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Question 23M.2.SL.TZ0.iii

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Date May 2023 Marks available [Maximum mark: 3] Reference code 23M.2.SL.TZ0.iii
Level SL Paper 2 Time zone TZ0
Command term Illustrate Question number iii Adapted from N/A
iii.
[Maximum mark: 3]
23M.2.SL.TZ0.iii
Using an appropriate diagram, illustrate the unemployment which may arise from the imposition of a minimum wage (Text E, paragraph 3).

[3]

Markscheme

The vertical axis may be labelled real wage, real wage rate, wage or price of labour and the horizontal axis labelled quantity of labour or number of workers or just labour. A title is not necessary.

Award [2] for a fully labelled labour diagram showing a wage above the market equilibrium. Award [1] for the illustration of the unemployment – which may be done by referring to ‘AB’, ‘Q1Q2’ or by annotating the unemployment (surplus) on the diagram. 

Examiners report

Surprisingly, the minimum wage diagram proved challenging for many candidates. While most students understood that unemployment would increase due to a minimum wage, they struggled to effectively illustrate this on a diagram. Common mistakes included mislabelling of axes and treating the diagram as a standard demand and supply diagram for goods rather than a factor market diagram. Many candidates also felt compelled to provide lengthy explanations for the diagram, leading to a waste of valuable time. It is important to note that part (b) questions are strictly quantitative and do not require explanatory narratives.

Syllabus sections