Current Account of the Balance of Payments
International Trade & Globalisation · 2 question types
Exam Frequency Analysis
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 5% of your exam marks.
New emphasis in the 2027 syllabus; the structure of the current account and the causes, consequences and correction of deficits and surpluses are examined directly. Guidance based on specimen materials.
The balance of payments is a record of all the money flowing into and out of a country in its dealings with the rest of the world over a period. Its most-tested part is the current account, which records flows arising from trade, income and transfers.
A flow that brings money into the country (an export, income earned abroad, money sent home) is a credit. A flow that takes money out (an import, income paid abroad, money sent overseas) is a debit.