Group items tagged

Economies of scale is the increase in efficiency as a company gets bigger. In this case the economy of scale is the creation of larger shipping containers. The great thing about scales of economy is that it has lowered the production cost of products such as the creation of t- shirts for some companies. However as companies have more products to they needed bigger containers to transport their goods. As the supple of t- shirts increases the size of the ship that transports the goods needs to increase in size as well. Maersk lines , the world's biggest shipping container company has decided to increase the size of his ships. The company plans to build 20 ships with a capacity of carrying 18,000 twenty-foot equal units. The company does this out of efficeny in transportation and gas cost. The larger the ship the more it can carry and the less times the ship will have to travel back and forth to transport goods. The increase in ship size than is an example of the economies of scale when bigger = more efficient.

This article discusses how oil is becoming an inelastic good. Although people can arrange their lives to reduce their consumption of oil, quickly there comes a point where it is not possible to purchase a smaller amount of oil. Oil would definitely be considered an essential good.

The article evaluates elasticity in terms of oil supply and demand. it states that there are still untapped oil reserves which are more expensive to obtain and requires more time. As a result, oil is becoming less elastic. it talks of possible ways of reducing oil consumption such as public transport or getting a more fuel efficient vehicle which is unlikely as it is expensive. it also evaluates the the elasticity of supply. it talks off how suppliers need a minimum price/barrel in order to keep a balanced budget so suppliers are reluctant in increasing supply in order to reduced the prices. It provides data over a 10year time period which analyses the oil consumption and supply of oil in terms of different uses and change in costs. It also relates it to the recession stating that job loss has lead to less people commuting decreasing demand and increasing price

When it comes to the reasons of deflation most of the economists see it as a monetary phenomenon which is affected by demand and supply. If the supply of money is more than demand then the value of money increases and prices go up as a consequence. When the supply of the products are higher than demand it results with the mass production which leads to the fall of prices. Some people believe that the deflation occurs because of the mass production and falling the aggregate level of demand. The biggest effect of deflation is unemployement. Deefletion is more serious and dfficult than inflation. To prevent deflation first is give an upward push to the aggreagte demand by increasing government spending or the second they can increase the money supply by decreasing cash reverse ratio.

When it comes to the deflation some of the economists believe that it is a monetary phenomenon which is affected by supply and demand. The reasons that leads to deflation are if supply of money is less than its demand than the value of money increases and the prices would go up. If the supply of the product is more tha its demand then it will lead to the mass production which the large amount of products will lead the prices to fall immidietly. The biggest effect of deflation is unempoyment. Deflation is more diffucult and serious than inflation. To prevent deflation first give an upward push to the aggregate demand by increasing government spending or the secong they can increase the money supply by decreasing cash reserve ratio.

This article talks about how Fresno's supply of the raw material required to make concrete, asphalt, road base and other building products is decreasing quickly. Since this raw material is used by a majority of industries, the decreased supply will have a significant effect.

This article is about how the aggregate supply in Fresno County is reducing due to the lack of reserves of raw materials such as mines. The aggregate reserves is less than 11 percent of the 50 year demand, and mining operations are estimated to have less than 10 years to end. If mines can run out, so can oil and gas. We should be alarmed that our aggregate supply of country might also decrease due to lack of oil.

The article is talking about the federal government which has shut down today because of an impasse over the budge and in two weeks, the nation is set to hit its borrowing limit.The major problem in the articles is that there is an oversupply of global labor, an oversupply of global productive capacity and an oversupply of global capital. The jobs created low wages and part time. Growth in domestic manufacturing is still slow which will prevent the development of a country in their own production and prevent the large amount of profit they will get as a result of the domestic production.Business spending has fallen, rents of the houses falling where home prices have increased. The reason why its hard to get out from the rut is because they are no longer faced with a world in which supply-side economic remedies, easy money, reduced taxation, fiscal belt-tightening and deregulation can spur new capacity and the creation of well-paying private sector jobs.Countries that were recently poor find themselves with huge surpluses and sovereign wealth funds. The rich countries of the world, while still rich, struggle with monumental levels of debt, both private and public, and unsettling questions about whether they can compete globally.Also to clear this mess,developed nations need to put the huge surplus of underemployed workers back to work by any means, including big public sector investments to improve infrastructure and competitiveness.Moreover, a new economic multilateral ism with the developing world, to encourage them to re balance their economics away from savings and toward consumption, while we in the West must curb our addiction to credit and consumption is necessary.

Education is both a public good and a private good. A public good is defined by two characteristics: non-excludability and non-rivalry. Public goods are for everyone and there is no competition for the good. Most people believe that a higher education is a pure public good but it is not. Society benefits when people get a higher. education. Statistically people with a college education tend to be more active citizens and their volunteering.with their volunteering and other activities benefiting those around them. Also statistics have shown that more new products and services are available to society because of the contributions of college graduates. These are the positive externalities of education. The negative aspect of education is  that even though the benefits of higher education are shared the costs for higher education are not shared. A higher education benefits society but the cost of a higher education proves a problem for those that want a higher education. Students themselves do reap some benefits: they are likely to be better off- both financially and otherwise-than their compatriots who do not go to college. However, students do not benefit as much as society. Therefore education is both a private and a public good.

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 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 interesting because it talks about the chain affect of low supply. The articles talks about how the global failure to harvest maize and soya is causing the supply of pig-feed to be low. This causes the price of pig feed to increase and makes it hard for farmers to continually purchase it. This isn't only affecting the farmers, but it is affecting the public. Farmers can't maintain healthy pigs so the supply of pork and ham decreases, which causes the price to increase. This means people aren't as willing to buy pork and ham. The competition between the large amounts of farmers also doesn't help the supply of pig-feed.

Money has become virtual with the introduction of virtual currencies such as bitcoin and ripple. Through sites such as bitcoin and ripple, which were the forerunners for online currencies, people can invest, transfer and convert money on the web with ease. It is simple and efficient. It is similare to an online bank. Bitcoin producer states that he made bitcoin to provide a more efficient "way to send money around the world". True to his word, it is efficient. A person interested in sending money online can open a bitcoin account. The individual would than transfer the amount of money he/she wishes to send to his account and send it to the designated individual person or place. Of course this transaction is not free, it requires bitcoins. A bitcoin is essentially 1/1000 of a penny. Amazing right. However, virtual currency is not real. If the police and government decide to crack down , the system will have to shut down. But for the most part, it seems they dont have the intention to.

Money has become virtual with the introduction of virtual currencies such as bitcoin and ripple. Through sites such as bitcoin and ripple, which were the forerunners for online currencies, people can invest, transfer and convert money on the web with ease. It is simple and efficient. It is similare to an online bank. Bitcoin producer states that he made bitcoin to provide a more efficient "way to send money around the world". True to his word, it is efficient. A person interested in sending money online can open a bitcoin account. The individual would than transfer the amount of money he/she wishes to send to his account and send it to the designated individual person or place. Of course this transaction is not free, it requires bitcoins. A bitcoin is essentially 1/1000 of a penny. Amazing right. However, virtual currency is not real. If the police and government decide to crack down , the system will have to shut down. But for the most part, it seems they dont have the intention to.

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 talks about the support the cable oligopoly is getting from the government. Apple is trying to enter the oligopoly, but the government is not allowing them to because they want to maintain the oligopoly. They don't want Apple taking a lot of the demand from other companies. Also, innovations have been lacking in cable TV and they don't want Apple to change that and cause price and demand shifts. 

This article is particularly relevant due to the fact that it has a strong example of an oligopoly and it illustrates the barriers of entry of one

This article discusses the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. It states that when this merger is completed, they will then have the control of 75% of the market, making the market an oligopoly. This decision is met with skepticism, with the constant question being asked "So I'll ask again, is there one, just one, example of deregulation working in consumers' favor?" It brings in the opinion of a Harvard professor who states that we have been enjoying low fares for years now.

This article is a great example of government intervention into the market of public goods. This article details the rather controversial plan of President Obama to cut $487 billion dollars over the next decade, with the possibility of an additional $500 billion dollars of cuts if Congress agrees, which will most likely never happen.

This article talks about the organic milk shortages, that farmers can't buy enough food to feed their caws because the price for their food has been increased, as a result they give less nutrition to their caws and get less milk. But demand for organic milk is still high and in the article they will some suggestions how to solve that problem.

The demand for organic milk is greater than supply because the production cost of creating organic milk is greater than the revenue. The reason for the shortage is that the cost of organic grain and hay has gone up but the price farmers receive for milk has not. As a result farmers buy less grain and hay which lowers the production of milk. The low supply of organic milk than in turn increases the overall price. The solution for this issue would be to increase the price of income the farmers would receive for their milk. If the solution were applied, the farmers would pay more for organic grain and more milk would be produced and consumers would be satisfied.

Recent data published in a report shows how increasing climate change over the next several years will affect the melting of glaciers in the Himilayas. It is estimated that, at the current rate of change, by the year 2035 the glaciers will have disappeared entirely. This could worsen an already serious problem of water scarcity in the area, where a lack of drinking water and the means necessary to distribute what little water is present cannot meet the demands of local inhabitants; over 1.5 billion of them.

I think people understand the issue of glaciers, but they don't understand how important it is to act. People don't often think of glaciers as a source of water, but melting glaciers really does affect the amount of potential drinking water especially for inhabitants around the Himilayas.

I agree with Landon. Everyone acknowledges that melting glaciers are a big problem, but no one fully understands what the potential consequences are. For me, it's hard to take action because the problem seems so far away.

This article shows the initial stage of something that will have a snowball effect of sorts in terms of the relation between supply and demand. We can see that the yearly economic losses as a result of this shortage amounted to $50bn, meaning that companies and fisheries will attempt to compensate for these losses by raising prices in the future. It is a great example of the relation between supply, demand, and pricing. 

This article talks about eradicating extreme poverty, one of the Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, 1.2billion people in the world live in extreme poverty, which is unacceptable. McConnell attributes most of this unfortunate predicament to unstable and fragile political governments, where members of society are continually sieged in turmoil. Although one of the Millennium Goals have been achieved early, elimination of extreme hunger, poverty is still a perpetual and prevalent issue that the USAID plans to rigorously tackle.

This article is related to the holy month of ramadan. In the holt month or Ramadan, a lot of households do indeed cook more than they need and distribute the excess food to poor people. therefore this increase in demand may cause companies to hike the prices of essential food items such as vegetables so the UAE government is looking to create a mechanism for controlling the prices of essential foods, by probably placing a maximum price