 written questions, plus 69 multiple-choice. Open one to see it on the real paper.
- 2281/21 · May/June 2026 · Q1a[1]
Calculate Uruguay’s government spending in US dollars in 2023.
See it on the paper → - 2281/21 · May/June 2026 · Q1b[2]
Identify two reasons why the Uruguayan Government raised the retirement age.
See it on the paper → - 2281/21 · May/June 2026 · Q1d[4]
Explain two reasons why income inequality is lower in Uruguay than in the US.
See it on the paper → - 2281/21 · May/June 2026 · Q1f[5]
Analyse the relationship between the number of doctors and life expectancy. (f)
See it on the paper → - 2281/21 · May/June 2026 · Q1g[6]
Discuss whether or not Uruguay’s low inflation rate would have benefited the Uruguayan economy.
See it on the paper → - 2281/21 · May/June 2026 · Q3b[4]
Explain two causes of a shift to the right of a country’s PPC.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · May/June 2026 · Q1c[2]
Explain the opportunity cost of exporting products.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · May/June 2026 · Q4a[2]
Identify two characteristics of an economic good.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q2b[4]
Explain two ways an economy could reach a point outside its current PPC.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q3a[2]
Define average total cost.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q3b[4]
Explain how using renewable raw materials may affect a firm’s profits.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q3c[6]
Analyse the internal economies of scale that a cosmetics firm could experience.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q3d[8]
Discuss whether or not perfume should be taxed at a higher rate than food.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q4a[2]
Identify two policy measures a central bank could use to maintain price stability.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q4b[4]
Explain two benefits to an economy of full employment.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q4c[6]
Analyse how an increase in government spending on building houses could reduce unemployment.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5a[2]
Identify two motives for a firm dumping some of its products in a foreign market.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5b[4]
Explain two differences between monetary policy and supply-side policy.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5c[6]
Analyse how a government subsidy could help to protect an infant industry against foreign competition.
See it on the paper → - 2281/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5d[8]
Discuss whether or not cuts in taxes will reduce a deficit on the current account of a country’s balance of payments.
See it on the paper →
What examiners said
Most candidates answered this question accurately. However, a small proportion ignored the word ‘percentage’ in the question and some gave the answer as 8.3m. Some even gave an answer of 83m, a figure larger than the total size of Honduras’s population as given in the fact file in the question paper.
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2281/22 Q1(a) (Cambridge)
Over time, the quality of production possibility curves drawn by candidates has improved. The diagrams drawn in response to this question were generally good. Most were labelled accurately although a few candidates labelled them as price and quantity or labour and capital. The written analysis tended not to be as strong. A relatively high proportion of candidates showed a confusion between a decre...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2281/22 Q5(c) (Cambridge)
Many candidates drew an accurate PPC diagram showing a shift to the left in the PPC. Many also were able to explain that the serious storm would have reduced the level of resources available and reduced the capacity of the economy. Common errors were to not draw the curves to the axes, making them look more like demand curves, and to refer to lower output rather than lower capacity. Lower output w...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 2281/23 Q2(c) (Cambridge)
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