Economics · 2007 · November · Paper 2 · SL · Question paper

 IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME PROGRAMME DU DIPLÔME DU BI PROGRAMA DEL DIPLOMA DEL BI N07/3/ECONO/SP2/ENG/TZ0/XX+ ECONOMICS STANDARD lEvEl PAPER 2 Thursday 8 November 2007 (morning) INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES  Do not open this examination paper until instructed to do so.  Answer three questions.  Use fully labelled diagrams and references to the text / data where appropriate. 2 hours 8807-5105 11 pages © IBO 2007 88075105 N07/3/ECONO/SP2/ENG/TZ0/XX+ 8807-5105 – 2 – 1. Study the extract below and answer the questions that follow. Jakarta opens case against big US mining company  The Indonesian government has brought criminal charges of polluting the environment against an American mining company. The company’s president in Indonesia appeared before a panel of five judges as prosecutors accused him and his company of allowing toxic waste to be put in the sea near its gold mine at Buyat Bay.  The prosecution described 125 examples over the eight-year life of the mine in which the waste had exceeded government regulations on legal limits for heavy metals, including arsenic and mercury. It said the company did not have the proper license for disposing of the waste.  The opening of the trial, an unusual case of an American corporate giant facing criminal charges in a developing country, comes after villagers at Buyat Bay complained last year of illnesses that they said were the result of the mine’s operations.  The Denver-based company, which is the world’s biggest gold producer, has denied responsibility for the tumors, skin rashes and dizziness suffered by local residents, saying that those health problems are common to poor coastal communities. Most of the villagers, afraid for their health, moved away in June to another area.  An investigation by the Indonesian police that included the testing of water samples near the mine resulted in the arrest last September of five employees. In Manado, a provincial city where the multinational company has provided employment and tax revenue, the case has created strong feelings both for and against the company. Local officials, worried about economic growth , say they are in favour of the foreign direct