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John B

Steve Jobs And The Economics Of Place | ThinkProgress - 1 views

thinkprogress.org/...obs-and-the-economics-of-place

externalities of production

shared by John B on 23 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • One of the most fundamental elements of the economics of cities goes by the oddball name “agglomeration externalities” which is basically the idea that individuals and firms obtain productivity boosts by clustering together.
  • You see this again during the development of the Apple I. Steve Wozniak is employed by Hewlett-Packard at the time
  • Silicon Valley is not only a hub of electronics and engineering but also geographically proximate to San Francisco and the arts and counterculture scene with the influence that has on Jobs’ life and the aesthetic orientation of his company over time. The story keeps going on like this. Jobs doesn’t build the company alone, or even build it with his formal partners. He also builds it with an array of formal and informal personal and professional associates that you only meet in certain kinds of places and that can only exist given the pre-existing high density of electronics firms in the area.
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  • Part of the moral of the story is about the role of luck and contingency in any successful person’s life. But an important part of it is about the importance of clusters as such and the way that past success can lay the groundwork for future success. America is home to many of the world’s most successful high tech companies today in large part because we were home to many of the world’s most successful high tech companies 35 years ago.
  • John B on 23 Nov 13
     
    This article is about the biography of Steve Jobs. It is talking about how Jobs used agglomeration externalities, "individuals and firms obtain productivity boosts by clustering together". By the use of the location, Jobs managed build up the company, but he is not alone building this company. He has his personal and professional associates that result in a boost in productivity. They use agglomeration.
Haydn W

Structural Adjustment Policies and Africa - A Reply to Shantayanan Devarajan - 0 views

thinkafricapress.com/...ca-reply-shantanayan-devarajan

Market Failure Intervention Negative Externalities Externalities of Production Africa Government Intervention

shared by Haydn W on 26 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • Haydn W on 26 Nov 13
     
    This article explains how the utilisation of Structural Adjustment Policies in developing African countries is failing to bring about the growth they are claimed to achieve. SAP's were designed to achieve economic diversification and reduce poverty among other things but the author of this article argues that they have not achieved any of these any of these aims. SAP's are an example of government intervention in a market to prevent negative externalities.
Haydn W

Scrap the licence fee and privatise the BBC - The Commentator - 0 views

www.thecommentator.com/...ence_fee_and_privatise_the_bbc

BBC Public Good The Commentator UK government

shared by Haydn W on 01 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • The next two years will see a lively debate over the future of the British Broadcasting Corporation, with the current Royal Charter due to run out at the end of 2016.
  • According to an ICM poll in the Sunday Telegraph last month, 70 per cent of voters believe that the licence fee should be abolished or cut.
  • With the licence fee scrapped, should the BBC remain in public ownership? Or should the BBC be privatised, so that it can compete on a level playing field with the global media giants that are now emerging? 
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Paul Samuelson, the Nobel-prize-winning American economist, advanced the concept of "public goods" in his classic 1954 paper "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure", demonstrating that such goods had to be financed by taxation and could not be left to the free market. The hostility to advertising meant that broadcasting was the textbook paradigm of a "public good".
  • Still benefiting from the halo conferred by its wartime role, the BBC was by far the most influential broadcasting service in the world. Further, with the UK accounting for almost 10 per cent of world output in the late 1940s, its state-owned monopoly was a vast broadcasting business by international standards. The BBC may not have been part of the British constitution, but it was undoubtedly a "national champion".
  • Advertising is sometimes demonised by left-wing commentators as capitalism without taste or shame, and as free enterprise at its selfish worst.
  • The actual position is far more even-handed and complex. As the growing unpopularity of the licence fee has constrained the BBC's revenues, TV advertising spend is now about the same size as the total money collected by the licence fee and well above the portion of this money devoted to television.
  • But the truly spectacular development of the last few years is that both total advertising spend and the licence fee money have been surpassed by BSkyB's subscription revenue. As BSkyB also picks up advertising revenue on its channels, its annual income is well above the BBC's.
  • Haydn W on 01 Dec 13
     
    This article talks about the logistics of scraping the license fee that finances one of the worlds most famous examples of a public good, the BBC. Economic stagnation and falling wages have left many consumers disgruntled at the license fee and with the BBC failing to keep up with it's competitors in terms of revenue, costs have had to be cut at the world renowned corporation. The article explores the concept of the public good and how politicians have began to propose alternatives to the license fee.
John B

William Easterly: Singing About Fighting Poverty, Slightly Off-Key - WSJ - WSJ - 1 views

online.wsj.com/...ty-slightly-off-key-1412292935

Supply-side

shared by John B on 03 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • The progress against poverty in China is obvious, but whether China's government deserves to be held up as a development model is not so clear. For instance, who gets to decide whether mainland Chinese citizens should be content with improved standards of living and so few protections against the frequent violations of their rights by their own government?
  • Extreme poverty in China has been reduced over the past few decades precisely because Beijing permitted the freedoms of a market economy to infiltrate a communism-blighted society. If the regime's repression now worsens, count on the end of the country's high growth rates.
  • Yet freedom is arguably central: first, as an end that people want for themselves, and, second, as the most well-proven path to escaping poverty. Consider among others North America, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Chile, where the answer to poverty was economic and political freedom.
  • John B on 03 Oct 14
     
    In this article, the author discuss the affects of the actions of the government in China. It is a modern topic today due to the demonstrations being held in Hong Kong. The authors mentions that the statement about entering a democracy, and then pulling back on the decision means that they were on the right track to get the market more free from the government, hence less poverty, but now he thinks it is gonna worsen the economical conditions. A free market has saved many economies, why should China still not give in for the human rights and improve their economy?
Amanda Anna G

Ukraine, EU to Launch Free Trade Zone if Russia Violates Brussels Agreements | Politics... - 1 views

en.ria.ru/...-Russia-Violates-Brussels.html

free-trade

shared by Amanda Anna G on 14 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • KIEV, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev and Brussels will launch a free trade zone if Russia violates the Brussels agreements on implementation of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement, the acting Ukrainian economic development and trade minister said Tuesday.
  • Earlier, the Russian side also said it would have to introduce measures to protect its market should Kiev or Brussels begin openly or secretly implementing the economic part of the Association Agreement, thus breaking the agreements reached in Brussels mid-September.
  • Amanda Anna G on 14 Oct 14
     
    This article is about free trade, as Kiev and Brussels will launch a free trade zone, only if Russia violated the Brussels agreements on implementation of the Ukraine- European Union Association Agreement. 
Clemence Lafeuille

China to invest $20bn in struggling Venezuela - 0 views

www.aljazeera.com/...enezuela-2015188152276388.html

Venezuela China foreign direct investment oil

shared by Clemence Lafeuille on 03 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Clemence Lafeuille on 03 Mar 15
     
    This article is about China's FDI into Venezuela. Because of the recent drop in oil prices, Venezuela is suffering so China is placing FDIs in deals that include technology, housing and urban planning. The hope here is to develop a relationship between the two nations, but as we have seen in class it might not be truly beneficial to the LEDC.
Clemence Lafeuille

Africa's Free Trade Hangover - 2 views

www.foreignpolicy.com/...africas_free_trade_hangover

free trade

shared by Clemence Lafeuille on 20 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Clemence Lafeuille on 20 Oct 14
     
    After 30 years in which the virtues of the free market went largely unchallenged, a quiet revolution is making its way across Africa. Many governments are increasingly ready to toss out the orthodoxy and rethink the importance of the role of the state in national development. The article also discusses the negatives of free trade
Haydn W

The return of the US dollar | Mohamed El-Erian | Business | theguardian.com - 4 views

www.theguardian.com/...d-el-erian-return-of-us-dollar

shared by Haydn W on 18 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • The return of the US dollar The resurgence of the US currency could be the first promising step in steering the world economy away from crisis
  • The US dollar is on the move. In the last four months alone, it has soared by more than 7% compared with a basket of more than a dozen global currencies, and by even more against the euro and the Japanese yen.
  • Two major factors are currently working in the dollar’s favour
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • First, the United States is consistently outperforming Europe and Japan in terms of economic growth and dynamism – and will likely continue to do so – owing not only to its economic flexibility and entrepreneurial energy, but also to its more decisive policy action since the start of the global financial crisis.
  • Second, after a period of alignment, the monetary policies of these three large and systemically important economies are diverging, taking the world economy from a multi-speed trajectory to a multi-track one.
  • ECB President Mario Draghi signalled a willingness to expand his institution’s balance sheet by a massive €1 trillion ($1.25 trillion).
  • With higher US market interest rates attracting additional capital inflows and pushing the dollar even higher, the currency’s revaluation would appear to be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to catalysing a long-awaited global rebalancing – one that promotes stronger growth and mitigates deflation risk in Europe and Japan.
  • an appreciating dollar improves the price competitiveness of European and Japanese companies in the US and other markets
  • There is also the risk that, given the role of the ECB and the Bank of Japan in shaping their currencies’ performance, such a shift could be characterized as a “currency war” in the US Congress, prompting a retaliatory policy response.
  • Today, many of these countries have adopted more flexible exchange-rate regimes, and quite a few retain adequate reserve holdings.
  • Furthermore, sudden large currency moves tend to translate into financial-market instability.
  • But a new issue risks bringing about a similarly problematic outcome: By repeatedly repressing financial-market volatility over the last few years, central-bank policies have inadvertently encouraged excessive risk-taking, which has pushed many financial-asset prices higher than economic fundamentals warrant.
  • This is not to say that the currency re-alignment that is currently underway is necessarily a problematic development; on the contrary, it has the potential to boost the global economy by supporting the recovery of some of its most challenged components. But the only way to take advantage of the re-alignment’s benefits, without experiencing serious economic disruptions and financial-market volatility, is to introduce complementary growth-enhancing policy adjustments, such as accelerating structural reforms, balancing aggregate demand, and reducing or eliminating debt overhangs.
  • The US dollar’s resurgence, while promising, is only a first step. It is up to governments to ensure that the ongoing currency re-alignment supports a balanced, stable, and sustainable economic recovery. Otherwise, they may find themselves again in the unpleasant business of mitigating financial instability.
  • Haydn W on 18 Nov 14
     
    This article details the so called resurgence of the US dollar, in terms of currency value. The currency itself has risen by around 7% against other currencies but Guardian economist Mohamed El-Erian warns that without the appropriate accompanying central bank policies, the rise of the dollar could cause further market volatility and at worst a new crash. El-Erian calls for governments to enact policy to support balance the current currency realignment. 
Haydn W

EU, China Reach Tentative Deal to End Telecom Equipment Tariff Threat - WSJ - 3 views

online.wsj.com/...pment-tariff-threat-1412870909

Wall Street Journal Tariff China EU

shared by Haydn W on 28 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • The European Union and China have reached a tentative deal that will end the threat of punitive import tariffs on Chinese telecommunications equipment makers
  • Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng and the EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht are expected to meet in Brussels on Oct. 18 after the Asia-Europe summit meeting in Milan to complete the agreement, an EU official said.
  • The agreement would sweep away the cloud of tariffs that has been hanging in particular over Huawei, which has become a major supplier of equipment to European telecommunications companies.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, in 2013 said it was ready to start investigations into imports of mobile telecommunications equipment made by Huawei and ZTE, claiming the two companies received unfair subsidies from the Chinese government and were “dumping” their products onto the EU market at rock-bottom prices.
  • The agreement will create an entity to review the market-share of Chinese equipment manufacturers in the EU and European companies
  • China has also committed to further discussions on the hefty loans and loan guarantees that the government gives to Huawei and ZTE to finance their exports, mostly to the developing world, the official said.
  • That represents a modest victory for the EU in an area that is highly sensitive for the Chinese government.
  • Haydn W on 28 Oct 14
     
    The European Union have reached an agreement with China to end the threat of EU tariffs on Chinese telecommunications equipment. The tariff was going to be imposed as a form of protectionism to protect the European manufactures Ericsson, Nokia and Alcatel against the Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. The Chinese firms are able to produce equipment cheaper than the European firms, due to more abundant natural resources, but also, crucially through subsidies from the Beijing government. The deal reached on October 9th, sees the Chinese companies granted a share of the market, but not access to it fully, as this is reserved for the European firms, to protect EU economic growth in such a tempestuous time, showing that, forms of protectionism still exist in the market, despite this agreement.
Pip Dop

Exposed: The Africans named in the HSBC Swiss Leaks - 0 views

asmarino.com/...-named-in-the-hsbc-swiss-leaks

human development index inequality income distribution Africa

shared by Pip Dop on 14 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • Pip Dop on 14 Feb 15
     
    This is an interesting article that exposes some African clients involved in the HSBC Swiss leaks. It is a striking real life example of how inequal distribution of income is still an issue; Eritrea, ranked 182nd out of 187 in the HDI report has the client banking the most substantial sum of all Africans considered.
Pip Dop

Judy Asks: Time for Greece to Leave the Euro? - 0 views

carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope

government debt indebtedness relief Germany Greece

shared by Pip Dop on 22 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Pip Dop on 22 Mar 15
     
    Debt forgiveness is not exclusively reserved for developing nations: this article discusses whether Greece should leave the Euro. It mentions the fact the Germany and other EU nations have avoided outright debt forgiveness because the terms are conditional, and Greece is not willing to commit itself to the policies it is required to introduce in return for debt relief.
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