Nature of Economics (Edexcel A Level Economics A)

With reference to Extract A, explain the difference between a positive statement and a normative statement

Extract A

Energy price cap to fix ‘broken’ market in UK

The Prime Minister recently said that the regulator Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) should limit electricity and gas suppliers’ most expensive tariffs.

Under the planned new legislation, the energy bills of 11 million households will be capped for as long as five years. The government claimed this cap could save households up to £100 a year. This legislation would force Ofgem to change the licence conditions for energy suppliers so that they are required to cap electricity and gas prices. The measure will apply to anyone on a standard variable tariff, the expensive plans that customers are moved to when cheaper, fixed-price deals end. Ofgem will need to consult energy companies on how the cap is calculated, the government said. The Prime Minister repeated her claim that she had to act because the ‘market is broken’, a charge the big energy companies reject. “I have been clear that our broken energy market has to change – it has to offer fairer prices for millions of loyal customers who have been paying hundreds of pounds too much,” she said.

However, Michael Lewis, chief executive of E.ON said “the government must guard against any unintended consequences that undermine customer service and push up prices as a whole. A price cap will not be good for customers. It will reduce competition and innovation”. Smaller suppliers such as First Utility said the Big Six had only themselves to blame for the cap, because they had kept millions of people on standard variable tariffs.

With reference to extract A explain how government decisions affect the allocation of resources 

Extract A

Hospitals already full

National Health Service (NHS) managers’ warned that bed occupancy rates are approaching 99% in some parts of the country, compared with recommended levels of 85%. In 2017 the number of patients waiting for non-urgent treatment passed the four million mark, the highest figure for almost a decade. The chief executive of the NHS suggested that waiting list targets for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements would have to be sacrificed in order to protect other services, including accident and emergency (A&E) and cancer care. However, the government has insisted waiting time targets must still be met. Recently the Chancellor awarded the NHS £2.8 billion over three years, including £1.6 billion in 2018 - less than the £4 billion which NHS officials had asked for to keep up with an ageing population and new medical technologies. NHS managers said there was now very little spare capacity in the system, warning of shortages of paramedics, doctors, A&E consultants and nurses.

(Source: adapted from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/07/hospitals- already-full-bursting-pressures-mount-warn-nhs-chiefs/)

With reference to extract A , explain the economic problem in the context of waiting lists for operations

Extract A

Hospitals already full

National Health Service (NHS) managers’ warned that bed occupancy rates are approaching 99% in some parts of the country, compared with recommended levels of 85%. In 2017 the number of patients waiting for non-urgent treatment passed the four million mark, the highest figure for almost a decade. The chief executive of the NHS suggested that waiting list targets for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements would have to be sacrificed in order to protect other services, including accident and emergency (A&E) and cancer care. However, the government has insisted waiting time targets must still be met. Recently the Chancellor awarded the NHS £2.8 billion over three years, including £1.6 billion in 2018 - less than the £4 billion which NHS officials had asked for to keep up with an ageing population and new medical technologies. NHS managers said there was now very little spare capacity in the system, warning of shortages of paramedics, doctors, A&E consultants and nurses.

(Source: adapted from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/07/hospitals- already-full-bursting-pressures-mount-warn-nhs-chiefs/)

With reference to Extract B, explain the difference between a mixed economy and free market economy

Extract B

Free market approach

Are free markets incompatible with good health? If the solution to every problem involves banning advertising, raising prices and restricting availability, you might easily conclude that the free market is the disease and government regulation is the cure. From this perspective, the providers of food, alcohol and tobacco are determined to push the most unhealthy products on the public at the lowest prices. Contrary to this viewpoint, the profit motive is not unhealthy. Businesses have an obvious incentive to keep their customers alive and customers have a strong incentive to seek out healthier options. Any company that can make a scientifically sound health claim gains a competitive advantage over its rivals. Health sells. In contrast, government regulation can lead to negative health outcomes. Markets can correct themselves long before government failures are even acknowledged. Over a million Britons, almost all of whom are smokers or ex-smokers, use e-cigarettes, as a less hazardous product than cigarettes and yet e-cigarettes face increased regulations and in many countries they are banned. It is neither consistent nor ethical to prevent smokers from switching to much safer alternatives. Efforts to regulate e-cigarettes are a far greater threat to public health than the products themselves. We argue that the interests of consumers are nearly always better advanced by the provision of accurate information and free choice than by prohibitions and regulations. The government policy of small but steady tax rises on tobacco and ever-larger warning labels is becoming less effective and leads to unintended consequences.

(Source: adapted from http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/free-market-solutions-in-health- should-be-allowed-to-flourish, Christopher Snowdon, 11th July 2013)