Public Assessment HKDSE Econ 2022 live paper Sep / Oct 2022 2 Live papers Paper 1: On compulsory part of the curriculum Answer all questions 45 multiple choice questions Account for 30% of the subject marks 60 minutes 2022: unchanged 3 Live papers Paper 2 section A: On compulsory part of the curriculum Short questions All questions are compulsory 9 short questions 44 marks Account for 30% of the subject marks ⚫ (due to special arrangement under pandemic) 4 Live papers Paper 2 section B: On compulsory part of the curriculum Structured/essay-type/ questions All questions are compulsory 3 structured questions (with 1 DRQ) 60 marks Account for 40% of the subject marks ⚫ (due to special arrangement under pandemic) 5 Live papers Paper 2 section C: cancelled Total time is 2 hours 30 mins ⚫ 2023: section C also cancelled 6 Summary of 2023 paper Paper 1 unchanged: 45 MCQs, 60 mins Account for 30% of subject mark Paper 2 exam time unchanged: 2 hour 30 mins Paper 2 mark allocation Section A: 44 marks (30% of subject mark) Section B: 60 marks (40% of subject mark) Section C: cancelled Total marks of paper 2: 104 marks 7 Paper 1 Number sat: 11161 Overall mean score of 2022 = 64.1% (28.2) Overall mean score of 2021 = 57.2% (25.7) Overall mean score of 2020 = 61.07% (27.52) 8 Paper 1 Q2 Sony launched the ‘PlayStation 5’ game console. As it was popular among game players, long queues were found outside the shops after the official release. Which of the following would increase the opportunity cost of buying a ‘PlayStation 5’ console? A. The resale value of ‘PlayStation 5’ increased due to its shortage. B. Retailers provided online purchase service to eliminate the queues outside the shops. With the same price, its competitor launched a new game console featuring better performance than ‘PlayStation 5’. The government issued electronic consumption coupons, which can be used to purchase game consoles. C. D. 9 Paper 1 Q2 Different candidates chose to focus on different dimensions of opportunity cost—i.e, the highest-value option forgone (better game console being sold at the same price as PlayStation 5) or time cost (queuing due to shortage). The former picked Option C as the key. The latter picked either Option A (lengthening of queues) or Option D (assuming PlayStation 5 is a normal good). 10 Paper 1 Q3 Tommy is planning for his future after his S.6 graduation. He has several options and his order of preference is as follows. First option: Being a barista in a café Second option: Being a trainee in digital marketing Third option: Being a junior fireman Which of the following factors would LEAST likely affect the costbenefit analysis for Tommy’s career choice? A. B. Coffee culture becomes more popular. More companies expand their digital marketing departments. (41%) C. The remuneration of junior firemen worsens. (37%) D. Safety measures of fire-fighting are improved drastically. (17%) (5%) 11 Paper 1 Q33 The diagram below shows the money demand and money supply curves of an economy. The original equilibrium point is at E. Suppose most of the employers in the economy change the payment of salaries from monthly to biweekly. At the same time, the commercial banks tend to hold more excess reserves. The new equilibrium point will be at ______. A. A (31%) B. B (41%) C. C (18%) D. D (10%) 12 Paper 1 Q34 The following table shows the monetary base and money supply of a country. Date Monetary base ($ billion) Money supply ($ billion) 1 January 2020 150 500 1 January 2021 150 800 Which of the following could explain the above data? (1) The central bank bought bonds from the public in 2020. (2) The central bank increased the discount rate in 2020. (3) The central bank lowered the required reserve ratio in 2020. A. B. C. D. (3) only (1) and (2) only (1) and (3) only (2) and (3) only (41%) (11%) (38%) (10%) 13 Paper 1 Q44 The diagram below is about a small open economy imposing an import quota on Good X. Price S0 S1 P world price quota D 0 Quantity If the world price of Good X drops, A. B. C. D. the quota will become ineffective. the quantity of Good X produced domestically will decrease. the quantity of Good X consumed domestically will increase. the domestic price of Good X will remain unchanged. (13%) (34%) (22%) (31%) 14 Paper 1 Comments Time: 45 MCQs in 60 mins ➔ Sufficient time Candidates are weaker in - Data interpretation - Application of formula for calculation - Integration of topics - Macroeconomics - Social/economic issues - Number sense 15 Paper 2 Number sat : 11151 Overall mean score in 2022: 62.7 % Overall mean score in 2021: 60.1 % Overall mean score in 2020: 59.56% 16 Paper 2 Marking Onscreen Marking System (OSM) Scanned images Markers mark in Assessment Centres Section A1, A2, B1, B2, B3 Each marker marking 15-30 marks ➔ 300 to 600 scripts Increase reliability ⚫ Special thanks to markers of B3 this year! 17 Paper 2 Welcome the Assistant Examiners to comment on candidates’ performance by Section: Section A1: Q1, 2, 3, 6, 8 Section A2: Q4, 5, 7 Section B1: Q9 Section B2: Q10 Section B3: Q11 18 Paper 2 Section A1 (Q1, 2, 3, 6, 8) 19 Paper 2 Section A1 (Q1, 2, 3, 6, 8) 20 Paper 2 Section A1 (Q1, 2, 3, 6, 8) 21 Paper 2 Section A1 (Q1, 2, 3, 6, 8) 22 Paper 2 Section A1 (Q1, 2, 3, 6, 8) 23 Paper 2-A1 comments Q1a) Good. Q1b) Satisfactory- Some only mentioned some factors underlying a rise in production cost, rather than average cost. Q2) Satisfactory- Some failed to relate observations to corresponding changes in the demand/supply of riders/walkers, e.g. Riders are able to deliver faster than walkers, so their supply is larger. Self-provided motorbikes could lower the cost of production and result in a bigger supply of riders. 24 Paper 2-A1 comments Q3a) Good. - Some failed to use the comparatives (‘more’/‘less’) in the answers. Q3b) Good. 25 Paper 2-A1 comments Q6a) Satisfactory. - Some mistakenly assumed that output was constant and thus arrived at a wrong conclusion. - Regarding the definition of deflation, some made errors like ‘negative price level’ and ‘decreasing rate of growth of the price level’. Q6b) Fair. - wrong sign associated with the ‘expected rate of inflation’ upon rearrangement of terms in the Fisher equation - omission of the keyword ‘expected’ in the deflation term - confusing statement like ‘deflation (rate) is negative’ 26 Paper 2-A1 comments Q8a) Excellent. Q8b) Good- stopped after obtaining the new level of money supply without computing the level change. 27 Paper 2 Section A2 (Q4, 5, 7) (a) Verbal elaboration: Imposition of tariff would result in a decrease in the supply of imported goods. Since the demand for imported goods is elastic, the percentage decrease in quantity would be bigger than the percentage increase in price. Total expenditure would therefore drop. (3) Illustrate in the diagram: - leftward shift in supply - correct position of Area(+) and Area(−) - Area(+) < Area(−) (1) (1) (1) 28 Paper 2 Section A2 (Q4, 5, 7) 4. 29 Paper 2 Section A2 (Q4, 5, 7) 30 Paper 2 Section A2 (Q4, 5, 7) 5. 31 Paper 2 Section A2 (Q4, 5, 7) 32 Paper 2-A2 comments Q4a) Satisfactory- Some wrongly compared the levelchanges in price and quantity instead of their percentagechanges or mistakenly assumed Country B to be a small open economy or failed to show the leftward shift in its supply curve as a result of the tariff. 33 Paper 2-A2 comments Q4b) Satisfactory- common mistakes: -failure to state clearly that the increase in the price of imports in terms of local currency. -wrong statement that the increase in the price of imports would lead to a fall in the demand for imports. -failure to distinguish between ‘total import value’ and ‘the volume of imports’. Q4c) Fair- Some managed to explain how devaluation might affect Country B’s exports or imports of services. -Some point out that net income from abroad or capital flows may be affected, but failed to give proper reasons. 34 Paper 2-A2 comments Q5a) Good. - Some did not evaluate whether the STCGT was consistent with those principles. Q5b) Good. - Some mixed up the definitions of positive statement and normative statement. - Some mistakenly defined a positive statement as one that can be proven to be true by facts. 35 Paper 2-A2 comments Q7a) Good. - Some mistakenly assumed that output was constant and thus arrived at a wrong conclusion. - Regarding the definition of deflation, errors include ‘negative price level’ and ‘decreasing rate of growth of the price level’. Q7b) Satisfactory. -failure to use the calculation in (a) to support their answer in (b). -arguing that the statement was wrong instead of defending it. 36 Paper 2 Section B1 (Q9) 37 Paper 2 Section B1 (Q9) 9. (b) Verbal elaboration: Better infrastructure would lead to an increase in production capacity and potential output, and thus an increase in long-run aggregate supply. More infrastructure investment would lead to an increase in aggregate demand. Aggregate output would hence increase. (5) Illustrate in the diagram: a rightward shift in the AD curve a rightward shift in the LRAS curve a higher level of aggregate output (1) (1) (1) P Y 38 Paper 2-B1 comments Q9ai) Good. - Some misread the question as asking about the types of factors of production. -Some missed its connection with ‘nature’ in describing primary production and merely stated that it involved production of raw materials Q9aii) Good. Q9b) Good. - failure to specify the reason behind an increase in AD and/or LRAS. - mistaking the value of output (i.e., price level times output, P x Q) for aggregate output. 39 Paper 2 Section B2 (Q10) 40 Paper 2 Section B2 (Q10) 10. 41 Paper 2 Section B2 (Q10) 10. 42 Paper 2 Section B2 (Q10) 10. (e) Verbal elaboration: Demand for the courses increases. If the price does not adjust fast enough in response to the change in demand, then it would fall short of the equilibrium price and thus result in excess demand or shortage/queues. (3) Illustrate in the diagram: - rightward shift of demand curve - correct position of shortage (1) (1) 43 Paper 2 Section B2 (Q10) 10. 44 Paper 2-B2 comments Q10a) Satisfactory- some failed to identify the benefactor and the beneficiary. -some confused the definition of positive externality (marginal social benefit > marginal private benefit) with its inefficiency condition (marginal social benefit > marginal social cost). Q10b) Poor- failure to state accurately which two parties and who is supposed to compensate whom. - policies like tax or subsidy for market mechanism. Q10c) Good- argued that (instead of division of labour) better health is the reason for higher productivity. 45 Paper 2-B2 comments Q10d) Excellent. Q10e) Satisfactory. - failure to label the demand-supply diagram properly (with missing P, Q, S, D, excess demand). - failure to identify the increase in demand and/or to state the underlying reason. - failure to mention shortage or excess demand in their verbal explanation. Q10f) Good. 46 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 47 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 48 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) (b) No, it should be counted as transfer payment. (2) 49 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 50 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 51 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 52 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 53 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) 54 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) (e) 55 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) (e) 56 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) (e) 57 Paper 2 Section B3 (Q11) (e) 58 Paper 2-B3 comments Q11ai) Good. Some mistook it with the depression or even recovery phase of business cycle. Q11aii) Satisfactory- only a broad explanation for the change in unemployment rate for the economy as a whole (i.e., all industries). - failed to compare the two given industries properly—due to their lack of understanding about the nature of these industries and/or to their confusing description (e.g., failing to specify which particular industry they were talking about). Q11b) Good- wrong statement that the sum should be included in the calculation of government consumption expenditure even if they realise it is a transfer payment. 59 Paper 2 Q11c) Satisfactory- some named ‘entry barriers’ or ‘imperfect information’, which are not mentioned in Source C. Q11d) Good- some failed to state accurately the function(s) of money OR mistakenly quoted the properties of good money (e.g., durability) in their answers. 60 Paper 2 Q11e) Satisfactory. - Some presented their answers in separate paragraphs and organised their ideas. - Some explained the effects of Scheme C and Scheme H in relation to the three objectives one by one, and then compare their effects to come up with policy recommendation under each objective. - some misread the question and tried to analyse the three objectives in one go, which resulted in a loss of focus in their scheme comparison. 61 Paper 2 Objective 1: - Some read the sources carefully, noting that there was insufficient manpower in public hospitals, and concluded that unemployment was not a big problem in the health industry. - Some discussed the overall unemployment rate only, instead of unemployment in different industries. - Some provided irrelevant answers such as dis-incentive effect on labour caused by consumption vouchers and use of unemployment-rate formula. 62 Paper 2 Objective 2: - Some argued that the consumption vouchers (as transfer payments aiming at boosting private consumption) would not affect labour productivity. - a few argued that (by improving workflow or increasing capital per unit labour) the widespread use of electronic payment method may improve labour productivity. - mistaking an increase in employment in the retail/health industry for an increase in labour productivity. 63 Paper 2 Objective 3: - ability to apply their knowledge to analyse the effect on aggregate output. - failure to specify clearly whether they were talking about the short run or the long run. - mis-using the ‘short run and long run’ in economics and ‘short period of time and long period of time’ interchangeably. - mis-reasoning that long-run aggregate supply would increase whenever more workers are employed or whenever the unemployment rate drops. 64 Paper 2 2022 Max mean(%) SD(%) Paper 1 paper 2 Q11(ai) 2 75 38.5 2022 Count mean SD mean Q11(aii) 2 65 38.5 Chi 4583 54.4% 18.0% 53.9% 25.1% 47.1% 35.1% Q11(b) 2 68.5 43 Eng 6569 70% 18.5% 69.2% 21.9% 67.6% 31.7% Q11(c) 4 54.75 34.25 Q11(d) 4 65.5 37.75 Q11(e) 12 59.17 34.67 2019 12593 53.27 33.81 Q11(e) EC 2 55 42 2020 12023 52.33 29.25 2021 11585 60.33 30.17 2022 11152 59.17 34.67 Essay Total Mean(%) SD(%) SD Essay mean SD 65 Paper 2 66 Paper 2 General reminder: Don’t use colour to indicate the areas in the diagram Don’t successively use symbols in the answer Express the answer in a comprehensible way: rough work written not in the designated spaces will NOT be marked 67 Paper 2 Overall comments Some candidates failed to demonstrate a thorough understanding of basic economic concepts and principles, especially when applying them to solve hypothetical or real-life problems. Candidates should strengthen their analytical skills instead of simply regurgitating concepts and theories Some candidates lacked skills to extract information from tables and graphs as well as to draw well-labelled diagrams. Candidates should pay special attention to the headings, labels, and axes as they are essential to our understanding of the data presented therein. Some candidates had difficulty in presenting their answers in a clear and precise way. Candidates should equip themselves with better language abilities as well as graphical skills, and make sure that their handwriting is legible. Some candidates did not read the questions carefully. Candidates should devote special attention to the assumptions and conditions laid down in the questions to avoid giving irrelevant answers. Some candidates did not seem to be well-informed about current economic issues in the real world. Candidates should pay more attention to economic news. 68 Grading - paper marks and subject marks Raw mark of Paper 1 (max mark): 45 Raw mark of Paper 2 (max mark): 104 Adjusted mark: Marks awarded by markers are adjusted, if necessary, to rectify lenient, strict or erratic marking. Weighted paper mark: Marks of different papers are converted to the same comparable scale, taking into account the spread of marks in different papers and the published paper weightings, before they are combined to form the subject mark. 69 Grading - Grading procedures 1. 2. 3. Sample scripts selection Standardisation Post-marking exercise: The grading panel will discuss and suggest a provisional grading recommendation (including preliminary cut score range) on each paper through expert judgment base on: 70 Grading – Post-marking exercise The level descriptors The standards of 2012 DSE (library scripts) Marked-live scripts, selected according to the total marks Feedback from markers on the level of difficulty of papers Inter-paper correlations, the mean and standard deviation of the current year’s papers Paper mark cumulative distributions Performance samples from 2020 and 2021 DSE (library scripts) 71 Grading – Panel of judges grading meeting • • • Preliminary cut score range Samples scripts around the cut score range Group ability index: - constructed per level - an index for each level based on the number of candidates in this group (this subject) achieving that particular level in the four core subjects - depends on the correlation of the subject and EACH of the 4 core subjects 72 Grading – Panel of judges grading meeting Panel of judges considers: • Preliminary cut score range • Samples scripts around the cut score range • Group ability index (GAI) as reference ➔ Recommendation for the cut score for the subject • The panel of judges plays a very important and independent role in setting a cut score for each level based on the actual performance of candidates Grading – Internal meeting and Public Examinations Board meeting 73 • Internal meeting: A senior management team led by Secretary General of the Authority will meet to review the recommendations of individual subject panels. • PEB meeting: The recommendations of the internal meeting will be reviewed at the PEB meeting and the final cut scores of all HKDSE subjects must be endorsed at this meeting. Grading – Determination of level 5** and 5* • • • Statistically determined The highest 10% (approximately) of level 5 candidates will be awarded 5** The next highest-achieving 30% (approximately) of level 5 candidates will be awarded 5* 74 75 Grading: Standard Maintenance • • • Standard of the level 1,2,3,4,5 should be maintained across years the cutting scores NOT constant: the cutting scores depends on level of difficulty of the papers and the actual performance of the candidates It is possible that a level 2 candidate perform better in one particular question than a level 5 candidate: the level represents the overall performance