Should Britain Join the Euro
Should Britain Join the Euro? One of the primary arguments against joining is that there are severe structural differences between the members' economies. These may well undermine the success of the project, meaning Britain would do well to stay out. There is no guarantee that the Euro will be successful, and this is a key issue to consider when assessing whether or not Britain should join at this stage. Britain has already had her fingers burnt by the disastrous entry into the doomed European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the previous attempt to fix European currencies against each other which collapsed, plunging Britain into recession. Another key argument against entry is the loss of economic independence that would be seen from Euro membership. If Britain were to join the Euro, our interest rates, currently the tool used for control of inflation by the Bank of England, would be set by the European Central Bank (ECB). Since being given independence the Bank of England has been successful in controlling inflation in this way. Problems could well arise if Britain loses interest rates as a tool for its own economic objectives. The past few decades have shown we need all the measures we can to keep control of the economy! To illustrate this problem, let us suppose that there are inflationary fears in Germany and France, two influential member countries, but not in Britain. In
Assymetric shocks
Cologne, May 14, 2007 Graded writing assignment SS 2006 (European Economic Issues) "Adjustment to Asymmetric Shocks in the Eurozone countries" Teacher: Aad van Mourik COLOGNE BUSINESS SCHOOL (CBS) Hardefuststr. 1 50677 Köln Diana Mateo Nils Urban Adreas Schnepf WORDCOUNT: 3276 Words ETHICS STATEMENT: Herewith I (we) declare that I (we) have prepared the following work alone and without the use of materials other than those cited. SIGNATURES: Diana Mateo: ____________________ Nils Urban: ____________________ Andreas Schnepf: ____________________ Table of Contents A. Introduction 1 B. Main Part 2 I. Macroeconomic Shocks 2 . Temporary and permanent shocks 2 2. Country-specific and sector specific shocks 3 3. Real and financial shocks 3 4. Exogeneous and policy-induced shocks 3 II. Dealing with asymmetric shocks in the EMU 3 . Market oriented tools 4 2. Institutional mechanisms 7 C. Conclusion and argumentation 8 --> DIANA A. Introduction: Abstract: This paper will analyze how countries should deal with asymmetric shocks when they are hit by an asymmetric shock and which instruments of economic policy have to deal with these types of economic problems. Furthermore it will supply the reader with a brief information on the EMU and its history together with basic information concerning the "taxonomy of shocks". The Conclusion will touch
What, If Anything, Would Be Achieved By The United Kingdom Adopting A Codified Constitution?
What, If Anything, Would Be Achieved By The United Kingdom Adopting A Codified Constitution? Before discussing as to whether or not the United Kingdom would benefit from a codified constitution, it is necessary to define the necessary terms. The HL Constitution Committee defined a constitution as, "the set of laws, rules and practices that create the basic institutions of the state, and its component and related parks, and stipulate the powers of those institutions and the relationship between the different institutions and between those institutions and the individual."1 As we can infer from the above, a constitution simply refers to a body of rules, regulating the system of government within a state. In a much narrower concept, a constitution can amount to a written statement of a state's constitutional rules in a single document, much like the constitutions of India and the U.S.A. The United Kingdom is unlike these two nations mentioned, instead of having a codified constitution, that is to have a single document or series of documents that contain the entire constitutional principles, the U.K possesses an uncodified constitution, meaning there is no and has not been an attempt to create a legal binding document containing all the constitutional rules. Whilst sources comprising the constitution are indeed in written form, i.e. Acts of Parliaments and Statutes, a majority
A novel which I have read recently and which I think fits into the genre of political thrillers is "Talking In Whispers" by James Watson.
A novel which I have read recently and which I think fits into the genre of political thrillers is "Talking In Whispers" by James Watson. I think this because there is a political background: love interest, realistic settings and successful and reliable ending created by James Watson. The first feature of a political thriller that appealed to me was the love interest in the story. The main character Andres meets one of the minor characters Isa and they fall in love when they had been in the van for quite a while and Andres said: "Do you know the luckiest thing is that's happened to me in the last few hours?" Then Isa's eyes met Andres's eyes and stated that she felt the same way about him. Also after he had been beaten up by the Junta he was then found half dead at the side of the Maipo by a farmer and his daughter named Rosa. When the farmer mentioned the market Andres exclaimed "San Miguel" so then after awhile he was recharged and managed to come up with: "At the market...my friends." All Andres could worry about while lying half dead surrounded by the farmer and Rosa was getting to San Miguel market to see Isa and Beto. The second feature of the political thriller that appealed to me was the realistic settings in the story. The first realistic setting I came across was the stadium of Santiago, where the Silver Lion, Miguel Alberti made his speech. The stadium was
How and why has the role of the prime minister changed over the post-1945 period?
PIED 3160 Prime Ministers and British politics Section B 2) How and why has the role of the prime minister changed over the post-1945 period? Amongst the literature devoted to the various prime ministers that have held office since 1945, there is by no means a consensus that the job of the prime minister has changed in the last half century. Jones suggests that "the conventional wisdom expressed by some academics and journalists [is] that the position of the prime minister in the British system of government has altered significantly in recent years"(King, 1985, p195). However in an academic textbook, it is alleged that "the job of the prime minister has remained essentially unchanged for the past century"(Rose, 2001, p55) The world has changed so much since 1945 that inevitably the roles performed by prime ministers over the last 59 years have altered. Whilst prime minister's roles may have changed in order to adapt to different circumstances at different times, the job of prime minister has not necessarily developed new roles. As Hodder-Williams points out "all alterations are changes; development, on the other hand, implies a number of changes which move in one perceptible direction" (1995, p225). This serves to explain the confusion surrounding whether or not the job of the prime minister has changed since 1945. One reason why difficulties arise in demonstrating how
Which was more important in British Foreign Policy – Personality or Policy – between 1815 and 1851?
Michelle Clarke 12MA 4/20/2007 History Essay: Which was more important in British Foreign Policy - Personality or Policy - between 1815 and 1851? The years between 1815 and 1851 saw many changes in terms of British foreign policy, and also saw many different political figures at the top of the British democratic system. These leading politicians included: - Lord Liverpool - Prime Minister 1812 - 1827 Viscount Castlereagh - Foreign Secretary 1814 - 1822 George Canning - Foreign Minister 1822 - 1827 and Prime Minister in 1827 Robert Peel - Prime Minister 1834 - 1835 and 1841 - 1846 Lord Palmerston - Foreign Secretary 1830 - 1831 and 1846 - 1849 These five men had different personalities and introduced contrasting polices during the 36 years in question. It is difficult to say whether one of personality or policy was important without assessing each case separately. Lord Liverpool was often seen as a committed politician and was respected by some of his fellow politicians, Gladstone said of him that "England had never been better governed than between the years 1822 and 1830". This respect was due to the different policies he introduced and his attitude towards them. Liverpools policies were mainly associated with Domestic policy and being Prime Minister for 15 years he did have an influence on foreign policy but he left much of the hard work and policy ideas to his
Discussion question: What is socialism? Is socialism possible or desirable?
Discussion question: What is socialism? Is socialism possible or desirable? (Week 14 question, Inequality) Throughout the history of the Western world various ideologies have proven so influential as to give rise to assorted "possibilities and desires" that change society. Namely, the rise and support of socialism has been a major component to the make up of Western history in the 19th and 20th centuries. An investigation into the development of socialism will prove that its popularity, support and even criticism came as a result of certain milestones. These milestones serve as turning points in the ideology's history, and without them it could easily be presumed that the philosophy would never have produced such influential results. In addition, such an investigation will prove these milestones were joined with various interactions between the philosophers and the political reality of assorted nations. This interaction proved to be the roots that allowed socialism to bloom into its entirety. There were various events in Western history that inspired discontent with the current government structure. This discontent dated all the way back to the late 1700's when political theorists like Edmund Burke tried to promote the monarchies in the Restoration era: "In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke said that...the belief in human equality undermined the social
Are political parties better understood as reflections of ‘social cleavages’, or products of strategic action?
Are political parties better understood as reflections of 'social cleavages', or products of strategic action? As famously expressed by the 19th century French politician and writer Tocqueville, political parties in democratic countries are "the only powerful persons who aspire to rule the state"i. Thus, political scientists and politicians have been keen on examining patterns of support that political parties receive from significant social groupings. The concept of cleavages has become a vital concept in political science when trying to understand voting behaviour and party systems. Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan (1967) described the development of European party systems in terms of the historical conditions of national and socio-economic developmentii. According to Lipset and Rokkan's work, party preferences are strongly influenced by the social groups to which voters belong. Parties arise, then, in response to the demands of these voters. On the other hand, the changes that took place in the European party systems since the Second World War have led many political scientists such as Kirchheimer, Dalton to view political parties as products of an interaction of social base and strategic action. Kirchheimer's 'catch-all party model' aimed to show the new intention of European political parties to attract as many voters as they can, giving less importance to the
How Important Was the Holocaust in the Establishment of an Independent State of Israel?
How Important Was the Holocaust in the Establishment of an Independent State of Israel? The purpose of this essay is to show how important or insignificant the holocaust was in the establishment of the independent state of Israel. The independent state of Israel was founded on the 14th of May 1948. There were many reasons for this but the key catalyst in the founding was the holocaust. Although the holocaust was a terrible time for the Jewish people and it shall for ever remain in their history it was probably one of the main reasons for the founding of the independent state of Israel. The Jewish people had been searching for a homeland ever since biblical times. The history of the Jewish people has not been a good one. Throughout history they have forever been a religion that has been wandering around Asia and Europe being badly treated and abused. The Jewish people originate from Palestine, they lived alongside the Arabs in a land which was called 'the land of the Israelites' Jews had a different religious perspective to others in the area and when the Romans conquered that area they were treated badly because of their beliefs and not sticking to the roman religious views. Ever since that time the Jews have been a wandering nation trying to find a home to settle in. Some settled in Europe others tried to stay in Palestine. Some many years later once the American colonies
How has the process of EU economic integration affected the car industry??
How has the process of EU economic integration affected the car industry?? The process of EU economic integration has affected the car industry in many ways. One of the major ways it has is through certain trading agreements that developed in the EU such as the free trade area where tariffs were removed between signatories to encourage free trade in goods also tariff and quota barriers removed and also non-tariff barriers e.g., import export documentation standardised or removed as well. Due to these factors it has enabled car industries to move around in Europe more freely which has led to car industries increasingly concentrating more in central and eastern Europe where factors of production are cheaper. The benefits for car industries to set up specifically in EU countries which are based in central and eastern Europe is that the cheaper factors of production leads to fall in prices and greater demand for cars, this increase in demand which then leads to increased output and better resource exploitation and therefore increases economies of scale and global competition and hence increased profits for the car industry. An example of where car manufacturers have exploited these harmonised rules made by the EU are Skoda who are producing cars in Czech Republic and Fiat who produce their cars in Italy and Poland. Another way in which the EU economic integration has
