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This article "Opening the flood gates" illustrates the opportunity cost in building a dam on the yangzi river. The yangzi river contains a rare fish reserve as well as farmers reaping good harvest, the dam on the river will affect the good harvest from the farmers as well threaten several endangered species.

my article

LONDON Nov 7 (Reuters) - Britain's goods trade deficit widened by more than expected in September, hit by a jump in oil imports and by weak export growth to the European Union, official data showed on Friday. This article paints a very clear picture about Britain's ever increasing manufacturing crisis. Britain has becomes a consumer nation, with little being produced that could reduce the current account deficit. The figures in the article show a continued increase in deficit which will have to lead to more borrowing to bridge the gap. To me this suggests that more has to be done to increase the balance of trade in goods through manufacturing and high end exports in goods.

This is my article for this week's topic - price controls. The article above relates to Thailand's government's attempt to control prices of goods. My write-up can be viewed here: https://pamojaeducation-com.campuspack.eu/Groups/13.Y2.ST.ODP.MAY.ECON.SL.A/Nattanopthorns_Economics_Blog/2013/11/11-2_-_Price_Control_Newsstand - Bee

The following article talks about how 2 local environmental activists Zé Cláudio Ribeiro and his wife Maria do Espirito Santo were shot outside their house by illegal loggers who were upset with them protecting the rainforest. On the same day that they were killed Brazil passed a new law making it easier for loggers, cattle farmers etc. to cut down parts of the rainforest reducing Brazil's Commons.

This article is a very good example of how the idea of scarcity exists within Chinese banks.

Sinopec profit raises directly link to the relaxation of fuel price controls. Sinopec is a government control company, which controls a great deal of the lucrative oil market. When the government eased the fuel price control, it meant that the price could be increased by the oligopoly. This allowed greater margin of profits, which will benefit Sinopec and the government in terms of taxes. The problem is that when price of fuel which is an essential inelastic commodity increases, the inflation will increase for the average consumer. The consumer will have to pay more his daily consumption, which will affect the prices of the goods and services that he is selling.

The following article discusses how the strict price controls set in the Venezuela are causing more harm then benefit. The ceiling prices are set so low that producers cannot make a profit anymore, causing a reduction of production but an increase in demand. This is causing a crisis in Venezuela where people struggle to purchase the goods which are being produced less and less due to the price controls.

Smoking is a negative externality. Children who have exposure especially to relatives who smoke will have a greater chance of childhood asthma. The smoking ban is very healthful, as it has caused a decrease in the rate of children emitted to the hospital with severe asthma. The ban on smoking in the enclosed public places has helped the children to have less health problems. The government benefits because it reduces government expenditure in the NHS, which is a public good. The statistics reflect the decrease in admission of about 6800 is a positive benefit to the public especially the young children.

A negative externality hits the society as smokers affect children giving them asthma, according to this article. This effect does not affect the cigarette companies, however, but smoking restrictions came into force in attempts of decreasing the damage it does to society.

The following article is about how the increase in gas prices has spurred violent protests around Sudan. The activists are mainly high school and college students, with one activist been killed by police. The increase in price has made gasoline not affordable for most, as prices doubled,because the government cut its subsidies for gas companies. Therefore gas in Sudan has an elastic demand, causing the increase in price to make gasoline not only not affordable, but also increasing the price of other goods,which are dependent on gasoline driven vehicles.

This article talks about how economic growth on its own is not sufficient enough to battle extreme poverty. The world bank stresses that we need to reduce poverty, at a rate of 50 million a year until 2030. As we know fiscal policies can be used to stimulate growth but this is not the only use. We can also use them to redistribute income, which is necessary in this case. Further more monetary policy is not good enough in tackling these issues directly. Dedicated government spending and tax cuts on the poor are far better fiscal policies to deal with the issue.

Week 9 - News Artcicle