HCI_H2_ECONS_Essays_QP

© Hwa Chong Institution 2018 9757/02/S/C2 Prelim 2018 HWA CHONG INSTITUTION JC2 Preliminary Examinations Higher 2 CANDIDATE NAME CT GROUP 17 CENTRE NUMBER INDEX NUMBER ECONOMICS Paper 2 ESSAY Additional Materials: Answer Paper 9757/02 13 September 2018 2 hours 15 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, CT group, Centre and Index numbers clearly on every sheet of answer paper that you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the answer paper. You may use a soft pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid and tape. Answer three questions in total, of which one must be from Section A, one from Section B and one from either Section A or Section B. Start each question on a fresh sheet of writing paper. At the end of the examinat ion, fasten your answers to each essay question separately with the strings provided. If you only attempted 2 essays, please submit a bl ank piece of writing paper (nil return) for the 3 rd essay, indicating your full name, CT group, centre number, index number and the question number of the essay question you would have attempted if time had permitted. If you only attempted 1 essay, please submit 2 of such nil returns. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. You are advised to spend several minutes reading through the questions before you begin writing your answers. You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. This document consists of 3 printed pages and a blank page. [Turn over

© Hwa Chong Institution 2018 9757/02/S/C2 Prelim 2018 2 Answer three questions in total. Section A One or two of your three chosen questions must be from this section. 1 The world has spent an estimated $2 trillion on dam s in recent decades. Many nations built dams to control floods, improve irrigation, alle viate water shortages and generate low-carbon hydroelectricity. But recent studies have shown that most ly people living upstream are benefiting from the capture of river flows at the expense of those downstream. Dams also cause decay to the surrounding areas leading to lar ge emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane that contributes more to global warming than carbon dioxide. (a) Use the concepts of public goods and imperfect informati on to explain why price mechanism fails to allocate resources efficiently in the provision of dams. [10] (b) Assess the determinants that a rational decision-making government should consider in allocating resources to build a new dam. [15] 2 In 2014, Malaysia ended its decades -old petrol and diesel subsid ies and price caps in an attempt to save billions of dol lars to reduce i