The implementation and effects of the national minimum wage in the UK
Management of the Economy The Implementation and effects of the national minimum wage in the UK 0528431 Abstract This report will discuss the implementations and effects of a national minimum wage in the UK. A national minimum wage is a legal right, which covers almost all workers above school leaving age. It is the "lowest hourly, daily, weekly or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers". A national minimum wage has certain advantages and disadvantages. For example it attacks low pay and poverty however it is hard to say whether the effect is big enough to make a difference on the two of these. In conclusion, it seems the benefits far outweigh the costs. Introduction In an attempt to discuss the implementations and effects of a national minimum wage in the UK, I will first of all define what a national minimum wage is. I will also discuss the levels of the national minimum wage and who is entitled to and who is exempt from it. My report will then analyse the advantages and disadvantages that a national minimum wage can entail. A national minimum wage is "the lowest hourly, daily, weekly or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers". It is estimated that 90% of all countries have some kind of minimum wage legislation. Statutory minimum wages were first introduced nationally in the UK on the 1st April 1999 to
The backlash against the system.
THE BACKLASH AGAINST THE SYSTEM The Backlash The backlash against globalization has become apparent and widespread. Let there be no doubt, globalization has fostered a flowering of both wealth and technological innovation the likes of which the world has never seen. But this sort of rapid change has challenged traditional business practices, social structures, cultural mores and environments and, as a result, has generated a substantial backlash - with one of its loudest and most visible manifestations coming at the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle in 1999. Beyond this general sense of disruption and dislocation, the opponents of globalization resent it because they feel that as their countries have plugged into the globalization system, they have been forced into a Golden Straightjacket that is one-size-fits-all. Some don't like the straightjacket because they feel economically pinched by it. Some worry that they don't have the knowledge, skills or resources to enlarge the straightjacket and ever really get the gold out. Some don't like it because they resent the widening income gaps that the straightjacket produces or they resent the widening income gaps that the straightjacket produces or the way it squeezes jobs from higher-wage countries to lower-wage ones. Some don't like it because it opens them to all sorts of global cultural forces and influences that
What impact has the movement from ‘Fordism’ to ‘Post-Fordism’ had on the world of work?
What impact has the movement from 'Fordism' to 'Post-Fordism' had on the world of work? Introduction The movement from Fordism to Post-fordism represents changes in our methods and arrangements of production as well as an observed movement in the direction of globalisation. This movement has had a significant affect on social power, the role of the state and thus transformed the world of work. In many respects. Fordism Fordism is a term which comes from the name Henry Ford - manufacturer of Ford General Motors. Ford introduced a collection of new techniques and practices in his car factories which allowed him to achieve a new phenomenon successful from 1945 to the late 60s: 'efficient' mass production of affordable standardised products, supported by mass consumption. Henry ford introduced production by way of an assembly line which would run continuously to produce standardised products. This is achieved by breaking down production into a number of smaller stages and processes through which the product moves. Having stages of production also involved a division of labour which is where jobs are broken down into short, repetitious, simple tasks reducing labour costs per unit. Large scale production implied benefits from economies of scale allowing a lower price per unit The overall effect was that standardised products could be produced quicker than ever before.
Cigarette Taxes: Effects on the Economy
Cigarette Taxes: Effects on the Economy Tobacco is big business in the United States. Alone, cigarette sales in the United States in 2005 totaled $82 billion (Capehart 2007). Federal cigarette excise tax collections are estimated at $7.4 billion for 2001 (Tobacco Outlook Report, 2003). For governments, tobacco tax revenues have become an integral part of the tax structure, and important for boosting state and federal coffers. This paper will look at the effects of increased cigarette taxes on consumption, government revenues, and employment in the tobacco industries. Law makers like to argue that cigarette taxes are used to reduce consumption. This while partially true does not totally account for the reduction in smokers over the last 24 years (Sahadi 2005). This is due to the fact that the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes is somewhere between -0.3 and -0.5 (see figure 1) (Bradford, 2003; Chan and Capehart 2004). This indicates that the demand curve is inelastic. A ten percent increase in price would reflect as a 3-5% decrease in consumption. This inelasticity is supported by the fact that between November 1998 and April 2002 wholesale manufacturers prices rose eightfold (Tobacco Outlook Report, 2003). During the same time period there was not an eightfold reduction in smokers even taking into account the people that quit for health reasons. Education
Has Urbanisation developed too fast?
Urbanisation has transformed vastly throughout history. Ancient societies, such as China were the first exhibitors of the population trends. Over the last 100 years many developing and developed countries have experienced these rapid urbanisation growth trends. At the turn of the 20th century only 13% of the world's population were urban dwellers. Presently over 3 billion of the world's population, approximately 50%, now habit in urban areas.(1) In the late 19th Century and early 20th century urbanisation was most widely felt in Europe and North America, when many rural settlers migrated to urban areas to seek employment during the industrialisation era. In the past 60 years the rural-urbanisation migration has had a large impact on LDCs. Interestingly GNI per capita tends to be positively associated with urban population. Showing, as countries increase income, they tend to evolve in to urbanisation.(2) What has caused this shift in population demography? Many rural areas in the LDC world experience a significant lack of resources. Often there is little government assistance, jobs are scarce and basic needs are hard to come by. In many rural habitations in the developing world, the population doesn't look far beyond survival. Rural settlers become attracted to the prospect of urban habitation through assumptions of better standard of living, better health care, better
Common economic problems for Sri Lanka.
Introduction There are two common economic problems for Sri Lanka, one would be that the increasing and unmanageable debt problem. And the other one would be the terrorist problem. Sri Lanka was considered as a lower-middle income developing country, but now it's been pushed down to poorest countries in the world. One quarter of the population in Sri Lanka lives in poverty. Twenty years of civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will be the main cause of this problem. This war has claimed more than 50,000 lives. Even The governments of Sri Lanka been changed but the problem remains unchanged. More than 50% people in Sri Lanka still live in rural areas and still living with traditional agricultural base lifestyle. The government process of developing these rural areas was quite slow. However the health and education systems are good compared to other regional countries in Southeast Asia, but now their quality is getting verse because of less government investment. "In developing countries the major concern is that economic liberalization, motivated by the desire to benefit from the growth of the world trade and investment flows, will generate high transitional unemployment and cause an increase in inequality." (Globalization and Employment: Is Anxiety Justified?" Article by Eddy Lee on November 26, 1996) "When the
Hog Industry in USA
[Author's Name] [Instructor's Name] [Course Title] Date Hog Industry in USA The growth of hog production and processing in current decades has been related with changes in the ownership and scale of operation of meat production in America and abroad. Related with this have been considerable changes in the demographics of the societies in which such operations are located. Until about twenty years ago, most hogs were grown on family farms with little outside labour in America. The change to significant scale, industry, often vertically-incorporated operations, generally with units in many locations, has enforced farm families out of hog production and even out of farming. The current operations are generally managed by non-resident administration, and run by appointed barn employees, often with high return rates. Additionally, these firms tend to purchase feeds and other provisions in bulk quantity, either through an affiliated firm or from the cheapest provider in a large region. This reduces home purchases, and may cause to the closing of trades and loss of families. The net impact in rural regions is a reduction in the number of steady family units and a rise in single, mobile employees. The economical problems surrounding significant-scale hog production and processing are broad-ranging and significant. Often, local societies and their people cannot run the
To what extent does the post-fordist workplace mark a fundamental change in the modern forms of work and employment?
To what extent does the post-fordist workplace mark a fundamental change in the modern forms of work and employment? There is a great deal of debate concerning the extent to which fordist methods of production and economies have been replaced by a new post-fordist era. Within this debate, a large proportion of influence has been placed upon the degree and nature of change within the workplace environment. In order to understand the extent to which the post-fordist workplace marks a fundamental change in the modern forms of work and employment, it is necessary to appreciate both fordist and post-fordist work environments and evaluate and identify certain themes or notions of variation. When concerned with fordist to post-fordist workplace change, a variety of beliefs have been established. These beliefs range from the geographical relocation of work and production, to the changes in everyday working situations and their implications upon wider society. This is not to say however that these beliefs are held by all, as a multitude of criticism exists concerned with the extent of workplace changes and the implications this has upon the establishment of a post-fordist era. Therefore, in order to understand post-fordist work and employment, it is first necessary to look at fordist methods of production and societal level implications drawn from these methods. Thus, the term
Does the History of Property Prices Determine If the UK House Price Bubble is About to Burst?
Does the History of Property Prices Determine If the UK House Price Bubble is About to Burst? Area and context of research The topic that I have chosen for my research proposal is based on house prices. I have chosen this subject because over the year's UK house prices have risen so dramatically making it difficult for people on low wages to buy a house. This topic has caused a lot of discussion with buyers and sellers as well as banks that give out mortgages. It has also made it into the news and caused a lot of attention in the financial press. There are many positive effects to this as well as negative ones. On the of the most obvious positive effects is that homeowners' asset wealth increases as the price of their house increases and the most obvious negative effect is that people who are wanting to buy a house can't because the prices are so high. The focus of this research proposal is to gather information that will help me to determine whether or not past examples and situations can be used to predict what will happen to the price bubble that the UK housing market is experiencing at the moment. I have collected some information to help me answer the question and also help me analyse it. Literature review I will be reviewing journal articles and books that talk about the housing market and the effects it undergoes when a 'bubble' occurs. I will also be reviewing
Globalization - growth of worldwide networks of interdependence - is not a new concept.
Part I Globalization - growth of worldwide networks of interdependence - is not a new concept. Countries have been intertwined for centuries. Globalization IS NOT Americanization. America was created through globalization (Columbus) and benefits from it, but is not the only source of globalization. Major effects of globalization that are "blamed on" America: * The spread of Christianity (preceded America's existence) * English language as dominant language (spread by Britain) * AIDS epidemic (started in Africa and Asia) * Music and video games (owned predominantly by British and Japanese companies) Some of our laws and practices are commonly praised (FDA and SEC regulations) as protection enhancers, while others (right to bear arms) cause others to view us with hostility. U.S. "soft power" is largely responsible for information revolution and frequently adopts the practices and culture of other countries, while acting as a filter for what will be successful and what will fail. Part II Globalization also IS NOT universality. In fact, it is a major cause of inequity between the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. Globalization is not as broad as most people think - national boundaries are more open but not irrelevant; religious beliefs and economic equality are not universal and often the cause of conflict. Globalization comes in many forms: * Smallpox