Should examiners read more widely?

In response to Geoff’s item on Friday, I wonder is this is the same examiner as the one who marked a question about the impact of prolonged deflation on UK macroeconomic performance, in a script I have seen. The student made a good point about unemployment, and sticky wages. He goes on to consider the impact of the flexibility of the labour market, giving the example of the relatively low fall in UK unemployment over the last 2 years as workers agreed to cut hours or pay - the examiner has written, in large capitals, “IN RECESSION?”

Yes, actually. This is a statistical fact that had been covered fairly extensively on this blog earlier in the year, and was used accurately and appropriately in the answer. I do not doubt that examiners do a very difficult job under trying conditions and for too little pay, but it is hard to see good application of knowledge of the UK economy being rejected in a student’s exam script.

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Football Clubs to Pay for Negative Externalities [11 Apr 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Highest and Lowest Paid Jobs in the UK [26 Feb 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: The Economics of Solar Subsidies [18 Jan 2012]
AS and A2 Economics - 10 Ways to Improve Evaluation [4 Jan 2012]
AS Macro: Preparing for Unit 2 (May 2011) [25 May 2011]
AQA Macro: Remember to revise inflation [25 May 2011]
AQA A2 Economics - European Context [23 May 2011]
AS Micro: Last-minute Unit 1 Exam Tips! [11 May 2011]
Important: Yet More Tinkering from AQA Economics [11 May 2011]
A2 Micro: EU Aviation - State Aid and State Ownership [28 Apr 2011]
AS Micro: Mock Exam Question on Sugar Prices [28 Apr 2011]
An Aggregate Supply puzzle [24 Jan 2011]
AQA exam marking - some changes [11 Jan 2011]
The 25 Mark Questions in AQA AS Macro [30 Nov 2010]
Examiners knowing less than their students [22 Oct 2010]
AQA Exam Chaos and A Loss of Trust [4 Oct 2010]
A selection of revision notes on global trade and protectionism [3 Jun 2010]
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A2 Economics Revision - Data Description Revision on Fiscal Deficits [23 May 2010]
AS Economics Revision - Stocks and Prices [22 May 2010]
A2 Economics Revision - Data Description Revision on BoP [22 May 2010]
A2 Economics Revision - Practice Essay Questions for AQA Unit 3 and Unit 4 [15 May 2010]
Definitions on the AQA AS Papers [11 Apr 2010]
AQA Unit 1 (Micro) Course Companion [7 Apr 2010]
Focus on the National Minimum Wage [24 Jan 2010]
AQA AS Economics Grade Boundaries [2 Jun 2009]
The EU - Positives from the Polish Perspective [26 May 2009]
European Economy - Free Revision Update for 2009 [23 May 2009]
A2 Micro: Contestable Markets [15 May 2009]
AS Macro Mock Question (AQA) [11 May 2009]
A2 Macro Mock Question [5 May 2009]
AQA Exam Technique Handout [27 Apr 2009]
Explanation questions on the new AQA AS Papers [26 Apr 2009]
AQA Unit 2 Macro - Practice Data Identification Questions [30 Mar 2009]
Revision: Practice A2 Macro Essay Questions [24 Mar 2009]
Large and Small [7 Feb 2009]
We are heading back to the Moller! [25 Jan 2009]
AQA A2 Economics Course Companions 2009 [14 Oct 2008]
tutor2u announces details of new Economics resources for the 2008 A Level specifications [20 May 2008]

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