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John B

Long-term unemployment: What the U.S. can learn from Sweden - The Term Sheet: Fortune's... - 1 views

  • less than 10% of Americans who were unemployed had been so for more than 27 weeks. Now, 35.8% of unemployed Americans fit into this category.
  • Long-term unemployment is a particularly pernicious problem because of its compounding nature -- long stretches of unemployment erode workers' skills, while employers have an irrational bias against the long-term unemployed.
  • Take Sweden
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  • these workers find it harder and harder to find a job.
  • One 2007 study showed that out of six different Swedish programs, whose purposes ranged from worker retraining, helping workers maintain contact with former colleagues, temporary government employment, and employment subsidies, only the latter was effective at bringing down long-term unemployment.
  • A wage subsidy is a program where the government pays part of a worker's check, thus raising the worker's income and inducing firms to hire more workers.
  • Wage subsidies aren't just a potential solution to the debate over the minimum wage. They could also help bring down U.S long-term unemployment as well.
  • Wage subsidies haven't taken off in the U.S., primarily for political reasons.
  • The experience in Sweden shows that this policy can help the long-term unemployed find gainful employment.
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    This article deals with the long-term unemployment issue in the US that have been rising a lot since 2002. One solution to this is to follow one of the Swedish programs, wage subsidies. This have given great results and might be a good solution to the problem in the US as well.
Amanda Anna G

Kansas's mid-term elections are a referendum on supply-side economics - The Washington ... - 1 views

  • Kansas’s mid-term elections are a referendum on supply-side economics
  • Brownback has signed major tax breaks into law, reduced state spending and arguably made it harder for people in poverty to receive welfare.
  • "I don't consider this an experiment," he told The Post recently. "This is a long-term strategy to make us more competitive."
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  • Voters are upset. Eliminating taxes doesn't guarantee victory at the polls -- not even in a red state like Kansas.
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    This article deals with Kansas economy. Gov. Sam Brownback has increased taxes for the lowest- income families while the high- income families have a reduction in their taxes. He believes that it is a long- term strategy to make Kansas more competitive. 
Daniel Soto Aggard

South Korea Increases its Terms of Trade - 1 views

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    This article concerns South Korea and its increase in the terms of trade due to the cheaper oil prices. Its import price have fallen steeply compared to its export. Affecting the county's GDP and economic growth.
Amanda Anna G

U.S. be warned: Default would cause global crisis - CNN.com - 0 views

  • The impact of default could be catastrophic, and not just economically. As Secretary of State John Kerry asserts, this would send a message "of political silliness" that we "can't get our own act together" so we need to "get back on a track the world will respect."
  • As the U.S. partial government shutdown continues into almost a third week, the stakes are growing
  • This builds on earlier studies by the organization, including in 2011-12 which highlighted "intensified speculation about America's long-term stability," partly as a result of the downgrade by Standard & Poor's of the country's credit rating. This was prompted by the last near debt default of Washington in 2011.
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  • Then, as now, however, the country retains attractive qualities for many foreigners, including its popular culture and economic innovation.
  • And the fact remains that, in times of major urgency, Washington can transcend partisan divisions and work in the national interest.
  • This was demonstrated, for instance, during the 2008-9 financial crisis when Congress and the administration acted more swiftly and comprehensively than many other countries to counteract the worst economic turmoil since at least the 1930s. This has been key in enabling the country to recover more quickly from recession than some other areas of the world. While current problems should therefore be put into context, the situation is nonetheless troubling. And this is not the first time this year that a Washington political impasse has threatened negative economic repercussions
  • Only at the 11th hour did Congress in January agree a deal to prevent the U.S. falling off the "fiscal cliff." It is estimated that the automatic tax increases and spending cuts might well have taken the U.S. economy back into recession.
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    This article relates to equilibrium and price mechanism because it describes changes in impacts of the market. Stakes are growing, there are "intensified speculation about America's long-term stability" due to a downgrade in the country's credit rating, and an unstable state at the "fiscal cliff". These worries and a political impasse in Washington are some impacts that has threatened negative economic repercussions in the US, moving the market equilibrium. In response to changes in price, resources are allocated and re-allocated. However, profits are still able to be made making the equilibrium more stable without excess demand and supply, due to that the US has its popular culture and economic innovation, helping the country to retain attractive qualities for many foreigners.
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    I think this is a very serious matter, that could affect the world's over all economy if it goes on for a while. We can see that obviously a majority of the world's largest companies are american and based in america. If this effects any of those companies, the market they operate at will see a big change, both in the good way and the bad one.
Daniel B

long- and short-term unemployment have similar inflation impact - 3 views

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    This article deals with the long- and short term unemployment and their impact on inflation. Federal Reserve's paper gives doubts whether there is any difference between them. Worth looking through!
Haydn W

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

  • 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
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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • ECB President Mario Draghi signalled a willingness to expand his institution’s balance sheet by a massive €1 trillion ($1.25 trillion).
  • Furthermore, sudden large currency moves tend to translate into financial-market instability.
  • 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.
  • an appreciating dollar improves the price competitiveness of European and Japanese companies in the US and other markets
  • 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.
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    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. 
Zuzanna G

U3O8: Low Capital Costs, Short Term Uranium Production in South America - 0 views

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    This article discusses the opportunities for uranium production in South America.
Yassine G

The Looming Threat of Water Scarcity - 1 views

  • Some 1.2 billion people—almost a fifth of the world—live in areas of physical water scarcity, while another 1.6 billion face what can be called economic water shortage
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    This articles talks about how much people have to live with less amount of water than they need or, with no water at all in some cases. It also highlights the countries that use a lot of water and how they are using it. It also rises awareness about this global issue and its long and short-term impact on us. 
Haydn W

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

  • 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? 
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  • 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.
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    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.
Yassine G

Letter: Walmart is a market failure with many 'negative externalities' - 1 views

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    Walmart is considered to be the business number one in the world, in terms of revenue. However, from this article you can clearly see how their behavior towards stakeholders is really unethical. Many other articles also talk about how they treat their employees. This makes it clear that there is a negative externalize involved with this business. 
Amanda Anna G

Why extending unemployment benefits could be a logistical nightmare - 1 views

  • Why extending unemployment benefits could be a logistical nightmare
  • But the state agencies responsible for administering the benefits say actually helping that population could prove to be logistically difficult.
  • "With unemployed Americans continuing to struggle, it’s our responsibility to provide them a lifeline," Perez said in an e-mail to The Post. "I’ve spoken to many governors and state labor secretaries who are ready to implement any changes -- because they understand that whatever administrative burden they might face pales in comparison to the burdens confronting the long-term unemployed. The workforce system is capable of handling this task."
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  • . A few states have even warned that implementation could be so unwieldy that they may opt out of Labor Department program that provides the benefit to workers.
  • Hiring and training new employees to handle retroactive benefits would also draw out the timeline for implementation.
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    This article is about the unemployment and the negative sides of the unemployment benefits. "Whatever administrative burden they might face pales in comparison to the burdens confronting the long-term unemployed."
Haydn W

Greece's leader warns Merkel of 'impossible' debt payments - FT.com - 0 views

  • Greece’s leader warns Merkel of ‘impossible’ debt payments
  • Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has warned Angela Merkel that it will be “impossible” for Athens to service debt obligations
  • The warning, contained in a letter sent by Mr Tsipras to the German chancellor and obtained by the Financial Times, comes as concerns mount that Athens will struggle to make pension and wage payments at the end of this month and could run out of cash before the end of April.
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  • just before Ms Merkel agreed to meet Mr Tsipras on the sidelines of an EU summit last Thursday and invited him for a one-on-one session in Berlin
  • Mr Tsipras warns that his government will be forced to choose between paying off loans, owed primarily to the International Monetary Fund, or continue social spending.
  • He blames European Central Bank limits
  • “Given that Greece has no access to money markets, and also in view of the ‘spikes’ in our debt repayment obligations during the spring and summer . . . it ought to be clear that the ECB’s special restrictions when combined with disbursement delays would make it impossible for any government to service its debt,” Mr Tsipras wrote.
  • He said servicing the debts would lead to a “sharp deterioration in the already depressed Greek social economy
  • Mr Tsipras was rebuffed in efforts to secure quick financing from either the ECB or eurozone lenders at Thursday’s Brussels meeting
  • In an interview, Luis de Guindos, Spanish finance minister, said his eurozone counterparts would not sign off on any new bailout funding until a full set of approved reforms was passed
  • Mr Tsipras’s five-page letter is particularly critical of the ECB
  • The Greek prime minister insisted the ECB should have returned to “the terms of finance of the Greek banks”
  • Far from going easier on Athens, the ECB is considering whether to give its guidance to Greek banks more authority by making it a legally binding requirement not to add to their T-bill holdings.
  • He also criticised the ECB for only increasing the amount of emergency central bank loans to Greek lenders “at shorter intervals than normal and at rather small increments”
  • Mr Tsipras wrote that Athens was “committed to fulfilling its obligations in good faith and close co-operation with its partners”, he also warned Ms Merkel that a failure to find short-term funding could lead to much bigger problems.
John B

The Chevy Volt's $89,000 production cost: A waste of money? - The Week - 0 views

  • the environmentally friendly Volt's base price is about $40,000, says Reuters, production costs per vehicle run a stratospheric $89,000 — given the car's pricey lithium-polymer batteries, hybrid gas-electric engine, and next-age electronics. That means GM is losing $49,000 for each Volt it sells.
  • No. The investment in the Volt will pay off: The Volt represents "a long-term investment" that is helping GM become a car company of the future
  • Yes. The Volt will never be profitable: The Volt's high production costs "prove that the innovative plug-in hybrid is impractical and will probably never be more than a niche product,"
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  • The Volt demonstrates to consumers that the "reinvented company is capable of producing a high-tech, fuel-efficient car," and the Volt's technology "will almost certainly find its way into" other cars in GM's lineup.
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    This article is about a car made by General Motors. The company have, if we look at this as in the way that the car will never be profitable, made a huge mistake of miscalculating the costs and profits earned from the car. But if we look at it as if the car would be profitable, they might have thought of making a good car that will sell easily. It is a car that is environmental friendly, and this will affect the cars coming up in the same series. It will then be more of a long-run investment.
Haydn W

BBC News - Royal Mail 'confident' after revenues rise - 0 views

  • Royal Mail 'confident' after revenues rise
  • Royal Mail has said it is "confident" about hitting its targets after posting a 2% rise in like-for-like revenues in the nine months to 29 December.
  • Parcel deliveries accounted for 51% of revenues, and chief executive Moya Greene said the firm handled 115 million parcels in December.
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  • The postal service was privatised in October 2013.
  • Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said the update was "perfectly acceptable".
  • She said the company's European parcels business was doing well after exploiting "growth opportunities in the eurozone". Letter revenue fell by 3% on a like-for-like basis, the company said, as the impact of London 2012 collectable stamp sales waned.
  • Shares in Royal Mail closed down 2.6% at 572.5p, against a flotation price in October of 330p-a-share.
  • Mr Hunter said Royal Mail's shares had had a "very strong run" since October but that it may struggle to make "further meaningful progress" in the shorter term. The company was "simply a hold" for investors, he said.
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    This article from the BBC News website details how Royal Mail, the recently privatised public service has seen a 2% increase in revenues. Th controversial move triggered widespread uproar from opponents and share prices rose rapidly above the target when the company was floated in October 2013. This article shows that despite the move the firm has continued to make money and appears to be in no immediate danger.
Yassine G

BBC News - Four merged 'super colleges' launch - 1 views

  • the mergers could save £50m a year.
  • will provide a real stimulus for economic growth
  • In the short term, the changes will have a limited impact
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    This article is about colleges merge ring. you can see that it is very similar to businesses merge ring. The cost will be cut and performance will be better. The article also shows that the impact i the short run will not be big, however, it i will start to show in the long run. this is exactly the case with any other merger of any type of business. 
Haydn W

The Motorship - Shipbuilding competition promotes efficient working - 0 views

  • In order to compete in a crowded market, efficiency is the key to success in shipbuilding
  • We spoke to Malaysian offshore specialist shipyard Shin Yang Shipbuilding to see how the company was faring in difficult times.
  • Our recent orders over the past few years have come from returning customers in UAE and Malaysia.
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  • We are looking at downsizing our present build capacity and to keep a lean workforce.
  • The speculative market is not looking positive right now due to Chinese yards churning out huge numbers of OSVs, with brokers trying to capitalise on the competitive vessel price and flexible payment and finance terms offered by these Chinese yards.
  • I don’t have a strong view at this stage as market prices are predominantly controlled by brokers and the bigger shipyards which monopolise the global market, and affected by growing regulatory pressures on safety and energy efficiency.
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    This article details how competition in the shipbuilding market is promoting firms to strive to be both market and energy efficient. The article relates to the economic concepts of market efficiency and theories of competition and monopoly. It also briefly relates to the concepts of externalities of production too, discussing measures imposed by governments like fuel sulphur limits.
Amanda Anna G

Centre for Policy Studies: Productivity is Key to Securing UK's Economic Recovery - 1 views

  • Centre for Policy Studies: Productivity is Key to Securing UK's Economic Recovery
  • Yesterday saw the release of another good set of jobs figures. Employment rose and youth unemployment and long term unemployment fell. Nevertheless, to secure the recovery and generate sustainable real wage rises, we need to break the decade long stagnation in productivity which is holding back our economy.
  • These increases in employment and hours worked have been crucial in restoring economic growth.
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  • However, at some point the gains to be made from increasing the number of workers and increasing the number of hours will diminish. Education and welfare reforms combined with more robust growth in aggregate demand will cause the pool of available workers to shrink. When we reach that point, productivity will need to rise to support output growth and real wage rises.
  • Weak demand and labour hoarding have often been cited as the causes for this sustained weakness. However, stronger growth in demand in 2013 has not led to significant increases in output per hour. Rising aggregate demand must surely lead to some increases in productivity over time but it is clear that other structural reasons are holding back productivity growth.
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    This article discusses how to secure the UK's economic recovery. It is suggested that increase in employment and hours worked could restore economic growth. At some point, this increase will diminish due to growth in the aggregate demand combined with education and welfare reforms that results in a decrease in the available workers. However, it is argued that rising aggregate demand would lead to increase in the productively over time, but other reasons are holding back productivity growth. 
Pietro AA

Analysis: Energy costs keep Japan's focus on nuclear, despite risks and use of renewabl... - 0 views

    • Pietro AA
       
      Other scarse vaariables introduced: time and technology
    • Pietro AA
       
      safety is a desire of most men and it is also not infitite therefore it is scarse.
  • ctions take about six months for each reactor, and obtaining con
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    • Pietro AA
       
      a conflict between the scarsity of safety and scarsity of energy
    • Pietro AA
       
      a conflict between the scarsity of safety and scarsity of energy
  • Energy costs keep Japan's focus on nuclear, despite risks and use of renewables
  • other plants remained closed for intensified safety checks
  • The issue is cost, and to a lesser extent, concern over a resurgence in climate-changing carbon emissions due to increased use of coal and oil to generate power. Clean energy still only accounts for 10 percent of total consumption — most of it hydropower. Much of the new capacity approved has yet to come online.
  • nuclear power remains essential, even with a surge in generation capacity from solar, wind and other renewable sources, and that the world's No. 3 economy cannot afford the mounting costs from importing gas and oil.
  • Japan has managed to avoid power rationing and blackouts. Industries have moved aggressively to avoid disruptions by installing backup generators and shifting to new sources, such as solar power.
  • households no
  • paying 30 percent more for electricity than before, with more rate hikes to come.
  • prompted a rethink of plans to raise nuclear capacity from one-third to over half of total demand.
  • Reliance on imported oil and gas has surged from about 60 percent of energy consumption to about 85 percent.
  • The recent weakening of the Japanese yen has added to the burden on the economy from oil and gas imports.
  • Abe and others in favor of resuming nuclear power contend that renewable energy is too expensive and unreliable — wind doesn't always blow, the sun doesn't always shine.
  • Apart from those issues, national security requires that Japan retain some self-sufficiency
  • Local communities are divided: many have relied heavily on nuclear plants for jobs and tax revenues, but worry over potential risks.
  • hat there's a huge opportunity in power
  • We're also seeing radical efficiency gains.
  • he disposal and security of nuclear waste are issues yet to be resolved.
  • For now, however, it appears any phase-out of nuclear power will be very gradual.
  • "In the long term if we can create new resources that are more efficient than the current oil-based system, then we can rely less on nuclear power, that's quite possible," Adachi said. "But it will take quite a long time."
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    This article shows how, since the meltdown of the Fukushima plant in 2011, the "want" of security (which is scarce) increased and gave energy problems to the country (energy is one of the most important scarce resources . Japan finds itself making decisions limited by the scarcity of energy, safety, time and technology. Should it take risks and stop spending money? Should it keep everybody safe and just go for the hydrocarbur plants? Should it simply invest on renewable energy plants? Should it take time and reaserch   Pietro
Amanda Anna G

Air pollution a leading cause of cancer - U.N. agency | Reuters - 0 views

  • The air we breathe is laced with cancer-causing substances and is being officially classified as carcinogenic to humans, the World Health Organization's cancer agency said on Thursday.
  • Air pollution, mostly caused by transport, power generation, industrial or agricultural emissions and residential heating and cooking, is already known to raise risks for a wide range of illnesses including respiratory and heart diseases.
  • Research suggests that exposure levels have risen significantly in some parts of the world, particularly countries with large populations going through rapid industrialization, such as China.
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    This article relates to externalities of production, since air pollution caused by industries and transport emissions is classified to be carcinogenic to humans and raises the risk for illness. The harmful effect the industries make, causes a negative externality upon the third party- the society breathing in polluted air, who indirectly receives an extra cost by the pollution.
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    This article states that air pollution is the main cause of cancer. In terms of economics, this means that it is an external cost of production received in consumption - as the process of recovering from cancer is very costly.
Yassine G

The End Of Elastic Oil - Forbes - 1 views

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    This is a very interesting article that really helps understand this topic in depth and with real examples. Oil market is one of the largest in the world, this article talks about elasticity of demand and supply in this market. There is an explanation on the effects of different factors that determine the elasticity and what they do for this market. 
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    Although there are discovered new sources of oil (e.g. in Saudi Arabia), the suppliers have to drill deeper which is time-consuming and therefore the costs of production rise. 'In economic terms, the oil supply is becoming less elastic as new oil supplies come increasingly from unconventional oil.'
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