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Date May 2019 Marks available 2 Reference code 19M.2.SL.TZ0.3
Level Standard level Paper Paper 2 Time zone Time zone 0
Command term Define Question number 3 Adapted from N/A

Question

Bhutan’s growth soars amid hydropower building boom

  1. Bhutan is a developing Asian country, bordered by India and China. The government of Bhutan is mostly interventionist in its approach to economic growth and economic development. Situated in the Himalayan mountains, Bhutan has significant water resources that may be employed to generate hydropower.

  2. The most significant intervention by the government is investment in the generation of hydropower. However, funding is not possible domestically. The hydropower projects are mostly financed by concessional long-term loans from India. Government borrowing to finance hydropower construction has made Bhutan the second-most indebted nation in Asia. Bhutan now has a high level of government debt, equal to 118 % of annual real gross domestic product (GDP).

  3. The funding of Bhutan’s interventionist policies has created significant dependence on Indian tied aid. A condition of the aid is that Indian companies lead the infrastructure projects. The large amount of foreign aid has made achieving self-reliance difficult. At present, India finances nearly one-quarter of the Bhutan government’s budget expenditures.

  4. When the projects are completed they will more than double Bhutan’s hydropower generation capacity and over 80 % of the power generated will be exported to India. Hydropower to India is Bhutan’s largest export, and the increased exports will lead to greater government revenue. Real GDP growth is expected to reach 11.7 % by 2019.

  5. Another significant intervention by the government is the promotion of university education for as many young people as possible, coupled with the creation of government jobs to employ them. The present level of exporting hydropower to India has provided some government revenue to pay for government jobs. However, while the number of university graduates is growing each year, the number of government jobs has not been growing at the same rate.

  6. In response to the current inability to provide enough jobs, the government is also implementing other programmes. Firstly, they are encouraging graduates to pursue employment in Bhutan’s small private sector, which is struggling to make a meaningful contribution to economic growth. Secondly, the government is promoting tourism, making it one of the most popular alternatives to government employment. Thirdly, the government is attempting to reduce red tape (excessive regulations) in areas such as industrial licensing, trade, labour markets and finance. This red tape is a barrier to foreign direct investment. Finally, the government is trying to make employment in agriculture more appealing. Bhutan’s climate means that it could be well-positioned to produce and export a variety of fruits.

[Source: adapted from Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Bhutan, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-
factbook/geos/bt.html, accessed 19 August 2017; White-collared, by Ross Adkin, 31 August 2016, Himal Southasian,
http://himalmag.com/white-collared-bhutan-thimphu-bureaucrats, accessed 19 August 2017; The World Bank: Bhutan,
https://data.worldbank.org/country/bhutan, © 2019 The World Bank Group, licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0; and Bhutan growth soars amid hydropower building
boom, by Nidup Gyeltshen and Phuntsho Wangdi, August 17, 2017, https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Bhutan-growth-soarsamid-
hydropower-building-boom, accessed 19 August 2017]

Define the term concessional long-term loans indicated in bold in the text (paragraph [2]).

[2]
a.i.

Define the term real gross domestic product (GDP) indicated in bold in the text (paragraph [2]).

[2]
a.ii.

Explain two possible disadvantages for Bhutan in receiving India’s tied aid (paragraph [3]).

[4]
b.

Using a production possibilities curve (PPC) diagram, explain how rising numbers of university graduates will affect Bhutan’s potential output (paragraph [5]).

[4]
c.

Using information from the text/data and your knowledge of economics, evaluate the government policies being used to promote economic development in Bhutan.

[8]
d.

Markscheme

a.i.

a.ii.

b.

Candidates who incorrectly label diagrams can be awarded a maximum of [3].

For a PPC diagram, there must be two goods or groups of goods competing for the same resources on the axes. Good X and Good Y are appropriate, but simply X and Y are not sufficient.

 

c.

Examiners should be aware that candidates may take a different approach which, if appropriate, should be rewarded.

Do not award beyond level 2 if the answer does not contain reference to the information provided.

Command term
“Evaluate” requires candidates to make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument.

Responses may include:

Strengths of policies:

Limitations of policies:

To reach level 3, students must clearly link their arguments to specific government policies undertaken by the government of Bhutan.

d.

Examiners report

Few candidates provided two meaningful points to reach level 2. Many defined this concept as tied aid.

a.i.

On the other hand, most candidates could define this term accurately. Some, however, failed to make the connection to the adjustment for inflation and simply defined GDP.

a.ii.

Most candidates were able to identify two disadvantages of tied aid for Bhutan, but a significant number merely described the disadvantages of receiving any form of aid and/or loans- indebtedness and dependency were two common disadvantages identified but those are not specific to TIED aid.

b.

The majority of candidates scored 2 marks for the explanation. Similar questions appeared in past papers and often, candidates could not link the increase in potential output to changesin quantity and/or quality of resources. This was less of a problem in this exam session. PPC curves were often drawn/shifted correctly, the appropriate labelling of axes was the only recurrent problem – we had a lot of “Real GDP”, “Price Level” and “number of university graduates” as labels.

c.

“Evaluate” requires candidates to make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

Higher achieving responses could establish a clear link between specific policies and economic development – for example, explaining how the promotion of jobs in agriculture could lead to more citizens of Bhutan earning an income or leaving the informal sector. In particular, to achieve a level 3 mark, candidates should critically evaluate the contribution of the policy to economic development. In this case, one could point out that overreliance on the agricultural sector is a common problem of economically less developed countries. A rare few recognised that many of the policies were growth oriented.

It was encouraging that most answers reflected a good understanding of economic development. However, many struggled to add value to what was already in the text and connect the policies to development.

d.

Syllabus sections

Last exams 2021 » Section 2: Macroeconomics » 2.1 The level of overall economic activity » Economic activity » Measures of economic activity: gross domestic product (GDP), and gross national product (GNP) or gross national income (GNI)
Last exams 2021 » Section 2: Macroeconomics » 2.1 The level of overall economic activity » Economic activity
First exams 2022 » Unit 3: Macroeconomics » 3.1 Measuring economic activity and illustrating its variations » 3.1.6 Real GDP/GNI (per capita/ at purchasing power parity)
Last exams 2021 » Section 2: Macroeconomics » 2.1 The level of overall economic activity
First exams 2022 » Unit 3: Macroeconomics » 3.1 Measuring economic activity and illustrating its variations
Last exams 2021 » Section 2: Macroeconomics
First exams 2022 » Unit 3: Macroeconomics
First exams 2022
Last exams 2021

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