Trade in the Contemporary World | OCR A-Level Geography (H481)
Trade in the Contemporary World
- 174 questions
- 12 subtopics
- Component 02: Human interactions, the compulsory places topic plus one of each optional pair
- Component 02
Trade in the Contemporary World is examined in Component 02, Human interactions.
It covers merchandise, services and capital flows, global trade patterns: inter-regional and intra-regional flows, trade, export value and human development, trade as a driver of growth, stability and development, trade inequalities, conflict and injustice, transport, technology and the global supply chain, multinationals, outsourcing and the new international division of labour, regional trading blocs and the European Union, south–south trade and the growth of traded services, india: trade patterns of an emerging economy, the United States: a core economy shaping world trade and ethiopia: trade on the periphery of the global system.
Sample questions from Trade in the Contemporary World
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Merchandise, services and capital flows
Distinguish between visible and invisible trade.
Show the answer
Visible trade is trade in physical goods, while invisible trade is trade in services and other intangible earnings such as interest and profits. -
Global trade patterns: inter-regional and intra-regional flows
Why do oil flows produce a distinctive pattern on a map of world trade?
Show the answer
Oil reserves are concentrated in a few exporting regions such as the Middle East, Russia and North America, so it moves in long, largely one-directional flows to consuming regions in Europe and Asia. -
Trade as a driver of growth, stability and development
What is the multiplier effect of an export industry?
Show the answer
Money earned by exporters is respent on local wages, suppliers and services, so each unit of export income generates further rounds of spending, income and jobs in the local economy. -
Trade inequalities, conflict and injustice
Give one environmental injustice associated with international trade.
Show the answer
Polluting industries and waste processing are relocated to countries with weaker regulation, so damage such as the dismantling of electronic waste in Ghana falls on people who consume least of the goods involved. -
Multinationals, outsourcing and the new international division of labour
Explain how a multinational's arrival can create a local multiplier effect.
Show the answer
Wages are spent in the local area and the plant buys from local suppliers, so income circulates and further jobs appear in housing, transport, retail and services. -
Regional trading blocs and the European Union
Name three regional trading blocs outside Europe.
Show the answer
ASEAN in South East Asia, Mercosur in South America and the USMCA in North America. -
India: trade patterns of an emerging economy
Roughly how much does India earn from exporting services each year?
Show the answer
India earns over US$300 billion a year from service exports. -
The United States: a core economy shaping world trade
Give an example of the United States using tariffs to pursue its own trading advantage.
Show the answer
From 2018 it imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports to press China over its trade practices, prompting Chinese retaliation.
The 12 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Merchandise, services and capital flows | Recall questions on merchandise, services and capital as components of trade, visible and invisible trade, foreign direct and portfolio investment, remittances, the balance of trade with a worked deficit calculation, services surpluses, and the terms of trade. | 13 |
| Global trade patterns: inter-regional and intra-regional flows | Recall questions on inter-regional and intra-regional trade, Europe's high intra-regional share, China and the United States as the largest exporter and importer, East Asia to North America flows, the triad, distance and the gravity model, oil flows, seaborne trade, Asian supply chains, and Africa's small share of exports. | 14 |
| Trade, export value and human development | Recall questions on the Human Development Index and its dimensions, the link between export value and human development, why export earnings may not raise development, as in Equatorial Guinea, commodity dependence, the Prebisch–Singer hypothesis, and trade openness with a worked calculation. | 13 |
| Trade as a driver of growth, stability and development | Recall questions on comparative advantage and David Ricardo, specialisation, lower consumer prices, the multiplier effect of export industries, technology transfer, remittances, trade and political stability through the European Coal and Steel Community, export earnings, export processing zones, the spread of ideas, and global trade rules. | 14 |
| Trade inequalities, conflict and injustice | Recall questions on the core–periphery model and dependency theory, tariff escalation, commodity price volatility, the race to the bottom and the Rana Plaza collapse, conflict minerals and cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, land grabbing, export crops and food insecurity, carbon leakage, trade rules, Fairtrade, and resource booms. | 15 |
| Transport, technology and the global supply chain | Recall questions on global supply chains, containerisation, TEUs and economies of scale in shipping, East Asian container ports, submarine cables and air freight, just-in-time production and its risks, the 2021 blockage of the Suez Canal, tradeable services, and why supply chains have lengthened. | 13 |
| Multinationals, outsourcing and the new international division of labour | Recall questions on multinational corporations, outsourcing and offshoring, why firms locate in emerging economies, the benefits and drawbacks for host countries, transfer pricing, the new international division of labour and the smile curve, call centres in India and the Philippines, labour mobility, the brain drain, the kafala system, and reshoring. | 15 |
| Regional trading blocs and the European Union | Recall questions on trading blocs, free trade areas, customs unions, common markets and economic unions, the four freedoms of the European single market, trade creation and diversion, ASEAN, Mercosur and the USMCA that replaced NAFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and low trade between African countries. | 14 |
| South–south trade and the growth of traded services | Recall questions on the growth and share of south–south trade, China as Africa's largest trading partner and the composition of that trade, the Belt and Road Initiative and its critics, the advantages and inequalities of south–south trade, and the share, types and development benefits of traded services, including tourism. | 13 |
| India: trade patterns of an emerging economy | Recall questions on India as an emerging economy, its main export markets and import sources, merchandise and IT service exports, its goods deficit and remittances, the 1991 liberalisation and its changing export mix, Bengaluru, generic medicines, environmental and political interdependence, withdrawal from RCEP, and the economic and social effects of trade-led growth. | 18 |
| The United States: a core economy shaping world trade | Recall questions on the United States as a core economy, its main trading partners, exports and imports, its persistent goods deficit and services surplus, the dollar as reserve currency, the World Trade Organization and blocked dispute settlement, tariffs on China, bilateral deals, agricultural subsidies, and the challenges and opportunities of its trade position. | 15 |
| Ethiopia: trade on the periphery of the global system | Recall questions on Ethiopia as a low income developing country, coffee, gold, oilseeds and cut flowers, its trading partners, dependence on coffee and the value added abroad, being landlocked and reliant on Djibouti, its weak negotiating position and WTO status, AGOA and its loss, instability, Ethiopian Airlines, the Hawassa industrial park, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. | 17 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide
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