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Monique T

Hunger in North Korea: Let them eat maize husks | The Economist - 4 views

  • exaggerating its troubles for political gain
  • North Korea’s food needs has long been a politicised business
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    This article demonstrates the scarcity facing the food supply of people in North Korea. Although we would normally expect food scarcity because of, for example, a natural disaster, the food scarcity experienced by the people in North Korea is not only because of a lack of food being made... It is scarce because the government is preventing the supply of food from getting to the people, creating a greater demand than supply. Food is a limited resource, but the problem of scarcity in this part of the world is because of political reasons in addition to natural.
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    It's really disturbing to read this. When we're working towards satisfying as many wants as we have, some people don't even get what they need.
Olachi Nwabuikwu

BBC News - Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths - 2 views

  • "In total, 4 million people are in crisis in Somalia, with 750,000 people at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response,"
  • 'Not short-term'
  • "Even if we are able to get food and supplies to the main ports of Somalia, I think there is a real challenge in being able to deliver that assistance - what I call the 'last-mile' problem.
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    Now for Somalian citizens who are faced with a compulsory pattern of living with famine, scarcity can be thought as not invited but already a citizen, despite the environmental constraints of hydro climatically-induced water scarcity and the considerable fluctuations which characterize the natural freshwater supply supposed to exist; a water-stress routine is now an impact on the responsibility of improved water supply for self-sufficient crop production (resulting in lack of food and crop production) as well as the number of these Somalian individuals desperately depending on any flow unit of water available to them from the water cycle. Sadly as stated it is not of a short term crisis but if seen in a medium-term-perspective, water may not be readily available to support improved life quality for this growing African population, so the economy therefore is faced with a great deal of scarcity without knowing what to do about it.
Katrina D

The soul-destroying search for a family doctor - 2 views

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    This piece by The Globe and Mail outlines Canada's ongoing shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly family doctors. Although it doesn't address economics directly, this article applies to our topic because doctors are considered a 'service', and thus not having enough of them is a scarcity within Canada's economy. The author talks about how difficult it is to find a regular family doctor in her area. According to her, there are actual business dedicated to helping people locate doctors. At the end of the article, statistics reveal that this is a normal problem occuring in a large part of Canadians. There is actually also a major shortage of healthcare professionals in developing areas such as Africa, where there aren't even suitable medical locations in the case of an emergency. **By the way: I apologize for my lack of tags other than 'scarcity'... I accidentally posted the article before tagging anything else! **I fixed the tags... finally figured out how, woohoo!!
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    This is a great example of scarcity, and even opportunity cost. These doctors are somewhat of a luxury, and although they are a need, the scarcity makes them a reasonable want as well. Scarcity may have largely negative repercussions, yet there is an occasional positive outcome for some unit in an economy. It's certainly beneficial to the other businesses (helping to locate doctors) that have evolved from this problem, and those companies are profiting from a Nation's scarcity.
Desmond M

AP IMPACT: Hospital drug shortages deadly, costly - 2 views

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    This demonstrates scarcity by showing that a shortage of drugs, caused by manufacturing problems, is causing high markups from secondary suppliers. 
  • ...1 more comment...
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    I never thought how the shortage of drugs could be so impacting because companies are always producing drugs and we never think how it could affect our lives without them. I has to make you think how different our lives would be without modern medicine.
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    I recently heard about a similar issue in Canada and I assume the same problem is occurring elsewhere... Drug companies have decided to switch their focus to more expensive drugs, such as cancer treatment drugs, because they can make so much more money on them. At the same time, they are reducing production of the cheaper drugs because of the low profit margin, even though these drugs may be essential in saving people's lives. The scarcity of the drugs for the people who need them could be easily fixed, but is being prevented due to the greed of large corporations.
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    It's really unfortunate how so many individual events, such as stolen goods or contaminated drugs, have lead to so much suffering. The market is the big, but (as the article says) there are only about a half-dozen companies that produce these drugs, and so when there is one little problem, it quickly becomes something much bigger. It isn't just one reason, this article otulines several, all of which are wreaking havoc on patients and the healthcare system as a whole. Clearly, pharmacists are scrambling to provide for their patients. Hopefully, this shortage doesn't lead to illegal imports or other bad things that can occur when people are desperate.
Katie Edwards

How Energy Drains Water Supplies - NYTimes.com - 1 views

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    This article outlines how dependent energy sources are on water. The wants and needs for water resources are increasing worldwide, and this could become a problem to power plants, hydroelectric facilities, and other major sources of global water supply.
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    Aha! Scarcity of water supply, and it's a need. It is really important for us, human beings to know the importance of preserving the environment!
Simon F

Scarcity Definition - 0 views

    • Simon F
       
      Good definition of scarcity
Sebastian van Winkel

Water scarcity 'now bigger threat than financial crisis' - 0 views

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    By 2030, more than half the world's population will live in high-risk areas By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor Humanity is facing "water bankruptcy" as a result of a crisis even greater than the financial meltdown now destabilising the global economy, two authoritative new reports show.
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    This seems like a big issue that will unfold during our generation. In Canada, we have one of the world's largest fresh water supplies, and that will be an important resource for our country moving into the future. But even with such a large supply, it is still a very scarce resource. Last year I visited a museum exhibit on the world's water supply, and it demonstrated the amount of water usage per capita in places around the world... In North America, we were using around ten times more water per day than people in Africa. This demonstrated the availability around the world affecting people's usage, but even in places where water is abundant, if we use too much it can still run out, so we need to be careful in everything we do.
Adam C

The end of food - CBC News - 2 views

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    As world worries grow about a crash in the system, this article looks at some of the current issues involving the depletion of food in North America. We have already seen the severe consequences of scarcity (in terms of food) in Eastern Africa with the current famine. Certain steps will need to be taken to make sure that the same this doesn't happen in North America
Markus O

Northeast farmers warn of Irene pumpkin shortage - 3 views

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    The article discusses a pumpkin shortage due to a natural disaster, hurricane Irene, that has destroyed crops such as these pumpkins, in the US. It demonstrates scarcity since the quantity of the resource provided is not meeting the wants of people for the product. For one, prices are rising sky high as a result, and some people who would be willing to buy cannot even get the product.
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    oh no! I'm gonna need my jack-o-lantern!
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    I never even thought about how Irene might have affecting something so many of us take for granted seasonally. The hurricane created a sort of chain reaction, ending with some very lame Halloween decorations :( If there are a shortage of pumpkins this year, I wonder if the lack of seeds will mean that future seasons will have low yieldings of pumpkins?
Amy X

China's economic outlook remains positive - 0 views

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    It is clearly stated at about the first line that China is facing pressure to increase prices, Because of scarcity of sources the prices are going up even though it is only the short term and the long term remain positive, it is still something we need to think about. Countries such as Japan has less resources therefore all of their resources are imported, thats why the price in Japan is so high. the article says that China should prevent the rapid growth in order to not having another economic crisis.
Tim O

UK industry on the defence - 2 views

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    This video talks about how after the economic crisis a company located in England called BAE, the world's second largest military defense company who employs more than 40,000 people, talks about opportunity cost because of the resent cut backs in their contract. It talks about how England is trying to become more reliant on industry instead of finance. Lastly, it talks about the companies cuts from the government and job security because local governments have cut their spending with BAE, they are spending their money to invest into their own economy. Finally, I think it relates to scarcity because money itself is scare and government have to decide how to spend it efficiently.
Mirren M

FAO working on African agriculture - 1 views

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    This news article is basically concerning the issue of scarcity of natural resources in Africa. We are all well aware that the continent is undergoing an adaptation period with the ongoing climate change and this affects the agricultural aspect of the entire continent (more so in the rural areas). The article talks about the steps that are intended to be taken to withstand the impact of the change in climate and its effects on resources.
Hannah S

Scarcity for thee but not for me - 1 views

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    This article talks about how putting taxes for fossil fuels may help to reduce the the consumption of fossil fuels. This is necessary because fossil fuels are become very scarce and we are running out of them as they are a non-renewable energy source. However, not everyone wants the tax to go up as this would mean increased spending when they cannot afford to do this. Many energy companies will be able to push this increase of tax onto the consumer as it is an inelastic product and the demand will not decrease much if the price is increased.
Lucas G

Petrol price closes in on record high - Business News | IOL Business | IOL.co.za - 1 views

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    This article is concerned with a very clear case of a resource's scarcity, and one that affects us all. Oil prices have been climbing dramatically recently, due to the fact that there isn't enough of the scarce resource to satisfy the unlimited wants that we have for it.
Robert A

Crowded out - 0 views

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    This article talks about the rising prices of commodities due to the aggressive and proactive economic policy of China. With the surge in Chinese purchases of commodities such as iron ore and oil, a huge demand has been created in the commodity markets, which were previously unprecedented. The sluggish reactions to the commodity demand,due to archaic infrastructure and depleted resources, have lead to a substantial spike in the prices of commodities. I personally believe that the massive purchases of resources by China is leading to a bubble in the commodity markets. As said in the article Iron ore was once 13$ a tonne in 2001, and now is 178$ a tonne. Although some might say that the rise in prices are a corollary to the rise of China as a economic power, I do not believe the mass consumption of commodities can be sustained over time.
Monique T

Home shopping goes high end - Jul. 19, 2011 - 2 views

  • white ones.
    • Lola Z
       
      Value of the white ones is the opportunity cost.
    • Lola Z
       
      Human wants are unlimited. Ladies always want more fancy jewelries. 
    • Lola Z
       
      Human wants are unlimited. Ladies always want more fancy jewelries. 
  • everyone wants to be at the party." 
    • Lola Z
       
      Once again, this shows that human wants are unlimited.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • "The recession may be the best thing that happened to the home shopping networks because designers needed new outlets to offer more affordable prices," said Jack Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research.
  • By selling directly to the consumer, shopping channels eliminate the steep mark-ups taken at boutiques and department stores and offer more competitive pricing, said Plunkett.
    • Lola Z
       
      Opportunity cost for customers is that the convenience of going to shops to see the real goods and try them on.
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    Not only is there an opportunity cost for the designer, but the people spending this money on the jewelry have the opportunity cost for other large items - such as a vacation or new computer!
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    I commented on this article, and now on my screen above it says shared by Monique T... just to clarify, Lola posted the article, not me.
Dan Call

Demand - 2 views

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    This is an article from China earlier in the year, talking about how the demand for gold related items has grown rapidly over a short period of time. It is obviously very relevant to the topic this week as it talks about the markets demand for a scarce product, which will have a big impact on the product supply & demand curve.
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