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Working for the Good of Society
Quick questions on Weighing trade-offs in public policy explained: O-Level Social Studies
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are every policy has costs as well as benefits?Show answer
A trade-off means accepting a cost in order to gain a benefit. No public policy is free of costs. A policy that improves one thing usually worsens another, or costs money, or burdens some group. Raising a tax to fund services takes money from people; building a new road eases traffic but uses land and disturbs residents; tightening a rule to improve safety adds cost or inconvenience.
What are weighing benefits against costs?Show answer
The first thing a government weighs is whether a policy's benefits outweigh its costs overall. It asks: how large and how likely is the benefit, and how large is the cost? A policy that delivers a big, lasting benefit for a modest cost is attractive; one whose costs swamp its benefits is not. This benefit-cost weighing is a sensible basic test, because a policy that does more harm than good should not go ahead.
What is no example?Show answer
Ground the trade-off in a concrete policy with clear costs and benefits, rather than discussing it in the abstract.
What is q1?Show answer
Explain why every public policy involves a trade-off. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Explain why a government must consider who gains and who loses from a policy. [3 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Why might a government accept short-term costs for a policy? [2 marks]
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