Households (CIE IGCSE Economics)

Topic Questions

11 mark

The table shows how household spending changes with income.

income
($ per month)
spending
($ per month)
3000 3150
3300 3375
3600 3500
3900 3825
4200 4050
4500 4275

What is the lowest level of income at which savings are positive?

  • $3000

  • $3600

  • $3900

  • $4200

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21 mark

Banks decrease interest rates.

What is likely to be the effect of this on borrowing and saving?

  borrowing saving

A

B

C

D

falls

falls

rises

rises

falls

rises

falls

rises

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31 mark

The table shows the weekly values of certain items for the average person in each group. In which group does the average person save the most?

    income ($) spending ($) borrowing ($)

A

B

C

D

employed workers

retired people

school students

unemployed

500

150

25

200

400

140

30

300

50

0

5

100

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41 mark

What is the most important factor that affects how much a family saves?

  • the income of the family

  • the level of taxation

  • the rate of inflation

  • the reliability of banks

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51 mark

Which of the following factors typically encourages household spending?

  • High interest rates

  • Low consumer confidence

  • Uncertain economic conditions

  • Seasonal sales and discounts

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11 mark

The table shows how three people (X, Y and Z) spend their income.

  person X person Y person Z
food, clothing and housing
entertainment and leisure
luxury goods
35%
25%
40%
50%
20%
30%
20%
40%
40%

For these three people, what is the most likely order of income, from highest income to lowest income?

  • X → Y→ Z

  • Y → Z → X

  • Z → X → Y

  • Z → Y → X

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21 mark

The table shows how three people (X, Y and Z) spend their income.

  person X person Y person Z

food, clothing and housing

entertainment and leisure

luxury goods

30%

35%

35%

25%

35%

40%

50%

25%

25%

For these three people, what is the most likely order of income, from lowest income to highest income?

  • Y → X → Z

  • Y → Z → X

  • Z → X → Y

  • Z → Y → X

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3
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1 mark

Which of the following factors would likely have a negative impact on household saving?

  • An increase in disposable income due to a raise in the minimum wage

  • A decrease in interest rates on savings accounts

  • The introduction of a new tax incentive for retirement savings

  • A rise in consumer confidence leading to increased spending

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4
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1 mark

What is the main impact of an increase in interest rates on household saving?

  • Household saving tends to increase because higher interest rates make borrowing less attractive, leading to higher saving

  • Household saving remains unchanged as interest rates have no impact on saving behaviour

  • Household saving increases as higher interest rates provide greater incentives to save money

  • Household saving becomes volatile as interest rates have an unpredictable influence on saving patterns

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5
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1 mark

What is likely to be a consequence of a significant increase in consumer credit availability on household spending?

  • Decreased consumer confidence leading to reduced spending

  • Higher interest rates on existing loans, encouraging spending

  • A decrease in disposable income due to rising inflation

  • Increased spending in the short term, but potential long-term debt 

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11 mark

What may cause an individual to save a higher proportion of their income?

  • a belief that the price of goods will rise in the future

  • a fall in the rate of interest paid by the country’s banks

  • a fear that income will fall in the future

  • a rise in the individual’s wish to enjoy higher consumption immediately

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21 mark

A musician has a choice of playing for an orchestra in either Germany or England.

Which combination of incomes and cost of living is most likely to cause her to choose the German orchestra?

  Incomes and cost of living in Germany compared with those in England
pre-tax (gross) income after-tax (net) income cost of living

A

B

C

D

higher

higher

lower

lower

higher

lower

higher

higher

higher

lower

higher

lower

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31 mark

What will cause the level of savings in an economy to rise?

  • a fall in investment

  • a fall in real wages

  • a rise in income taxes

  • a rise in interest rates

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41 mark

What is most likely to encourage the immediate purchase of an expensive item such as a new car?

  • anticipating a fall in the rate of inflation

  • expecting interest rates to fall

  • making it easier to obtain a loan

  • needing to plan for unexpected emergencies

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51 mark

The table shows the percentage (%) of income saved by different age groups.

age (years) 15–29 30–39 40–49 50–64 65+
% of income saved –30 –5 +15 +30 –10


What can be concluded from the table?

  • Over the age range shown total savings equalled total dissavings.

  • The 15–29 age group has the lowest level of income.

  • The 50–64 age group saves the highest percentage of its income.

  • The 65+ age group has a lower income than the 30–39 age group.

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