AJC_H1_ECONS_P1

1 ECONOMICS 8823/01 Paper 1 2 9 A u g u s t 2 0 1 8 3 hours READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, PDG and index number in the spaces provided on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer all questions. Begin your answer to each question on a fresh sheet of writing paper. At the end of the examination, fasten your answers to each question separately. Fasten this cover page in front of your answers to Question 1. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. Question Number Marks Awarded Name: ________________________________ ( ) 1 /45 PDG: ___________ 2 /45 Total Marks This document consists of 8 printed pages and 1 blank page. [Turn over] ANDERSON JUNIOR COLLEGE JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2018 Higher 1

2 BLANK PAGE

3 Answer all questions. Question 1: Aging population: Burden or opportunity? Figure 1: Health Spending in Japan Source: OECD Extract 1: Japan’s demographic time bomb is getting more dire, and it’s a bad omen for the country An aging population like Japan’s poses numerous problems. The government will have to spend more on healthcare, and that, coupled with a shrinking workforce and tax base, is a recipe for economic stagnation. It also means, among other things, that there will not be enough young people to care for the elderly. “An aging population will mean higher costs for the government, a shortage of pension and social-security-type funds, a shortage of people to care for the very aged, slow economic growth, and a shortage of young workers,” Mary Brinton, a Harvard sociologist, told Business Insider last year. Source: Business Insider, 6 June 2018 Extract 2: Nursing care workers hard to find but in demand in aging Japan As the nation’s population rapidly greys, ensuring there are enough nursing care workers to meet growing demand has become a pressing iss ue. There has actually been a rise in nursing care workers. However, this has failed to keep pace with the rapidly growing demand, resulting in a nursing care industry with a chronic shortage of manpower. Considering Japan’s declining workforce, the labour shortage in the industry is expected to worsen over time. The government seeks to add 250,000 more nursing care workers to the system from 2017 by improving their working conditions and increasin g their average monthly pay by 10,000 yen. But the state has not made clear how it will finance this. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Health Spending in Japan (Total, % of GDP)

4 The government also plans to create new nursing care facilities to accommodate 500,000 more users by the beginning of 202