Group items tagged

This article is talking about how the result of the presidential election effect the health care. Mitt Romney will probably end the health care whereas Obama will absolutely keep it. Health care is a public good, it has positive externality and should be encouraged. However, the cost of providing health care is very high. According to the article, 'Affordable Care Act won't be fully in place until 2014'. Two candidates has different solutions. Obama choose to keep it, and Romney choose to end it due to the high cost. From this article we can see the limitation of government intervention of economy, and how different parties and people have different opinions.

This article is interesting because it is quite important in terms of the impact it could have on the U.S. India is one of very few countries near the Middle East that is "stable" at the moment, and the U.S. as a country imports quite a bit of its oil from the Middle East. This is very closely related to what we have been studying this week, in that when something is scarce, or demand is high, prices elevate. Not only is it a good decision on India's part to raise prices because it will help their own national fiscal rating, but it will also take advantage of the fact that many countries will begin turning to them as a primary source of oil / diesel until the situations in the arab spring are resolved. India is doing a smart thing fiscally, while capitalizing on unrest in the arab spring and maximizing their profit during this time of high interest in the good that they have to offer.

This article is about how consumers are not willing to buy 3-D TVs because of its high cost. The cost of the TVs are not the only problem; the cable package, the 3-D Blu-ray player, the DVDs, and even the cost of the glasses all add up together.

Since our topic this week is on exchange rates i thought it would be a good time to address a topic of interest to me - virtual money. the bitcoin is accepted as a form of currency by many and from the article, we can deduce that it has a high exchange rate. A norwegian man had bout $27 worth of bitcoins which now translates to $886,000. this value and exchange rate is un-paramounted and extremely high but there are reasons for this. Bitcoins are now being used as a form of currency for illegal trading - forged documentation serving as an example. This increase in demand has lead to appreciation for the value however many countries are just starting to recognise the bitcoins currency value. many owners are just starting to accept bitcoins as a form of payment in the hopes that it can appreciate and they can sell it for more in the future. However in the article we get an understanding that the bitcoin fluctuates greatly. This detracts consumer confidence however the sheer idea of investing in virtual money is enticing to many, increasing the demand for the bitcoin.

This article is about high rice subsidies in Thailand. The subsidies are so high, they are hindering international rice exports.The US is challenging Thailand over its high subsidies, claiming that Thailand is violating regulations put into place by the WTO.

This article discusses the upcoming general election in Ghana and one specific policy at stake: the government funding of education. Much debate has occurred over this idea, and one policy, Senior High School (SHS), aims to immediately begin funding of Senior High School education, while another will hold off government funding until the year 2032. The writer of this article expresses his belief that public education is a public good and therefore the government has the responsibility to provide it free of charge. The sooner public education is provided to children, the sooner the society will develop and become more equal as a result.

Gas prices in California have soared to over $5 a barrel in recent weeks. This causes everyone to feel pain at the pump and try to fill up fewer than they have in the past. However, people cannot live without gas, and thus the gas industry has not suffered.

This article is very fascinating, it is about miners protesting for larger wages and from this, the effect of their actions which have now made the cost for platinum higher.

As a result of refinery troubles in Southern California, gas prices have hit record highs (some parts of L.A. reaching 5 dollars for a gallon of gas). The demand for gas remains constant (people in L.A. have a strange affinity with their cars) however, the demand has dropped around 2.5%. People have been griping about the price increases, but as people cannot live without their cars, they have no choice but to deal with it. The supply is limited and therefore the price increases.

Rice to Rally as Global Demand, Thai Buying Stoke Increased Export Prices

This article talked about the life of Chinese factory workers. Despite the harsh working conditions, the workers don't strike. This reminded me of demand in many different ways. 1) The demand for food will always be high because it is essential to life. The price that these people have to pay is working past the legal hours, living in unfavorable conditions, and working in unsafe factory floors. 2) The high demand for cheap products increases the demand for workers who are willing to work for under the minimum wage. This article taught me the relation between the price of a product and the wage of a worker.

This is an article that looks into the negative effects of expensive medical school. If medical school is expensive, than fewer people are inclined to go to medical school. If fewer people go to medical school, than there are fewer doctors and nurses to attend to sick people. If there are fewer people who can attend to sick people, than the sick people stay sick. The list goes on.

I also worked on this topic as my part of my IA commentary. This article from the NY times explains the rising power of certain beer companies that have acquired a large amount of the market. This, according to the article, has created a sort of oligopoly. Monopolies and oligopolies are severely watched by the government because they do not want only a few companies to dominate the market. In the article they explain that these oligopolies are testing the presidents tolerance.

The article is talking about some giant beer companies that merged together but had some issues with price decisions because the prices were too high for consumers and they were not able to afford the prices. Even though it was hard to agree for each company the high prices encouraged them for competition and the industry got better. On the other hand the rising prices also pushed companies for oligopoly because as they come together pricing strategies, the division of labour would be easier and more effective.

This article discusses the common trade-off between unemployment and inflation. In Europe, the Central Bank is expected to lower interest rates, a monetary policy strategy, in order to aid with the current issue of low inflation and high unemployment. Decreasing interest rates has the general effect of increasing Aggregate Demand in an economy, and according to the relationship between these two aspects of macroeconomics this increase is likely to increase inflation while also reduce unemployment as real output increases.

The demand for the iPhone 5 is ridiculously high. With people camping outside the Apple store to get it before the stocks get over. The Apple store had changed the shipping estimate to two to three weeks. People who managed to submit their orders early were told they would receive their phones on Sept. 21, the day the iPhone 5 is officially available. That change in delivery times is a sign that Apple's online store burned through its initial inventory quickly, forcing customers who ordered later to wait.

This article talks about an earthquake and the lack of water available.This article essentially talks about how the demand for water was high but the price remained therefore people with more use for the water werent able to get the resource; it; some needed it for baby formula whilst others for cleaning dishes. The writer argues that if the price of the water was raised, as it was scarce, then people with higher priorities wouldn't mind spending the extra money. Economist Eric Cramption then dismisses an argument against price allocating resources; the poor would get poorer. . 

This article talks about how optimism in the Bitcoin from China has led to investment in it, which leads to a higher demand and higher value.

This article is interesting because it provides a new viewpoint on the concept of inequality and its role in the economy. Unfortunately this is an article that is an opinion and therefore may not be completely reputable

This really short article, i think, represents the real world problems of price marketing on a global scale. There is a bit of tension between two country's, West Benegal and India, over the price of coal. India is not cooperating with their usual partner to lower the price, and Benegal thinks that the importing cost is insanely high, thus we have a bit of a problem.

Denmark has introduced what is believed to be the world's first fat tax - a surcharge on foods that are high in saturated fat. This article is an example of normative economic reasoning as the governments have a goal to improve the country's health which would lead to a better economy.