Fiscal and monetary policy - a comparison

fiscal and monetary policy - comparison Introduction Fiscal policy should not be seen is isolation from monetary policy. For most of the last thirty years, the operation of fiscal and monetary policy was in the hands of just one person - the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However the degree of coordination the two policies often left a lot to be desired. Even though the BoE has operational independence that allows it to set interest rates, the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee are taken in full knowledge of the Government's fiscal policy stance. Indeed the Treasury has a non-voting representative at MPC meetings. The government lets the MPC know of fiscal policy decisions that will appear in the annual budget. Impact on the Composition of Output Monetary policy is seen as something of a blunt policy instrument - affecting all sectors of the economy although in different ways and with a variable impact Fiscal policy changes can be targeted to affect certain groups (e.g. increases in means-tested benefits for low income households, reductions in the rate of corporation tax for small-medium sized enterprises, investment allowances for businesses in certain regions) Consider too the effects of using either monetary or fiscal policy to achieve a given increase in national income because actual GDP lies below potential GDP (i.e. there is a negative output gap)

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 927
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Economics
Access this essay

Kobe and pakistan earthquake essay

The 1995 Kobe Earthquake and The 2005 Pakistan Earthquake A huge earthquake took place in Japan at 5:46am, on January 17th 1995. The earthquake had a local magnitude of 7.2, and lasted for about 20 seconds. The epic-center of this earthquake was less than 20km below Awaji-shima, an island near the city of Kobe, a port city. The earthquake occurred between convergent plate boundaries, the Eurasian Plate and Philippines Plate, and as a result of the collision of these two plates the pressure built up and then suddenly got released, and the Earthquake shockwaves traveled to Kobe. The Hanshin earthquake caused about 5,100 deaths, mostly in Kobe. Highways, roads, homes, railroads, ports and other infrastructures were destroyed, also trains on minor lines were derailed. Main water ways bursted and there were fires evolving everywhere. These caused disruption of traffic, affects on economy, water suspension, and disrupted heat and gas areas around Kobe. However, what caused such a severe damage of the city of one of the most highest earthquake-prepared countrys, was that the city of Kobe is close by water, therefore is on soft land. Secondly, the focus was relatively shallow. Engineering was another reason. A huge amount of the houses in Kobe were built before the development of strict seismic codes (1981). They had old wooden frames, heavy clay tiled roofs, and were closely

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 715
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Geography
Access this essay

What are the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing drugs

What are the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing drugs Because of addiction and all the related problems, the law prohibits the sale, purchase and use of drugs. Both the individuals and the society are thus protected. But this law has given rise to a very unhealthy situation. The secret production, sale and consumption of drugs have taken alarming proportion worldwide. Drug related problems have considerably increased. Recently some people, including some important personalities, have suggested that drugs are legalized so as to solve these problems. But the authorities are reticent. In fact, legalization of drugs contains both disadvantages and advantages. One advantage of legalizing drugs is evidently the immediate disappearance of the drug cartels and all forms of drug trafficking. If drugs are legally available - for example on medical prescription for the addicts - the trafficker will lose their trade and the prices will fall. The immense sense of humour generated by the illicit drug trade and which are launched in several ways are a source of social and economic problems in many countries. Traffickers will no longer become rich on the backs of poor drugs addict on the streets of cities. Already, the legalization of some soft drugs like cannabis in Holland, for example, has given some degree of healthiness to drug taking. Another advantage deriving naturally from

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 724
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Healthcare
Access this essay

Outline and evaluate two or more theories of bystander behaviour.

Outline and evaluate two or more theories of altruism and/or bystander behaviour. Within pro and anti-social behaviour, there is the idea of bystander behaviour. This refers to how people react in different situations. In times of need some people freeze, some act, some scream with fear, and these are all examples of bystander behaviour. There are a few theories as to why people will behave as they do when presented with different situations. When considering bystander behaviour, it is important to hold a particular view of altruism in mind-that people helping is, essentiality a selfish action, for example Aronson et al., 1997, "That was the very essence of selfishness. I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and let that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs." (Please note this is an adaptation of the original research) The first such model was devised by Piliavin et al., 1981, and was called the bystander-calculus model, or cost/arousal model. It attempted to explain some of the psychological and cognitive factors involved in bystander behaviour. This model only applies to emergency situations. It states that, when faced with an emergency, a bystander goes through five stages. The first is cognitive awareness of need- does the bystander perceive the situation as an emergency and does he/she have an understanding of the possible need of the people

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1286
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Psychology
Access this essay

To what extent will does correlation and extrapolation assist Nintendo in forecasting sales?

To what extent will does correlation and extrapolation assist Nintendo in forecasting sales? (34 marks) Correlation is the relationship between two variables. Extrapolation is related to correlation, as it involves plotting a linear regression curve (also known as a line of best fit) which is based upon how two variables are correlated, and extending the line to predict future values. For Nintendo, a computer game and console manufacturing company, a common example would be the relationship between the level of advertising expenditure and the effect of this on sales of its products. The graph to the left shows a strong positive correlation between sales and advertising, meaning if Nintendo increases its advertising, they can expect to see an increase in sales. Because all values are close to the line, as advertising expenditure increases on the x-axis, sales on the y-axis increase proportionately. The regression line can be extended past the '80' figure (meaning £80million) to predict what sales will be like if they spend £100million or even £900million. The uses of such analysis to Nintendo are to an extent very valuable. By creating a scatter graph like the one above, Nintendo can spot trends and forecast future events. For example, they could estimate demand at a certain point in the coming year. One would expect demand to surge at Christmas time when people are

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 955
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Business Studies
Access this essay

Describe factors which may influence communication and interpersonal interactions

Task 3 - Describe factors which may influence communication and interpersonal interactions with particular reference to health and social care settings Communication and language needs and preferences Health carers communicating with patients who are hearing and visually impaired have effective ways of communicating. People who are hearing impaired use sign language to communicate with each other, however carers who don't use sign language, find that using symbols can make a huge difference when communicating. For example using Widget Literacy Symbols and Pictorial Communication System symbols can help a hearing-impaired person make choices and can increase involvement and confidence. A patient who is partly deaf may be able to read and write so it is useful to carry a notepad to communicate with them. There are two types of Communication passports; they are for people who have communication difficulties. Type 1 communication passport contains information about all aspects of a person's life, this is helpful as it enables the person to make decisions and have their own say. Type 2-communication passport is information on the person's health. This is useful as it keeps an up to date diary on the person's health needs and can be accessed and changed at anytime according to their health status. Types of communication aids are; * charts with pictures, symbols, letters or

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1477
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Healthcare
Access this essay

Compare and contrast the structures/ultrastructures of cells

On a basic level it could be argued that plant and animal cells are similar in many ways, the key differences being that plant cells generally have a greater number of different organelles. However, with powerful electron microscopes, we can now look very closely into the fine details of a cell, correctly termed the 'ultrastructure' of a cell. From the powerful zoom levels of Transmission Electron Micrographs (TEM) we not only see the basic structure of a cell, like the nucleus and the cell membrane, but the more minute sections of a cell. There are more complex differences between plant and animal cells, unlike those that are more basically identified, like cell walls and chloroplasts which are found only in plant cells. In contrast to this, the similarities become evident only when the cells are looked at more closely. For example both plant and animal cells contain organelles, each one being assigned to a particular job. This is called 'division of labour'. This type of cell, where the nucleus is inside a nuclear envelope, and has other membrane-bound organelles, is called a eukaryotic cell.1There are new differences that can be discovered from using a more powerful microscope. Although both animal and plant cells have cytoskeletons, centrioles are only found in the cytoskeletons of animal cells, and form the fibres, known as the spindle, which move chromosomes during

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 549
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

How Does Napoleon Take and Maintain Control Of Animal Farm?

How Does Napoleon Take and Maintain Control Of Animal Farm? George Orwell's character Napoleon is a very clever and sly animal. He uses several methods to take and maintain control of the farm. His primary methods are by using fear, by exploiting the animal and by bending the rules. Napoleon uses is intellect to good effect as far as self-interest is concerned. Napoleon instills fear as a way of giving the animal no chance to argue about what he says. This allows him to run the farm in his own manner and gives him a more confortable life than the other animals. Early on in Animal Farm, Napoleon takes Jessie and Bluebells nine newborn puppies. These puppies become the forefront of his campaign of fear. He uses them to gain power by eliminating his nemesis, Snowball "They dashed straight for Snowball...he slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more." Also, Napoleon used the dogs in the public forum he created by setting an example of what would happen to those animals who chose to disobey him. When it was revealed that some of the animals had done things to side with the Snowball, Napoleon executed them in front of everyone else. Orwell's character Squealer was given a great ability to speak, this helped Napoleon get out of sticky situations and inscribe fear into the animals' heads all at once. When any of the animals questioned any of Napoleons actions, he

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 823
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Describing the Rules and Aids to Statute interpretation. Including Advantages and Disadvantages.

Briefly describe the aids to interpretation used by judges. There are two types of aids that judges can use to interpret statutes, these are Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Intrinsic Aids are connected to the wording and/or punctuation within the Act itself. If using the Intrinsic Aid to interpret an Act of Parliament they will either examine the statute as a whole or study the relevant parts to see if they can define the overall purpose of the legislation. They may find that an interpretation of a certain section of the legislation would lead to an absurd result when another section is also taken into account. All legislations have both a shortened title and a long title. With Intrinsic Aids, they need to look at both to help resolve doubt. The long title can be examined as part of the whole context. Said by Lord Simon in the case: The Black-Clawson 1975 the long title should be read as part of the context 'as the plainest of all the guides to the general objectives of a statute'. Furthermore, headings, side notes and punctuation are important as it may help the judges clarify some points of the whole Act. Preambles can also be important when considering the wording etc within an Act as they will generalise the mischief to be amended and the scope of it. Extrinsic Aids, on the other hand, deal with external matters, outside of the legislation, to help explain the meaning and

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1123
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Law
Access this essay

Compare and contrast the main approaches - Biological and Behaviourist, biological and cognitive, Psychodynamic and Behaviourist.

Compare and Contrast the Psychodynamic and Cognitive approaches in terms of similarities and differences. [12 Marks] The cognitive and psychodynamic approaches have many similarities and differences; these include debates in nature and nurture, the usefulness of these approaches, deterministic and scientific/non scientific. The psychodynamic approach takes into account both nature and nurture, however the cognitive approach has failed to recognise the influence of nature and nurture. Freud claimed that adult personality is the product of innate drives (nature) and childhood experiences (nurture). These innate drives include the structure of the personality, Id, ego and superego as well as the psychosexual development every child passes through. If a child does not pass through these processes successfully it could lead to abnormalities in behaviour. The cognitive approach has carried out research into intelligence but has not looked at the influence of genes in its research or environmental factors (such as wealth) that could influence intelligence. Therefore this clearly indicates that both approaches are different in terms of nature and nurture. The cognitive approach is useful and has been applied successfully in therapy. As one of the core assumptions of the cognitive approach is that mental processes influence our behaviour, therefore if these process are

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 4162
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Psychology
Access this essay