SAJC 2024_JC2 H1_Econs_CSQ_Prelims_QP

This document consists of 9 printed pages and 1 blank page. © SAJC 2024 ST ANDREW’S JUNIOR COLLEGE Economics Department [Turn Over 8843/01/Aug/24 ECONOMICS 8843/01 Paper 1 23 Aug 2024 3 hours No Additional Materials are required. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST An answer booklet will be provided with this question paper. You should follow the instructions on the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet. Answer all questions. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. St Andrew’s Junior College JC2 Preliminary Examinations for General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Higher 1

2 © SAJC 2024 8843/01/Aug/24 Answer all questions. Question 1: E-books - a tale of digital disruption, and the expansion of Integrated Resorts Extract 1: E-book prices and consumers’ willingness to pay more Electronic books, one of the representative digital goods, has recently come into wide use with the developments in technology and proliferation of mobile devices including smart phones, tablet PCs, and dedicated e -book readers like Kindle. As a result, th e e -book market has grown dramatically in the last few years alone. The perception of benefits and thus willingness to pay has increased over the last ten years, with the acceptable price premium for e-books rising significantly over that time span. It is all the more surprising that publishers do not tap into this potential. Figure 1: Average e-book price in Germany (€), 2010 to 2019 Source: statista.com, 11 December 2023 However, this trend of prices for e -books in the past years might be reversed in the future. According to the German industry association for booksellers, the average price level for e-books increased by 4.9 percent to 6.63 Euros in 2020, attributed to 'gross profiteering' from e -book publishers. These publishers trawled th rough university reading lists, identified the commonly used textbooks, classified them as essential and raised the price of these e-books. Source: Simon-Kucher.com, 9 March 2021 Extract 2: The high costs of e-books, and the knowledge it holds The way people choose to get lost in a book is changing, and it’s costing public libraries and the local governments that fund them a lot of money. To meet demands for these changes in literary habits, most public libraries have expanded their print collec tions to include digital versions of popular titles. However, not all library systems can afford to invest as much funding in digital books, with the amount a local government spends per capita on its library system varying dramatically. Citizens can only take heart that when knowledge is accessible through books, friends, or teachers, efforts to prevent people from learning are often