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Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988. Eight years later, after serving a term as President George H.W. Bush's housing secretary, he made it onto the GOP's national ticket as Bob Dole's running mate. With that loss, the Republican no longer ran for office, but he stayed in politics. In speaking engagements and a syndicated column, he continued to advocate for the tax reform and supply-side policies -- the idea that the more taxes are cut, the more the economy will grow -- that he pioneered. He also formed a Washington strategic consulting firm, Kemp Partners, after leaving office.

The governor of the New Zealand central bank said monetary policy would continue to focus on medium term inflation pressures and would be used if they rise because of high commodity prices and the exchange rate.

This article discusses how terms of trade for Australia is going to be higher in the next few years.

The article discusses price controls (ceiling prices) as a remedy for rising inflation in certain Asian economies (all above 4 %). The ceiling price was employed on food prices that were the main cause for rising inflation. The price controls were an alternative to raising interest rates which would raise the value of the local currencies by attracting foreign capital. The article discusses the feasibility of price controls as short term vs long term solutions. It states that price controls reduce incentives and efficiency in the long run by not rewarding producers appropriately. Nevertheless, they are effective in this particular case since the rise in price of food (pork rose 60 %) was mainly attributed to supply irregularities. If the price rises were caused through excessive demand, then price controls would perhaps not be as beneficial in the short run since the likelihood of a black market developing/smuggling would be much higher.

Perhaps the most striking finding in the United Nations' recent 20th anniversary "Human Development Report" is the outstanding performance of the Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Here was Tunisia, ranked sixth among 135 countries in terms of improvement in its Human Development Index, or HDI, over the previous four decades, ahead of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico and India. Not far behind was Egypt, ranked 14th. The HDI is a measure of development that captures achievements in health and education alongside economic growth. Egypt and especially Tunisia did well enough on the growth front, but where they really shone was on these broader indicators...

"Putting caps on prices is only a short-term solution" Asian countries, China, Malaysia, and the like, are reluctant to raise prices on fundamental goods such as food and petrol. This allows the people of the country to have access to cheap petrol and thus more motivation for actions which lead to economic growth using petrol. Although the price caps seem beneficial for the country, that is only true in the short run. In the long run, the price caps will increase consumption in the country, and thus increase the demand for more crude oil from abroad which will lead to a rise in global prices of crude oil. Thus, looking ahead, it is for their own sakes that Asian countries should cut down on their price controls on such goods.

This article talks about the UK government setting a minimum wage which probably will create unemployment as we read in the weekly reading activities.

The article quantifies the external costs of smoking in addition to the private costs imposed upon the smoker. It cites a cost of $150 for cleaning costs (for cars dirtied by ash), with up to $1000 for high-end models. Cleaning a house plagued by smoke is estimated to cost up to $2000. This does not include the costs associated with healthcare payments that need to be paid to employees as part of coverage plans. Furthermore, it is estimated that $96.7 billion is spent on private and public healthcare pertaining to smoker-related illnesses. These negative externalities are not accounted for in the price of a pack of cigarettes (the article states a price of $4-$5 for a single pack) and thus results in an allocative inefficiency - smoking is grossly overconsumed by society.

This is a great article. It covers no only the firsthand costs of smoking, but also the long term effects on costs.

This article is about market failure and government involvement. It discusses these two economic terms briefly and offers some examples.

This article applied the concept of a labor market to baseball. It suggested that infielders are better hitter s than outfilders and explain this in economic term.

This is an article by the New York Times addressing the issue of gender equality in the job market. Married women who have children must take time off work and the employment business is harsh in terms of promotion and pay when it comes to taking time off work - naturally women are disadvantaged in our society today. The articles dives in to explore the situation.

This article talks about the long term affects of raising or lowering interest rates. This article talks about how the government can't react too much to inflation because the effects of raising or lowering interest rates may not be seen for two years.

This article talks about the Mideastern countries. Recent events have in that region have led to many short-term effects. One of those many effects is increase in government expenditure. However, the priority for the governments remains to be fiscal policy, which requires major reform to be sustainable.