Grade 10 Integrated Humanities - Summative Assessment

GRADE 10 INTEGRATED HUMANITIES - SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT UNIT 4: Economics and Exchange: Trade, Aid and Global Responsibility Criterion A (Knowing and Understanding) Criterion B (Investigating) Criterion C (Communicating) and Criterion D (Critical Thinking) Instructions ●​ Answer all questions ●​ Use full sentences ●​ Be clear and precise ●​ Use examples from the unit where appropriate ●​ Total marks: 32 (8 marks per criteria) Question 1 will be Criterion B and Question 2 will be Criterion ACD. Criterion Marks and Feedback Investigation B Strength Action/Literacy Strength Action/Literacy /8 marks Essay A /8 marks C /8 marks D /8 marks Total mark: /32 marks Overall Grade Grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total Marks 1-6 7-11 12-16 17-20 21-24 25-28 29-32 Section 1: Criterion B Investigation Task To investigate more deeply how trade agreements can affect fairness and development, you will create a detailed action plan by answering the questions below. Imagine you are a government official in a country of your choice. Your job is to advise the government on how that country should approach trade in the future. You will need to think carefully about the country’s level of development, its strengths and weaknesses, the needs of its people, and how trade agreements might create both opportunities and challenges. Your recommendation should consider questions such as: ●​ ●​ ●​ ●​ Who benefits from trade agreements? Who might be disadvantaged? Do trade agreements always make trade fairer? How might trade affect jobs, local businesses, prices, and long-term development? By the end, you should be able to make a justified recommendation about whether your chosen country should support free trade, use some protectionist policies, or follow a mixed approach. 1.a) Formulate a clear and focused research question for an investigation that would help you make a recommendation. (2 marks) To what extent will free trade between Madagascar and Mozambique affect their relationship and economic growth in the 21st century? 1.b) Describe the relevance of your research question with reference to your investigation. (3 marks) This question is relevant to the reference of the investigation as it has a focus on the effect of a free trade system on the economy of both countries, and also focusing on mutual economic and social benefit. This ties with the question prompt of agreements affecting fairness and development. 1.c) State one method of primary data collection you would use to investigate your chosen research question. (1 mark) Govt. websites of both countries that state economic growth, national ties and important exports. 1.d) Outline usefulness of the method you stated in part (c) for your investigation. (2 marks) Using govt. and national websites to cite sources about the countries socio-economic and trade information allows me to get unbiased and up to date information on the country. Section 2: Criterion ACD Essay Task Source A: Trade, Global Interactions and Equity Trade is an important part of global interactions, where countries exchange goods and services through exports and imports. This can lead to different trade outcomes, such as a trade surplus or trade deficit. Countries take different approaches to trade. Some support free trade, with fewer barriers between countries, while others use protectionist policies such as tariffs, quotas, or subsidies. These approaches can influence how goods move between countries and how economies interact. Trade can affect a range of stakeholders, including businesses, workers, consumers, and governments. These groups may experience the impacts of trade in different ways. The concept of equity is often used when analysing trade. Equity refers to how fairly outcomes, opportunities, and resources are distributed among different groups. In global trade, levels of equity may vary depending on how trade is organised and who is involved. ​ 2. To what extent does trade create equitable outcomes for different stakeholders? (24 marks) In your essay, you must:​ • provide example(s) from your MYP studies and/or your own knowledge​ • consider different perspectives Trade is a central component of global interactions that shape how countries exchange goods and services and influence economic, social, and political relationships. For example,Source A states that trade occurs through exports and imports results in outcomes such as trade surplus and trade deficit. I believe that the extent to which trade creates equitable outcomes will vary between different stakeholders. While trade can generate growth, its benefits are not evenly shared, meaning that equity in global trade is only partially achieved. Trade can generate opportunities for businesses but also inequalities. Source A states that countries have different systems of trade such as free-trade systems and protectionist policies such as tariffs, quotas and subsidies. Firms’ choices shape how they experience global markets. Free trade often benefits large multinational corporations the most, because they have the capital, technology and scale to compete internationally. They can access cheaper inputs, new markets and control global value chains. In contrast, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in developing countries, face higher barriers, such as compliance costs, competition from cheaper imports and limited access to finance. As a result, trade often leads to uneven outcomes in the business world, benefiting companies that already have advantages rather than sharing opportunities equally. Trade also impacts workers differently. Trade can create jobs, raise wages and promote skill development in export-oriented industries. But workers in sectors that are exposed to foreign competition, such as manufacturing in high‐income countries or agriculture in low‐income countries may lose jobs, suffer wage suppression, or see deterioration of working conditions. Workers are a clear example of how stakeholders experience trade differently: some benefit from new employment opportunities, while others lose their jobs to cheaper imports or automation driven by global competition, according to Source A. This disparity in labour outcomes indicates that trade does not always promote equity for workers, especially those without social protection or retraining opportunities. Consumers generally gain the most equitable benefits from trade. As Source A notes, trade increases the movement of goods between countries, which typically results in lower prices, greater product variety, and improved quality. These benefits are widely shared across income groups, although wealthier consumers may benefit more from access to specialised imported goods. However, consumer gains can be offset by broader social costs, such as environmental degradation or reduced job security in local industries. While trade does create relatively equitable outcomes for consumers, these benefits must be weighed against the indirect inequalities experienced by other groups. Trade has both winners and losers for governments . It can promote or weaken equity within a country . Trade can promote economic growth, provide additional tax revenues, and build international relationships. But, as Source A says, countries organise trade differently and these differences affect equity. Free trade benefits countries with strong institutions, diversified economies and competitive industries. On the other hand, countries with limited industrial capacity or reliance on primary commodities may find it difficult to compete, leading to trade deficits, dependence or exposure to volatility in global prices. Protectionist policies can help governments shield domestic industries, but may also raise consumer prices or provoke retaliation. Trade, for instance, does not produce equitable outcomes between countries, with structural inequalities dictating who wins and who loses. The most inequitable outcomes of trade are frequently felt by environmental stakeholders, ecosystems, communities and future generations. Boosting production for export can lead to deforestation, pollution, overfishing and carbon emissions. These environmental costs are disproportionately borne by low-income communities and developing countries, despite their minimal contribution to global consumption. Trade can support the dissemination of green technologies, but this is uneven and often restricted to wealthier countries. Hence trade tends to externalise environmental costs on vulnerable groups, undermining equity. Trade also yields partially equitable results. As Source A states, equity is about how fairly opportunities and resources are distributed in global trade amongst different stakeholders. This fairness varies widely. Some stakeholders benefit significantly, particularly consumers and large firms . Others are disadvantaged, such as workers, small producers, and environmentally vulnerable communities . Equity only gets better if trade is backed up by strong domestic policies, like labour protections, environmental regulations and targeted support for disadvantaged groups. In the absence of these measures, trade alone cannot guarantee fair outcomes. In conclusion, trade does not consistently create equitable outcomes for all stakeholders. While it promotes growth and interaction, the distribution of benefits is uneven due to structural inequalities, differing national policies, and power imbalances within global markets. Trade can support equity, but only when combined with deliberate efforts to ensure that its gains are shared more fairly across societies.