Production & Productivity (Edexcel IGCSE Economics): Exam Questions

More than one million drinks are bottled each day at the Coca‐Cola factory in Mwanza, Tanzania. Over 1,000 workers are involved in the process at its 65,000m2 site,

which includes filling bottles, sealing them with caps and adding labels. This enables consumers across East Africa to enjoy brands such as Coca‐Cola, Fanta and Sprite.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, analyse the possible advantages for Coca‐Cola of using division of labour at the factory.

Which one of the following is an example of a job in the primary sector of the economy?

In 2023, the Egyptian Government raised the price it paid for wheat to encourage farmers to increase production.

Wheat farmers face the difficulty of a limited amount of land available for agriculture. However, there are government programmes including land reclamation and guidance for farmers on both the use of fertiliser and irrigation systems.

As well as having a limited amount of land, many farmers are only familiar with traditional methods of farming and do not have the skills or the finance to change to new methods.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, evaluate the extent to which these government programmes may affect farming productivity in a country such as Egypt.

The main ingredient of chocolate is cocoa. Firstly, cocoa pods are picked from trees. This is mostly done by hand to protect the trees. Cocoa beans are removed from the pods by hand or by machine, before the beans are roasted in ovens. Other ingredients, such as sugar, are added during further stages in the production process.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, analyse how all four factors of production might be used to produce chocolate.

The education level of a worker is likely to have an effect on their ability in the workplace.

When a person migrates to another country, they bring with them whatever knowledge, skills and information they possess.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, assess the importance of the quality of labour on productivity in a country.

What is the name given to a firm that manufactures cars?

A firm that employs 540 workers has a total monthly output of 27,000 units.

What is the monthly labour productivity of the firm?

What is meant by the term division of labour?

State one factor of production.

An increase in which one of the following is most likely to increase productivity?

Water is an example of which factor of production?

Foxconn Technology produces the new Apple iPhone at its factory in Shenzhen, China. It employs 270,000 workers in its factory. Each worker carries out a specific task which ranges from handling the phone screen, assembling components, checking the phone works, to packaging the phone ready to ship to the customer.

(Source adapted from: Link (opens in a new tab))

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, assess the benefits for Foxconn Technology of using division of labour.

On the blank pie chart below, draw and label the likely approximate size of employment in the primary (P), secondary (S) and tertiary (T) sectors for a developed country, such as Japan.

A firm employing 135 workers has a total output of 33,750 units each month.

What is the monthly labour productivity of the firm?

Describe one reason why an entrepreneur is a factor of production.

Churros are a popular Spanish snack made from fried pastry and covered in sugar and/or chocolate. Raphael operates a factory making the churros pastry, which is supplied to busy restaurants and street vendors all over Madrid, Spain. The factory has been owned by his family since 1980 and currently has 23 employees. The pastry-making process involves mixing all the ingredients together and then heating them. Once the mixture has cooled, eggs are added and the dough is then shaped into lengths of about 15 cm. Raphael is considering introducing division of labour into the production process in order to increase productivity.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, evaluate whether introducing division of labour is the best way for Raphael to increase productivity in his pastry-making factory.

Which one of the following is a factor of production?

Warehouse employees at a small firm in Malta specialise in one task, such as sealing boxes, for orders that are sent to consumers.

Explain one disadvantage of the division of labour for the warehouse employees.

Which one of the following is an example of an occupation in the primary sector?

Which one of the following is defined as ‘breaking down the production process into smaller tasks’?

Define the term production.

Tertiary sector employment has increased by 13.1% in China during the last 10 years. However, there have been few changes in the level of employment in the secondary sector.

Explain one possible reason for this trend.

Which one of the following is likely to lead to an increase in the productivity of land?

State one example of a factor of production that can be classified as land.

Fast food restaurants around the world use division of labour during the production of food and drinks. Employees are given different tasks. Burgers are fried before being placed in a bread ‘bun’. Chopped lettuce and tomatoes are then added. Potatoes are also peeled and sliced in order to make fries.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, assess whether a firm, such as a fast food restaurant, always benefits from using division of labour.

On the blank pie chart below, draw and label the appropriate sizes of the primary (P), secondary (S) and tertiary (T) sectors for a developing economy such as Haiti.

What is meant by the term productivity?

Define the term producer.

Describe one reason why a computer can be a factor of production.

Which one of the following is an example of an occupation in the tertiary sector?

State one example of an occupation that is in the secondary sector of the economy.

Define the term labour.

Land can be described as which one of the following?

Define the term finance.

State one example of an occupation in the tertiary sector of the economy.

Wong Thien runs the family’s noodle-making factory, which has been operating in Jenjarum, Malaysia since 1950. The noodle-making process involves each worker blending ingredients to make dough, kneading the dough with long wooden rolling pins and cutting noodles to various sizes. Wong’s factory now supplies 70% of the noodle-based food stalls in the town. He is considering introducing division of labour in the production process in order to increase productivity.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, evaluate whether introducing division of labour is the best way for Wong to increase productivity in his noodle-making factory.

Coffee is a popular drink in many countries around the world. Beans are picked by hand from coffee plants once the fruit is ready to harvest. It is then put through a process which includes sorting the type of bean and transforming it from its natural state. It can be sold as a bean, ground to make coffee or even as the instant product. Machines are used for most of the process but cannot identify which beans are ready to pick.

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, analyse why all four factors of production might be used to produce coffee.

The rise of the restaurant robot There has been an increase in the number of restaurants using robots instead of waiters and even chefs. Waiters who take customer orders have been replaced with computer tablets for ordering. Technology is now available to automatically serve espresso shots and make cappuccinos. This is due to efficiencies, rising labour costs, consumers’ desire for convenience and their changing purchasing habits. This could change the dining experience as restaurants increase their use of technology.

(Source adapted from: Link (opens in a new tab))

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, evaluate the possible effect of an increase in the use of technology on productivity in restaurants.

Car production is most likely to take place in which sector of the economy?

Irrigation of Scottish farmland was increased during the summer of 2018.

Explain one way an increase in irrigation may have affected the productivity of Scottish farmers during the summer of 2018.

Which one of the following is a factor of production?

Define the term tertiary sector.

Define the term innovation.

Productivity is a measure of how efficiently goods and services are produced and is the single most important determinant of a country’s per capita income. Canada’s labour productivity growth has been lower than that of other leading economies for many decades, reducing its international competitiveness. Since 2011 however, Canada’s labour productivity has greatly improved and it is now the 3rd most productive of the 16 leading economies.

(Source: adapted from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/ (opens in a new tab))

With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, assess the extent to which an increase in education and training is the best way to increase productivity.

France is a developed country.

On the blank pie chart below, draw and label the approximate sizes of the primary (P), secondary (S) and tertiary (T) sectors for a developed country such as France.