Why are less economically developed countries and more economically developed countries affected differently by flooding, and why are there responses different?
Why are less economically developed countries and more economically developed countries affected differently by flooding, and why are there responses different? Flooding has been a worldwide problem for centuries but in recent years, primarily due to global warming, the effects are becoming more and more hazardous. As a result it becomes important to recognize the significance of flooding and the varied impact it has on people around the world. Flooding affects numerous groups of people every year regardless of their country's economic status. However the intensity of the effects of flooding and what is and can be done to prevent them in the short term as well as for the future (long term) is where the difference between less economically developed countries and more economically developed countries becomes evident. For example the Mississippi river is one of the largest in the world; it travels through nine states and collects a large amount of surface run off from a large portion of the North American continent. When the river flooded in 1993 after two weeks of steady, heavy precipitation there was considerable damage to homes; many people were injured with approximately 50 deaths. However, the damage could have been much worse had the country not responded quickly with evacuation programmes, and the rapid co-ordination of agencies that informed those at risk of the
Using appropriate examples, describe what is meant by institutional factors and explain how social cost can be included in the least-cost equation to determine the optimal location for a new factory.
"Traditionally, geographers have considered factors such as proximity to raw materials, labor, energy supply, and the markets to determine the least-cost location for a factory. Now, the emphasis is changing towards institutional factors, and the social costs of industrial location." Using appropriate examples, describe what is meant by institutional factors and explain how social cost can be included in the least-cost equation to determine the optimal location for a new factory. Industrial location is product of a complex and dynamic combination of many factors. An entrepreneur has to consider a number of variables before making his final decision-making processes. Generally speaking, the ultimate aim of the entrepreneur is to maximize their profits or minimize their costs, though behavioral factors are sometimes taken into account. In recent years, institutional factors and social cost of industrial location become more and more important. Institutional factors also known as government policies or "Carrot and Stick" policy. Government many encourage or discourage the industrial growth in various areas for different purposes, in order to reduce regional disparities in economic growth, levels of employment and income, and so on. Government can achieve such purposes by introducing zoning laws or policy such as setting up Enterprise Zone. Besides, she can set up
What criteria should be applied in judging whether monopolies are acting in public interest? (25)
What criteria should be applied in judging whether monopolies are acting in public interest? (25) In judging whether monopolies are acting in public interests, we are essentially examining their relative merits and demerits to the society. A monopoly is a single producer in the market that produces a unique product with no close substitutes. The monopoly is so large that the firm is considered to be the industry in producing the good. The monopoly also has high barriers to entry to potential competitors. The barriers to entry can be natural barriers like the monopoly control of supply of inputs or the high initial setup costs or artificial, man-made barriers like copyright laws, market franchise etc. Public interests refer to the general welfare of the society which consists of both the firms and the consumers. The households and the producers make up the public and the welfare of these groups of people is usually termed as public interest. Let us first consider how the monopoly acts against public interest of the society at large. The basic economic problem of scarce resources and unlimited human wants forces us to make choices and try to achieve an optimal allocation of resources (i.e. an utmost efficiency in the allocation of resources). However, the monopolies often fail to achieve a efficiency in the allocation of resources. Figure 1 Refer to figure 1. The
Monopoly, When a firm is the sole supplier of a particular product or service then we say that it is a monopolist.
A. Define Monopoly When does a firm enjoy a dominant position in the market? Why is a firm enjoying a dominant position often associated with monopoly power? B. Why is monopoly power often considered to be detrimental to the interest of consumers? Are there any desirable features associated with monopoly? What government measures can be suitable for controlling monopoly powers. -+ ++++++++++++++++++++++---------- When a firm is the sole supplier of a particular product or service then we say that it is a monopolist. A monopolist is able to prevent the entry of competitors by means of barriers and for whose product or service there is no very close substitute therefore no one can compete against him. An example of this is the Water Services Corporation which is the only supplier of tap water in Malta and it is very difficult for other firms to start offering the same services because a lot of capital in terms of land, labour and machines are needed thus it will not be affordable. Since WSC is a natural monopoly (that is since it is under monopoly in the long-run its average costs would be lower than if it were shared between two competitors), it benefits from economies of scale and if a firm would enter the industry, and both firms would supply half the industry output, they would both face the demand curve D2 in Fig1.1. Thus there is no price that would
Is the Government to Blame for Higher Petrol Prices?
CONTENTS PAGE PAGE NO Introduction 2 Economic Theories 3 - 6 Data Collected 7 Presentation of Findings 8 - 13 Evaluation and Conclusion 14 - 15 Bibliography 16 INTRODUCTION In September 2005 the UK experienced unprecedentedly high petrol prices at filling stations throughout the country. In rural Wales the psychologically important £1/litre was breached for the very first time. What I wish to investigate is what is causing prices to be so high at the pumps at this particular time and why petrol prices are rising faster than the rate of inflation. In 2000 there were widespread protests to the level of government taxation placed upon petrol as it was felt to be excessive and unfair, similar smaller protests occurred this year also. Government Taxation is a major determinant on the price of petrol however there are other factors which determine the price of petrol. The price of petrol is made up of 4 components. The Fuel Duty imposed upon it, the Value Added Tax imposed upon it, the amount the product cost and the retailer/deliverer's overheads. As we all know the two taxes are determined by the government, the product's price is determined by the price of oil and the retailer's/deliverer's overheads by the costs of production associated with selling the oil. I will therefore need to investigate the rate of taxation used
Using transport examples throughout, explain the impact of market structure on economic efficiency and the ability of firms to set prices and make profits
Using transport examples throughout, explain the impact of market structure on economic efficiency and the ability of firms to set prices and make profits Economic efficiency is the use of resources in such a way as to maximise the production of goods and services. The structure of a market, its profitability, prices and output can affect its economic efficiency. There are four main types of efficiency to consider; productive efficiency, allocative efficiency, dynamic efficiency and X-inefficiency. Productive efficiency is at its maximum when the level of production is at the minimum of the Average Cost curve. Productive efficiency is at its maximum when price is equal to marginal cost. Dynamic efficiency is through the generation of abnormal profits (AR>AC), that are invested for future development. X-inefficiency is when a firm is not operating at minimum cost, due to organisational slack. Using the market structure of perfect competition as an example, there are many small firms producing homogenous goods, thus it is fragmented as opposed to concentrated. In the transport industry the local coach travel market represents the model of perfect competition quite well. No one firm can set of affect the price level, and so the firms are referred to as 'price-takers'. If a firm decided to sell their good or service at a price higher than that of others, consumers would
Look at different types of market.
Essay - Section B 2 a) A utility is a good that maximises consumer consumption; therefore a utility industry is an industry that maximises consumer consumption by using that good or service provided. This is likely to be a homogenous good, which is provided by a company like BT or POWERGEN, as both these industries are referred to in the question. The telecommunications industry has always been a monopoly, as other companies cannot enter the market, for example, other companies are at an immediate disadvantage because they do not have a telephone line in everyone's house. This is because this is a very expensive initial cost and companies are not usually likely to have the resources to be able to afford something like that. This was an important factor; this is why BT was controlled by the government before privatisation (Thatcher, 1970s), to control the monopoly. This meant that BT had a natural cost advantage over competitors; this also meant that BT was the only firm in its industry (monopoly), which made the company more influential in terms of trading. It would benefit more from trading, because BT could benefit massively from economics of scale, and also other efficient economies. This brings me to my next point, contestable markets. A contestable market is a monopoly (or as defined by the UK fair trading commission, a company with over 25% of the market
Economics Article Analysis : Price controls amid anti-dumping probe
International Baccalaureate Economics Higher Level Inter Community School of Zurich Marc Fleming Extract Title: Price controls amid anti-dumping probe Source of Extract Bangkok Post www. Bangkokpost.com Extract date: Monday February 18 2002 Word Count: 447 Syllabus Links: 2 & 3 This article discusses how the Thai government implemented a price ceiling on various hot rolled still products because domestic firms were exploiting the situation of the imposed surcharges on imported steel. Price ceilings are a form of market intervention employed by governments to control price levels. They are also known maximum prices. A maximum price is a set physical limit of price, this meaning that the price of a given product may not exceed the set limit. Surcharges are a form of protectionism employed by the government; they are tariffs, which are placed on imported products to protect home markets. In the article, it is stated that various foreign companies were dumping their excess steel products into the Thai market. This means these imports were being sold at prices below that of production costs, putting local companies out of business. The Thai government decide to take action by taxing all imported steel. The diagram below illustrates how this works and what effects are. The tax increases the price of steel imports from p1 --> p2 what this does is increase the
marketing mix analysis
Main Aspects of Marketing Mix (100) The easiest way to understand the main aspects of marketing is through its more famous synonym of "4Ps of Marketing". The classification of four Ps of marketing was first introduced and suggested by McCarthy (1960), and includes marketing strategies of product, price, placement and promotion. The following diagram is helpful in determining the main ingredients of the four Ps in a marketing mix. Product In simpler terms, product includes all features and combination of goods and related services that a company offers to its customers. So the Airbusproduct includes its body parts such as the engine, nut bolts, seats, etc along with its after-sales services and all are included in the product development strategy of the Airbus. However, a serious criticism can be raised here in terms of how marketing mix analysis will cater for companies such as ABN Amro Bank, Natwest Bank, British Airways and Fedex Corporation as they don't possess tangible products. It was argued that is it feasible to omit service-oriented companies with the logic that the term "services" does not start with a "P", however, it was asserted that these companies can use the terminology of "service products" under marketing mix strategy making (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). Lazer (1971) argued that product is the most important aspect of marketing mix for two main reasons.
Commentary - California’s Energy Future Looks Dim
Commentary #02 Silvia Panico January 18, 2001 Section Covered: 02 Word Count: 446 Rene Sanchez and William Booth, (01/14/01), California's Energy Future looks Dim , Washington Post, A1-A18 CALIFORNIA'S ELECTRICAL MARKET About a week ago, the two main electric utilities of the state of California, came very close to call a state of bankruptcy, and were forced to leave most of the state without electricity. This bankruptcy was due to numerous factors. The first one was that the government had recently deregulated the electrical sector, but still kept in place retail price caps for the utility companies which delivered the power to homes and businesses. During the harsh winter, which also increased demand, the power generators had to raise their rates because of an increase in the resources' prices. This reflected on the utilities who couldn't increase their prices as they wanted, because they were restricted by the government. If we analyse
