According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), between 1995 and 2022, the share of developing economies' exports in world trade increased and the share of developed economies' exports decreased. Evaluate factors influencing patterns of trade between countries.

Indicative content guidance
Answers must be credited by using the level descriptors (below) in line with the general marking guidance. The indicative content below exemplifies some of the points that candidates may make but this does not imply that any of these must be included. Other relevant points must also be credited.

QS9: Interpret, apply and analyse information in written, graphical, tabular and numerical forms.

Knowledge, Application and Analysis ( 12 marks) - indicative content
- Understanding of trade patterns

Factors include:
- Emerging economies/the collapse of communism has led to the opening-up of many former-communist countries, e.g. China and Eastern Europe
- Comparative advantage: a detailed analysis of the significance of this theory may be represented with numerical example or diagram
- The number and size of trading blocs / bilateral trade agreements: has resulted in an increase in trade creation between member countries
- Exchange rate/'currency wars' of recent years, e.g. China: currency controls to prevent appreciation of their currency
- Protectionist policies e.g. increase in tariffs imposed by countries and increased subsidies to support their domestic industries to make imports relatively more expensive
- Competitiveness, e.g. USA \& UK loss of low-cost manufacturing industries compared with the rise in the emerging economies (could count as two points)
- Level of foreign direct investment (FDI) which has increased manufacturing in developing economies
- Many advanced economies have experienced deindustrialisation, with less national output generated by their manufacturing sectors
Evaluation (8 marks) - indicative content
- The law of comparative advantage is based on unrealistic assumptions e.g. constant costs of production, perfect mobility of resources
- Increased transport costs to/from China or Eastern Europe, and rising wages, might slow this process
- Increased labour costs, e.g. China, have now resulted in the return of manufacturing industries to developed economies/other developing economies
- Many countries are leaving/considering exiting the trading blocs; trade diversion may occur - can distort trade patterns
- Exchange rates and highly volatile patterns of trade can change in the long-run when the exchange rate changes again
- Other countries could retaliate with their own protectionist policies
- Different impacts more or less important for different economies
- Prioritisation of factors/significance of each factor: SR v LR considerations
- Combination of factors is likely to have a bigger impact on trade patterns