2024 RI H1Econs Prelims Questions

8843/01/Prelim/Y6/24 © RI 2024 [Turn over RAFFLES INSTITUTION 2024 YEAR 6 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION Higher 1 ECONOMICS 8843/01 Paper 1 27 August 2024 3 hours Additional Materials: Answer Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, index number and CT class on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. You may use a soft pencil for diagrams, graphs or rough working. Do not use paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer all questions. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each part question. Start each question on a fresh sheet of paper. Use the cover sheets and tie your answer to the questions separately. This document consists of 9 printed pages and 2 blank pages. H

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8843/01/Prelim/Y6/24 3 © RI 2024 [Turn over Answer all questions. Question 1: Government intervention in Agricultural Markets Figure 1: World Rice Price Index, Jul 2022 to Jul 2023 Source: https://www.statista.com Extract 1: Why are rice prices surging? Rice prices have surged to their highest levels in a decade. The situation is primarily caused by warmer, drier weather and erratic rainfall damaging rice production throughout Asia. In the past months, torrential rains and floods in northern India, for ex ample, have damaged many rice fields, prompting the world's top exporter of rice to impose a ban on rice exports. Additionally, rising fertilizer prices have contributed to increased production costs. The price of fertilizer, which is among farmers’ greatest expenses, reached all -time highs after Russia, the world’s top fertilizer exporter, halted hundreds of exports. This was in response to economic sanctions against Russia imposed by the international community, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Adding to the concerns is Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the termination of the grain deal have also constrained the global supply of wheat and corn, raising the demand for rice as an alternative staple. This has fueled concerns that disruptions in the global rice trade could worsen the already endangered food security situation in many countries. Rice is one of the world's primary staple food items, feeding about half of the world's population. Source: https://www.dw.com, 6 Aug 2023 stlouisfed.org, 4 Oct 2022

8843/01/Prelim/Y6/24 4 © RI 2024 Extract 2: Fertilizer and Climate Change The notion of public goods is becoming increasingly important at the international and global levels. Many environmental problems transcend national boundaries, with climate change being the most prominent example, and maintaining a stable climate is essen tially a global public good. One of the primary sources of environmental degradation is greenhouse gas em