An Empirical Study into the Determinants of an Individuals Supply of Labour

An Empirical Study into the Determinants of an Individual's Supply of Labour James Allen Introduction Why does a person work the number of hours that they do? This has been a question of much research over many years by labour economists. It is a question which has important policy implications for government as to how much they should tax workers income, how high they should set the minimum wage and whether to impose a maximum working week. The information would also be useful to firms in the interests of setting suitable wages and other working conditions. I aim to answer the question of the determinants of the number of hours worked by individuals. The data I will use for analysis purposes is a condensed dataset of the survey results of wave 15 of the British Household Panel Survey [BHPS] (2005). This survey is conducted annually amongst over 15,000 individuals by ISER at the University of Essex. Background Figure 1: Work-Leisure Trade-Off In Figure 1 an individual faces a choice in the time they allocate for leisure and work day to day. Individuals are assumed in economics to be utility maximising hence the individual faces a constrained optimisation problem. Indifference curves are points which generate the same utility for the individual and the individual is indifferent between them. The aim of the individual is thus to be on the highest indifference curve

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Economics of Death penalty

COST OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT PAROLE VERSUS DEATH PENALTY (CAPITAL PUNISHMENT) INTRODUCTION o Capital Punishment A lot of controversies over the years have been going on for and against the topic of capital punishment. The history of the putting people to death more commonly known as capital punishment is as old as the country itself or probably more older. In the old days, people were executed through stoning, crucifixion, burning at stake (which was common for the people who were declared witches) and so on. But what kinds of capital punishment or death sentences are given in this modern era? Is it the same as the old ones? The answer is no. In today's time capital punishments include injection or lethal gas, hanging, electrocution or shooting. In the modern times, the world is divided in half as to countries that use capital punishment and countries that do not. Many nations including some of the developing nations have abolished the system of death penalty by any means or methods described above. One country where it would be greatly expected that this system does not operate is the United States of America (USA). Unlike other industrialized nations, some states of the US have capital punishment or death sentence system still intact. The above graph shows the increase and decrease in the execution during periods of 1930 to 2004. If the western part of the globe is

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Illustrate the difference between the U.S. Market and the Greek Market place.

I Introduction The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the difference between the U.S. Market and the Greek Market place. By using various internet articles and books about Business in Greece I obtained the most recent information that was available. Although information may change constantly, for example economic data, this report will still give a precise overview of the Greek marketplace. To avoid stating the known facts about the U.S. Marketplace, this report mainly focuses on the Greek market. Greece is emerging as a prime destination for foreign investment, thanks to favorable economic indicators, exceptional returns on the Athens stock market, and Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) membership. In addition structural reforms, including wide-ranging privatizations, are further increasing the country's allure for foreign investors. This report will help any interested U.S. investors find out how the Greek market differs from theirs, and it will further prepare them for any future investments in Greece they decide to make. II Geography of Greece Greece (The Hellenic Republic) with geographic coordinates of 39 00 N and 22 00 E, lies at the southeastern tip of Europe, occupying the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and numerous islands. It shares borders with Albania and Former Republic of Yugoslav Macedonia on the North-west side, Bulgaria on the North

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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The OECD labour market has undergone major changes over the past two decades.

. Introduction The OECD labour market has undergone major changes over the past two decades. The most evident of these changes is the rise in the number of job seekers: in 1997, there were more than thirty five million people unemployed in the OECD area as a whole, some six million more than in the mid-1980's. In the major European countries, unemployment has increased dramatically over the past two decades and, in some of them, including Italy, Spain and France, increases that were initially cyclical have tended to become structural over time (Table 1). More recently, other countries, including Finland and Sweden have experienced drastic increases in the number of job seekers in the 1990's after a long period of low unemployment. The rather gloomy picture of many continental European economies contrasts with the experience of some non-European countries, which have managed to keep unemploymend at low levels (e.g. Japan) or have experienced significant reductions over the 1990's (the United States, New Zeland and, more recently, Australia). Even in Europe there are a few countries that have managed to contain the number of job seekers (e.g. Norway) or have shown clear improvements in the recent past (Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark). To what extent are these marked differences in labor market performances related to different labor market policies and, more generally,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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International role of the Euro and the developing Euro crisis.

Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) International role of Euro International Economics Sulyoung Lee (2009475022) Jonas Fomacon(2009950464) Taehee Kim (2009470052) Chanmi Shin (2009470033) Prof. Sunghun Park Content Introduction 3 History of Euro 4 What are the Benefits of Euro? 4 The Current Economic Situation in Euro Area 5 The International Role of the Euro in International Debt Markets 7 The International Role of the Euro in International Trade 11 The Euro in Third Countries 14 Crisis in Greece 17 Conclusion 20 Bibliography 23 Introduction The Euro has become the second most important international currency and, although strong advantages will continuing to favor the dollar for some time, the euro is likely to further increase its international weight. This brings new opportunities but also new risks for the euro area. Moreover, EMU has created one of the largest integrated economic and financial areas in the world. In combination with the rising international status of the euro, this is making economic developments and policies in the euro area increasingly relevant for the world economy. Globalization, particularly in the financial field, is magnifying the implications of these changes, too. At the outset there was a consensus that the euro would be well received internationally but would not match the US dollar's dominant position. In

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Unions have played a significant role in workforce history, have they outlived their purpose in the USA?

Title: Unions have played a significant role in workforce history, have they outlived their purpose. Abstract: Labor unions are lawfully recognized as envoys of employees in many companies in the United States. Activities of labor unions are centered on collective bargaining over workers’ benefits, working conditions, and salaries. They also stand in for their members in disagreements with management over the contract provisions violation. There are also larger unions that engage in activities of lobbying and electioneering at the federal or state level. In America, most unions are associated with one or two wider umbrella organizations. These unions stand to advocate legislation and policies on the workers’ behalf. They are also actively involved in workers politics, as well as issues of global trade but as times generations changed have they out lived their purpose. This paper examines labor unions, labor laws, NLRB and, the different generations represented in the workforce and how they affect the future of the Union. HISTORY Labor unions have existed in one form or another in the United States since the birth of the country. They were created in an effort to protect the working population from abuses such as sweatshops and unsafe working conditions. On the other hand, they have also been accused of crippling industries and consorting with organized crime over the

  • Word count: 5894
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Implications for the macro-economy of the central bank adopting an interest rate rule. John Taylor, a Stanford economist, was able to devise a simple rule for Federal Reserve actions which has received considerable acclaim for its accuracy in capturing t

Running Head: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MACRO-ECONOMY OF THE CENTRAL BANK ADOPTING AN INTEREST RATE RULE Implications for the macro-economy of the central bank adopting an interest rate rule (Name of the writer) (Name of the institution) ABSTRACT John Taylor devised a simple monetary policy rule that links the Federal Reserve's policy interest rate with inflation and output targets. This paper compares actual policy rates with the rates that would have been recommended by the basic Taylor Rule for three long periods in U.S. economic history: 1875-1913 ("Pre Fed"), 1914-1951 ("Early Fed"), and 1952-1998 ("Modern Fed"). In addition, the authors develop a more complex version of the Rule to facilitate a comparison of the way in which each monetary authority would have reacted to the economic challenges presented outside its own time period. The empirical evidence suggests that Modern Fed would have reacted more promptly and appropriately to inflation and output problems outside its time period than either Early Fed or Pre Fed, and that the movement of interest rates in the Pre Fed period came closer to the corrective policies of Modern Fed than did those of Early Fed. Table of Contents Chapter I 3 . Introduction 3 Chapter II 7 2. The Taylor Rule And Its Historical Application 7 Chapter III 19 3. The Enhanced Model 19 Chapter IV 22 4. Empirical Results And Inter-period

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Exploiting idealism - Jon Entine on how The Body Shop betrayed its customers.

EXPLOITING IDEALISM Jon Entine on how The Body Shop betrayed its customers by Jon Entine Imagine for a moment that science developed a new technology that could magically sort truth from hyperbole. When someone tells a really big lie, a truth bubble, visible only to those with this special power, suddenly appears and reveals the real story. This unique tool would be welcomed by parents, and no one would ever again have to fear used car salesmen or shifty politicians. Or the tidal wave of green marketers exploiting idealistic consumers. If responsible business leaders were smart, they would use the truth bubble to root out hypocrisy in their own backyard before it's used against them. Consumers used to feel pretty confident when companies-that-share-our-values such as The Body Shop or Ben & Jerry's promoted its latest plan to save the rainforest and empower its workforce. But the phenomenal growth of many New Age businesses has sparked a green boomlet. Now, everyone from Mobil to Monsanto to Waste Management is making noise about protecting the environment. This dramatic increase in "cause-related marketing" raises concerns whether green practices are being replaced by green washing. But green marketing cannot be explained away as soul-less multinational capitalists using progressive buzz words and ruining it for the good guys. The circle-the-wagons mentality in the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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The Need for Economic Policy Reform to Support Increasing Growth of Internet Penetration in Nigeria

Nigeria’s Digital Divide: The Need for Economic Policy Reform to Support Increasing Growth of Internet Penetration in Nigeria Fallon McNeill - Polytechnic Institute of NYU, 2012 Abstract Nigeria’s internet has been subject to vast digital divide effects since its inception in 1996. This paper aims to inspect the different elements that have influenced Nigeria’s internet usage through published case studies and other analyses of the area’s internet penetration. The paper will highlight many factors that influence the country’s internet usage such as education, socio-economic standings of users, accessibility to telecommunications infrastructure, and policy. I will explain, through comparison of countries’ fiscal policies as they relate to IT, that fiscal policy is the general umbrella for which the previously mentioned list of factors can be influences to promote higher rates of internet penetration and bridge the digital divide in Nigeria. Finally, I will discuss the implications of insufficient economic policy and how reform can allow for sustainable growth of internet penetration in developing nations. Introduction Digital Divide According to a 2011 Reuters article, Funke Opeke of Main One Cable Company predicts that one-third of Nigeria’s population “could have direct internet access by 2013” (pg. 1). With such rapid expected growth, it makes you

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Financial Crisis in Iceland

Course: MSc Finance and Investment Module: ECM04 - Economics of Capital Markets Date Due in: 2nd March 2009 Number of pages: 19 Word count: 4,261 Financial Crisis in Iceland Background, Causes, Consequences and Future Prospects Students: Jóhann Þórhallsson, Magnús Helgason & Sigurbjörg Ýr Guðmundsdóttir Lecturer: Jens Holscher & Khaled Soufani Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background & Causes 4 European Economic Area 4 Free Capital Transfer and Privatization of the Banks 4 Speculation Capitalism in Iceland 5 Free Market Capitalism 6 The Central Bank 7 Consequences 9 Model of Financial Crisis - Iceland Comparison 11 Conclusion 14 References 15 Appendix A 17 Appendix B 18 Introduction This assignment is part of ECM04 Economics of Capital Markets module on phase 2 in MSc. Finance and Investment at University of Brighton 2008-2009. The assignment is to analyze the Icelandic financial crisis which eventually led to the collapse of the Icelandic banking system and the economy as a whole. In order to analyse the Icelandic financial crisis we will begin to look at the background and what we regard as the causes, look at the consequences and future prospects. In the end we compare the Icelandic financial crisis to a model which Kindleberger covers in his book Manias, Panics and Crashes. Kindleberger (1978) describes financial crisis in the

  • Word count: 5738
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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