...What is Economics? From my research, the definition of Economics is varied between economists. According to Adam Smith who wrote the book in 1776 entitled Wealth of Nations, Economics is a science of wealth. Another early definition is by Alfred Marshall’s in his book, the Principles of Economics. He defined economics as the study of mankind in the ordinary business of life; it examines the part of individual and social action which most closely connected with the attainment and with the use of the material requisites of well-being. But most contemporary definitions of economics involve the notions of choice and scarcity. This is how I have found Lionel Charles Robbins (22 Nov 1898 – 15 May 1984), a British economist and Head of Economics Department at the London School of Economics. His book, “Nature and Significance of Economic Science” (1932), he defined, ‘Economics is the science that studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. According to his definition, Economics focused its attention on a particular aspect of human behaviour, that is, behaviour associated with the utilization of scarce resources to achieve unlimited ends (wants). Scarcity limits us both as individuals and as a society. There are 3 main aspects in his definition, which are: 1. ‘Ends’ 2. ‘Means’ 3. ends and scarce resource provides the foundation of economics 4. ‘Scarce means have alternative uses’ 1. ‘Ends’ are the wants. Humans wants...
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...What is Economics? Economics is both a social science and a business science, and, in the broadest sense, it is concerned with understanding what economies produce, how economies produce what they produce, and who in the economy is able to access what is produced. Within economics, there are two extreme views of this understanding, although economics, as it is practiced, typically lies somewhere in between these two extremes. On one end of the spectrum, market-oriented economists assume that individuals are the most capable of deciding what is best for them, and that free and unfettered markets make available the sort of information that individuals need in order to make the correct decisions, and that those decisions, when aggregated, lead to the best outcome for the greatest number of individuals in society. On the other end of the spectrum are economists that favour hierarchical command and control. These economists tend to believe that markets are inherently incapable of providing the appropriate information to individuals, and, therefore, benevolent planners are capable of bringing about the best outcome for the greatest number of individuals in society. In reality, neither extreme is correct, as markets can fail in a number of circumstances, while the benevolence necessary for success within a planned economy is not a common human trait and often creates unintended negative consequences. With that as an introduction, it can hopefully now be understood that there is both...
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...Running head: WHAT IS ECONOMICS What Is Economics Peter Martucci University of Phoenix Prnciples of Microeconomics ECO/365 Michelle Kinnison November 11, 2013 What Is Economics Economics is the study of the production and consumption of goods and the transfer of wealth to produce and obtain those goods. In generic terms, economics is the basic fundamentals of how money exchanges make the world go around. Economics explains how people interact within markets to get what they want or accomplish certain goals. There are two main types of economics: microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics focuses on the actions of individuals and industries, like the dynamics between buyers and sellers, borrowers and lenders. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, takes a much broader view by analyzing the economic activity of an entire country or the international marketplace. In my everyday personal life, economics plays an important role with regards to a financial balance within our household. Everyday purchases such as groceries and gasoline for our vehicles are pretty simple to justify. Obviously when making purchases you want the best value for you money. But in all honesty, I am not the type of person who will drive six miles to the next gas station because I can save eight cents a gallon. When it comes down to it, making the smart purchase is wise, but time is money too. Larger purchases, such as a vehicle, or a home, take a lot more time when considering what and when to...
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...What causes socio-economic inequality? By Briana Whetston Sociology 101 – 008 Department of Accounting University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, WI 54701 What Causes Socio-economic Inequality? ABSTRACT This paper will look into the reasons of socio-economic inequality of individuals throughout society. The expansive framework of this theme is our class discussion on Stratification. Countless people think of socio-economic inequality specifically as social class. Although this is a part of it, there are many other factors such as gender and racism that contribute to this matter. Furthermore, the overall thesis for this paper is that the causes of socio-economic inequality are caused by more than solely economic factors. The arguments that will support this thesis will be: 1) Gender inequality in the workplace; 2) Discrimination towards age and race 3) Unequal access to education and power; and 4) How the social behaviors of members of society, through forms of discrimination, affect the attitudes of others. This topic has a social relevance, being that countless people around the world are affected by socio-economic inequality. I INTRODUCTION A study done on national income distribution shows that families in the top twenty percent are making 47.2 percent of the nation’s income, while the bottom twenty percent are making only 4.3 percent of it. Correspondingly, ten percent of households in the United States own 68 percent of the nation’s wealth. This proves that...
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...at the heavy cost of internal suppression of dissent. This suppression of dissent robbed Indonesia’s economy of the vitality and incentives associated with a free-market economy in which individual property owners, who in the process of seeking to accumulate wealth enrich the entire economy and create economic growth. While Indonesia has since overthrown the dictatorial government, corruption and red tape remain rife at almost all levels of government in Indonesia. A World Bank study revealed how excessive red tape in Indonesia hurts business activities: An entrepreneur in Indonesia must wait an average of 151 days to complete the necessary paperwork to start a business, compared to 30 days in Malaysia and a mere 8 days in Singapore, severely hampering the Indonesian entrepreneur’s speed and desire to participate in the economy. In turn, the excessive red tape translates into long lines of government bureaucrats, whose low salaries make it attractive for them to seek a bribe at every step of the business transaction, further distracting and detracting the entrepreneur from legitimate business pursuits. In addition to these political factors, Indonesia also suffers from economics factors that hinder growth. Indonesia’s poor infrastructure makes it difficult to conduct business: A poor infrastructure in roads signifies that it is difficult to transport goods and services to the consumers, and may even hinder export-related businesses if companies cannot ship the finished intermediary...
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...[Slide 1] Hitler’s economic policy is subject to a large debate in many different areas, and an important part of it was whether he had control over what happened, and similarly if it was coherent or not. Hitler ‘did’ potentially have control over the economy directly if he wanted to use it, instead he delegated the management of the important thing to subordinates of many different departments and offices, resulting in failure. Hitler did have control, but didn’t use it to his full extent, instead he gave brief outlines of what he wanted done to suit his economic policy. Likewise, his policies were nowhere near coherent if we look between 1933 and 1945, instead his economic policy fluctuated depending on international affairs. [Slide 2] Hitler’s economy was not planned from the start and it never was. Obviously the first steps were to recover from the wall street crash of 1929, but nothing more than that. Instead, what we saw was Hitler shaping his economic policy around the basis that foreign policy drove economy policy, and it was there to satisfy his needs of what he was doing with his military. To prove that his economic policy was not coherent we can take a look at the three main changes between 1933 and 1939, i.e. the recovery period, the rearmament period and the war period. Each is so distinct and so unlike the other that historians have branded them as different eras. In this sense, his policy was not coherent. The only thing that was however, was that it was based...
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...for assistance. It is the country’s economic system that often determines to what degree the government can provide its citizens with the needed goods and services following a natural disaster. To wonder which economic system is best suited for handling a crisis, we need to take a deeper look and see how these systems operate. First, let’s look at a Mixed Economy. In this type of system the government’s role is to help the economy prosper while at the same time protect its consumers. This protection often comes the form of financial assistance, however business are allowed, in fact they are encouraged to make a profit, even in the face of a disaster. This ensures an adequate supply of essential goods and services while preserving the profit motive. Then there is Free-Market Economy. In a free-market economic system, prices distribute resources in an efficient manner according to the law of supply and demand. In the event of a natural disaster, prices of water, food and shelter rise to accommodate the increased demand for those items. Individuals who can afford the higher prices buy the goods and services provided, unfortunately there are many people who may not be able to afford them, thus suffering for lack of goods and services they normally would have been able to afford in normal times. Now there is the communist, economic system where the government decides how much is produced, what products are produced and how products...
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...To what extent can free trade promote economic development and economic growth in LEDCs (30 marks) Trade protection is the process of erecting barriers to trade, such as taxes on imports, called tariffs, and trade liberalisation is the process of making trade free from such barriers. Free trade its natural course without tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions. Developing countries can benefit from free trade by increasing their amount of or access to economic resources. Nations usually have limited economic resources. Economic resources include land, labour and capital. Small developing nations often have the lowest amounts of natural resources in the economic marketplace. Free trade agreements ensure small nations can obtain the economic resources needed to produce consumer goods or services. This shows economic growth as there is an increase in the economy's productive potential and they can produce efficiently. However, it is argued that free trade can harm the environment because LEDC may use up natural reserves of raw materials to export. Also countries with strict pollution control may find consumers import the goods from other countries where legislation is lax and pollution is allowed. However, supporters of free trade would argue that it is up to individual countries to create environmental legislation. Free trade usually improves the quality of life. Nations can import goods that are not readily available within their borders. Importing goods may be cheaper for...
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...1. What are three economic stances that a government may have? Describe each of these stances. They may have a neutral stance or an expansionary stance or contractionary stance. A neutral stance is balance in the economy, this stance usually causes tax revenue though. An expansionary stance is basically the money its getting more than what they are receiving. So they spend it faster than they can collect it. The last stance contractionary is where the government holds the money more than spending so complete opposite from expansionary. 2. What are the four different types of economic resources? Describe each type. Land is an economic resource. Capital is as well an economic resource. Labor is another economic resource. Finally entrepreneurial ability is the last of four economic resources. Land is more natural resources that we are using like oil coal and wood kind of what the planet...
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...03/13/16 Week Eight Homework What is economic growth and how do we use GDP to measure an economy? Economic growth is measured by the value of all the products manufactured and sold in a country over the course of one year along with everything people do and get paid for. There are four categories that create GDP: consumers, investments, governmental spending and other companies that buy from another country. GDP measures income, but not equality, it measures growth, but not destruction, and it ignores values like social cohesion and the environment. However, there are countries that are trying to include social cohesion and the environment because it does have an effect on economic growth. What cause or contribute to the growth of an economy? Economic growth is measured by real GDP growth where the ability of a country to increase the value if it’s production of goods and services after removing the effects of inflation. When people earn more money they buy more products which results in economic growth. Economic growth is important for a country because it leads to a better standard of living for all its citizens, even the poor. Countries with a good economy can offer better health care services, safer working conditions and spend more on insuring a cleaner environment. Also, economic growth allows countries to reinvest money into areas that will promote future growth such as education, technology, capital and infrastructure. What is the rule of 70? The rule of 70...
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...My Goals: Go to college and study Psychology. Paying for a home and other necessities. Write a book. What economic goals do I hope to accomplish in the future? I would like to become a writer, to do this I need to have a good paying career, and to do that, I must go to college. My goals are seemingly simple, but have many steps that most don't think about. To achieve these goals I'll need to answer a few questions to create a plausible plan of action. What do I need to do currently, what needs to be done in the future, how much will this cost me, and how will I obtain the money for this goal? When aspiring towards a goal, it is necessary to have a well thought out plan and, just to be safe, a backup plan in order to achieve the desired outcome....
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...global economics. Businesses have the power to influence policies adopted that relate to engaging in trading around the globe ( Fusch, p2). The discursive power enables businesses to exert influence both in the public and in private sectors. Businesses can tailor their discursive powers to achieve diverse objectives relating to policy formulation (Fusch, p26) There are enormous changes in the global intellectual property regime that give the businesses a leeway to actively engage in international economics negotiations. The liberalization of knowledge through relaxed protection of the intellectual property works to the advantage of the businesses (Morin p3). The economic and political changes taking place around the world occasioned changes in the political roles. There is an evident decline in the roles of states in the international policing. The business enterprises are increasing taking over from governments in participating in the international economic policing (Fusch, p5). 2. A classic instance of collaboration among businesses was the formation of Basel II. Several bankers from different countries came together to influence the policies formulated around that time. The bankers came from the states that formed G10 at the time (Young, 2012, p665) The rise of academic communities successfully managed to advocate for the scrapping of the monopoly initially exhibited practitioners possessing the IP expertise. Through instilling scepticism relating to the economic implications...
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...1. According to Ferry, what recent developments in world trade have made it urgent for France to have colonies? According to Ferry, there are numerous economic issues that required the expansion of colonies. The reason for the expansion was to gain the full economic benefits. Although, expansion of French colonies occurred throughout the nation, France gained the ability to expand its trade with other nations. The most significant point of this era was that the expansion was caused by foreign policies of the superior nation. France was seeking outlets for its export; the major industries encountered difficulties due to restrictions in placed by Germany and the United States. Germany and the United States made the exchange process difficult. Ferry anticipated that one day South America would be ruled by North America. Ferry interpretation was that it is the responsibility of the superior races to educate the...
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...What is the relationship between social policy and economic policy? (Your answer must refer to Keynesian and Monetarist economic ideas in relation to welfare Trying to explain the relationship between social and economic policy can be seen as quite a complex task. But, if you look at the wider picture it can be said to become quite easy to see if the two go well together and how they intertwine with eachother to benefit the welfare state. In order to go further and try to explain the relationship between social and economic policy, it is best to make sense of what exactly is meant by economic policy and to take a look at the different types of economic policy which helps to shape the welfare state. It is a government policy for maintaining economic growth and tax revenues. Alcock et all. (2012) explains ecenomic policy as government activites in the economic field focused on certain activites and topics. Some of these topics consist of securing economic growth, meaning the production of more services in the economy and the promotion of the manufacturing industry with tax benefits and grants. Managing the rates of employment through employment agencies also fits into one of the topics as well as using taxation policies to redistrubute income, property and wealth between different social groups. Taking these topics and interventions into consideration, the relationship between social and econoimic policy can be difficult to explain as in this certain case they...
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...“To what extent was rapid economic growth the cause of social tensions in Wilhelmine Germany?” In Wilhelmine Germany, an industrial revolution was taking place. By 1910, Germany had almost caught up with Britain on the production of industries such as coal and steel, with the rate of growth overwhelmingly surpassing that of the Britons. Germany was also home to new industries, like that of chemicals, which quickly saw 90% of the world’s hair dye exported from Germany alone. However, the impact of a healthy economy was not entirely positive. Rapid economic growth brought an increase in class divisions, as the traditional system came under threat as a result of changing methods. Further, the industrial revolution saw urbanisation become a growing trend as people relocated to the job-filled cities; nonetheless, overcrowding saw a fall in living conditions and a rise in discontent with the working environment, leading to increased membership in trade unions. Moreover, pressure groups began to emerge as funding became readily available and confidence grew among the prosperous public. Although rapid economic growth was the main cause of social tensions in Wilhelmine Germany, the Constitution’s failure to establish the role of the Army led to anger among the public who felt as if they were being ignored by the Kaiser and the Chancellor. In addition, the increased following of socialism caused tensions between the traditional, conservative side of Germany, and those who felt change...
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