IB Geography Past Papers & Drilling (Paper 3, HL only): Global Interactions

Question 1

Part a (12 marks) (i) 3 marks 480/3,200 x 100 = 15.0% – one firm’s revenue equals 15.0% of the country’s GDP, which shows the country’s dependence on that production chain. (ii) 3 marks 372/620 x 100 = 60.0% – six in ten supplier factories sit in just three countries, so a shutdown or price rise in one of them hits the whole chain. (iii) 3 marks Openness = (2,100 + 2,400)/3,200 x 100 = 140.6%; trade balance = 2,100 – 2,400 = -US$30 billion (a deficit). (iv) 3 marks A TNC shapes the network by outsourcing, bargaining and setting standards: it places each stage where costs are lowest, requires suppliers to meet delivery and quality standards, and threatens to move orders elsewhere – so countries end up with different shares of the value added. Part b (16 marks) essay focus: (1) define sovereignty (territory, decision-making, taxation, regulation) and the production network, 2-3 marks; (2) support – firms choose locations, shift profits and influence labour and environmental rules, while international agreements narrow policy space, with named cases, 5-6 marks; (3) counter – states still control entry, tax, subsidies and security screening and can impose local-content rules, with named cases, 5-6 marks; (4) judgement on where sovereignty really is weakened and where it is not, 2-3 marks.

Question 2

Part a (12 marks) (i) 3 marks Life expectancy index = (74.5 – 20)/(85 – 20) = 0.838; education index = (8.4/15 + 12.6/18)/2 = (0.56 + 0.70)/2 = 0.63. (ii) 3 marks Income index = (ln 12,000 – ln 100)/(ln 75,000 – ln 100) = 0.723. (iii) 3 marks HDI = the cube root of (0.838 x 0.63 x 0.723) = 0.725 – the geometric mean, so weakness in any one index pulls the total down. (iv) 3 marks Loss = (0.725 – 0.612)/0.725 x 100 = 15.6%: 15.6% of the average level of development is cancelled out by inequality inside the country, so the wider the spread of income, schooling and health, the lower the development people actually enjoy. Part b (16 marks) essay focus: (1) define cultural diversity (language, religion, food, craft, ways of life), 2-3 marks; (2) support – global media and brands homogenise consumption, languages disappear (avoid unverifiable one-liners, use reliable statistics) and tourism commodifies culture, with named cases, 5-6 marks; (3) counter – hybridity and re-localisation (fusion music and food), digital platforms that give minority cultures reach, and protection policies such as mother-tongue education and heritage lists, 5-6 marks; (4) judgement separating the layers that converge from those that diverge, 2-3 marks.

Question 3

Part a (12 marks) (i) 3 marks 120/300 x 100 = 40.0% – exposed assets equal 40% of district GDP, so one disaster can wreck the local balance sheet. (ii) 3 marks Risk = (8 x 6)/4 = 12.0; lifting coping capacity from 4 to 6 would cut the index to 8.0, which shows that resilience investment lowers risk directly. (iii) 3 marks Uncovered share = 100 – 8 = 92%; value = 120 x 92% = US$11.04 billion – almost the whole insurance gap falls on government and households. (iv) 3 marks Remittances at 14% of GDP arrive immediately and directly to households, bypassing the state budget, and pay for food, repairs and rebuilding so families need not sell assets – shortening recovery. The limit: remittances depend on overseas jobs and exchange rates and cannot replace infrastructure or insurance. Part b (16 marks) essay focus: (1) define global risks (cross-border, systemic, beyond any single state), 2-3 marks; (2) support – agreements and institutions (disaster-risk frameworks, climate finance, vaccine and food mechanisms) plus cross-border warning and data sharing, with named cases, 5-6 marks; (3) counter – sovereignty and competing interests, financing and delivery gaps, non-binding deals, export controls and vaccine nationalism in a crisis, with named cases, 5-6 marks; (4) judgement on which risks (pandemic, climate, financial) cooperation handles better than others, 2-3 marks.