Cambridge International as and a level Economics Ebook

1
Discuss the case for and against the privatisation of 
water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa.
2
Comment on whether water should be provided free 
of charge to poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Queuing for water at a communal tap
78
Cambridge International AS Level Economics

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Exam-style questions
Read the feature below and then answer the questions that follow:
India leads with bans on plastic bags
On June 20 2014, the Times of India reported that Agra was 
the latest city to ban the use of most types of plastic bags. 
The reasons here as elsewhere are to curb pollution. The 
issue with plastic bags is that their irresponsible disposal 
causes many problems. Plastic bags block drains and the 
sewage system; they litter streets and public facilities such 
as parks and cause a health risk to cows and bulls that 
roam the streets, foraging for food in waste dumps. When 
disposed of in rivers, the inks used to promote retailers 
oft en contain toxic lead which can work its way into drinking 
water supplies. Their manufacture also poses environmental 
issues due to the release of toxic fumes into the atmosphere.
Six years earlier, the authorities in the capital, Delhi, had 
led the way by passing a regulation banning plastic bags. 
For various reasons, this regulation was never properly 
implemented. So, amidst growing fears over problems of 
their disposal, any retailer giving out plastic bags could 
be fined up to 100,000 rupees or five years in jail.
Interestingly, a recent survey carried out in Pune showed 
that around 80% of respondents favoured a complete ban 
on plastic bags, blaming their production and disposal as 
a contributor to climate change. This view though is not 
shared by the many manufacturers of plastic bags. There 
are over 400 such businesses in Delhi alone and they claim 
that many thousands of jobs will be lost if the ban is properly 
enforced. They also argue that using recyclable products 
like paper, cotton and jute to make bags is not always 
as environmentally acceptable as it might appear to be. 
Furthermore, they claim that there is a desperate need for 
Indian consumers to be made more aware of the damage 
caused by plastic bags. This, rather than a ban or an indirect 
tax, should become the focus of how the community wants 
to control the use of plastic bags in the future.
India appears to be taking the lead on bans on plastic 
bags. Other cities including Mumbai, Karwar, Tirumala, 
Vasco and Rajasthan all have a ban in place. The 
problem, as typified by Delhi, is that any ban will only 
reduce pollution if it is eff ectively applied.