The economic problem results in choices and opportunity cost. People have to decide what job to do and where to live. In recent years Australia has recruited teachers from a number of countries including Canada, the UK and the US. Most of these teachers specialise in a single subject.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [2] The (next) best alternative / choice (1) forgone / sacrificed (1).
2. [4] Logical explanation which might include: The economic problem is finite / limited resources (1) and infinite / unlimited wants / wants exceed resources (1) scarcity (1); It is always likely to exist as wants grow faster than resources / wants are increasing (1) there will never be enough resources to produce all the products people would like to have (1); People are living longer / population is increasing (1) more resources are needed / some resources are being depleted (1).
3. [6] Coherent analysis which might include: The wages of teachers may increase if demand for teachers rises (1) derived (1) this may be because there are more children to educate / rise in population size (1) smaller class sizes / children staying in education longer (1) teachers being more productive / skilful (1); A decrease in supply will increase wages (1) this may be due to a rise in qualifications needed (1) long period of training (1) rise in wages in other occupations / need to compete with other occupations (1) need to compete with wages paid to teachers in other countries / recruit from higher paying countries (1); Bargaining power of teachers may increase (1) more teachers may belong to trade unions (1) may be more prepared to take strike action (1) wages may be raised to keep up with inflation / maintain real wages (1); Government policy may favour teachers (1) e.g. there may be an increase in school leaving age / increase provision of education (1); Increase in minimum wage (1).
4. [8] Why it might: • may be trained more quickly; • become more skilled / productive; • may be in higher demand; • may be better paid; • may increase chance of promotion.
5. [8] Why it might not: • subject may become less popular; • may become bored teaching the same subject; • if lose job, may find it difficult to get another job; • may spend a long time developing the specialisation; • may not get the opportunity to move into another subject.