Do you think that the overall benefits of HS2 are likely to be greater than the costs? Use Items A and B and your own economic knowledge to justify your view.

This is a 15-mark evaluation question, the highest tariff on the paper. It requires a two-sided argument followed by a justified conclusion. The key is to use the source material as a springboard and integrate it with your own economic knowledge. **Analysis of Benefits:** - **Private:** Faster journeys, job creation (Item A). - **External:** Reduced inequality (linking London to North, Item B), regeneration, less road congestion. **Analysis of Costs:** - **Private:** The huge construction cost (£118.9bn from Figure 5). - **External (Social Costs):** Environmental damage, noise pollution, disruption (implied in Item A). - **Opportunity Cost:** What else could £118.9bn be spent on? **Evaluation:** The skill is in weighing these up. A good evaluation might point out that costs are immediate and quantifiable, whereas benefits are in the future and harder to predict. The cancellation of the Leeds leg is a crucial piece of evidence to use in evaluation, as it weakens the 'benefit' side of the argument. The final judgement should flow logically from the arguments presented.