In recent years, the number of patients unable to access an NHS dentist has risen significantly, leading to an increase in preventable dental emergencies and rising private dental costs. Some economists argue that dental care is a merit good with significant positive externalities, justifying greater state intervention. However, critics point to the substantial opportunity cost of allocating extra funding to dental services when other sectors of the NHS, such as emergency care and oncology, face severe resource constraints.
Extract D (lines 12–14) states: ‘Should the government prioritise increasing public funding to resolve the shortage of NHS dental appointments, or are there more urgent priorities for the healthcare budget?’
Use the extract and your knowledge of economics to discuss whether the government should increase its spending to improve dental care services in the UK .
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.