Group items tagged

This article relates to government intervention in the form of increasing the minimum wage in some states. However, this increase was met with an increase in unemployment; which we also looked at. This unemployment is caused by a high price where supply is greater than demand, and the need for workers therefore decreases (increasing unemployment).

This article concerns the fact that minimum wage for the UK will be raised by 11p; an increase of 1.8% from its current level. This change will affect aggregate supply in the short run (SRAS curve); as it will effectively increase the costs of production for all the firms in the industries of the economy. The result will be a shift to the left on the SRAS model.

This is pretty neat considering it relates to people our age living in Canada (aka me!). The Canadian government, who have set a minimum wage of $9.60/h for youths and $10.50/h for those older than 18, have decided to subsidize part or all of the payroll given out by small business to their student employees. The purpose is to try and invest in student employees so that they get the work experience they need. Although not mentioned much in the article, minimum wage plays a big roll, as now it is the government paying for the wage they set themselves... perhaps there is a chance it will be changed in the future for this reason.

Minimum price controls should be imposed on alcohol and tougher drink-driving laws introduced, policy options circulated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest. Details in the global consultation process have emerged as the government is resisting demands from health professionals for alcohol to become more expensive.

The Swiss national bank (SNB) said it would "no longer tolerate" a euro rate below 1.20 francs. "The SNB will enforce this minimum rate with the utmost determination and is prepared to buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities. The massive overvaluation of the franc poses an acute threat to the Swiss economy and carries the risk of a deflationary development," it said.