Mobility of Factors of Production — Factors of Production | IGCSE Economics

Exam Frequency Analysis

Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)

This topic accounts for approximately 6% of your exam marks.

stable

Low

Stable6%

Four factors and their rewards appear occasionally; usually 2 to 4 marks when tested, not on every paper.

Production runs smoothly when factors can be moved between uses. The easier it is to switch a factor from one use to another, the more flexible the economy is.

The mobility of a factor of production is how easily it can be switched between different uses.

Mobility varies by factor:

Land is generally immobile geographically (you cannot pick up a wheat field and move it to a city), but often mobile in use (a field can be converted from growing wheat to growing barley or to a solar farm).
Labour is variably mobile, in two distinct senses (covered below).
Capital is mobile to different degrees: a laptop is highly mobile, a steel mill is essentially immobile.
Enterprise is highly mobile: entrepreneurs can start a business in any industry or location.

Two kinds of labour mobility

The syllabus specifically tests two ideas about labour. Examiners want you to distinguish them clearly.

Geographical mobility of labour is the ability and willingness of workers to move location for work (between cities, regions, or countries).

Occupational mobility of labour is the ability of workers to switch between different types of job or occupations.

These are independent. A doctor moving from London to Manchester is geographically mobile but not necessarily occupationally mobile (she is still a doctor). A factory worker who retrains as a software developer is occupationally mobile but may not have moved house at all.

What raises or lowers labour mobility

Factor	Affects mainly	How it limits mobility
Housing costs	Geographical	High rents in a city make it unaffordable to move there for a job
Family ties	Geographical	Children in school, ageing parents to care for, partner's job in the current area
Transport links	Geographical	Poor roads or no rail link make it impossible to commute from a cheaper area
Immigration rules	Geographical	Visa restrictions stop workers crossing borders for work
Language	Geographical (international)	A worker who only speaks one language cannot easily work in another country
Skills and qualifications	Occupational	A nurse cannot become a structural engineer without years of retraining
Training and retraining	Occupational	Access to evening classes, apprenticeships and government training schemes
Age	Both	Older workers are often less likely to move or to retrain
Information	Both	Knowing what jobs are available, and where, increases the chance of moving

A typical 3-mark question on this topic asks the candidate to (1) define geographical mobility, (2) define occupational mobility, and (3) name one specific influence with a brief example. The structure earns one mark per step.

Example — Distinguish between the geographical and occupational mobility of labour. (3 marks)

Geographical mobility is the ability and willingness of workers to move location for work. For example, a nurse who relocates from Wales to London to take a hospital job is geographically mobile.
Occupational mobility is the ability of workers to switch between different types of job. For example, a coal miner who retrains as a wind-turbine technician is occupationally mobile.
One specific influence: housing affordability. If house prices in a city are far higher than in the worker's current region, geographical mobility falls because the worker cannot afford to live where the jobs are.