Define the term ‘marginal private benefits’ (Extract B).
| According to data published in 2023, micro-mobility options like e-scooters have experienced rapid growth in major European cities. In the UK, active trial schemes have seen over 30 million journeys taken since 2020. Proponents argue this reduces dependency on private cars. However, critics point to rising accident rates and public space obstruction. A safety coalition report estimates that e-scooter injuries cost the National Health Service (NHS) approximately £12 million annually, alongside £45 million in broader economic disruption. In deciding whether to complete a journey using an e-scooter, individual riders generally focus on their own marginal private benefits, such as travel time saved and convenience, while ignoring the wider impacts. | 1 |
| Several factors explain the rapid adoption of these schemes. Highly competitive rental pricing models, venture-capital subsidies on fleet deployment, and user-friendly mobile apps have made e-scooters exceptionally cheap relative to traditional public transport. Conversely, some local councils have restricted fleet sizes or banned them from pavements altogether due to pedestrian concerns. | 5 |
| While micro-mobility offers a potentially green alternative, it also introduces negative spillover effects. Poorly parked scooters block pathways for visually impaired pedestrians, and battery manufacturing and recharging transport emit significant greenhouse gases unless strictly managed. | 10 |
378 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Economics 1.8 The market mechanism, market failure and government intervention in markets, covering 1.8.1 How markets and prices allocate resources, 1.8.2 The meaning of market failure, 1.8.3 Public goods, private goods and quasi-public goods, 1.8.4 Positive and negative externalities in consumption and production, 1.8.5 Merit and demerit goods, 1.8.6 Market imperfections, 1.8.7 Competition policy (A-level only), 1.8.8 Public ownership, privatisation, regulation and deregulation of markets (A-level only), 1.8.9 Government intervention in markets, and 1.8.10 Government failure. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.