Causes and costs of inflation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Causes and costs of inflation - Essay Example Inflation is defined as "an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy" (Mankiw & Taylor, 2006, p. 817). The rate of inflation which is the percentage change in the overall level of prices, varies greatly from time to time depending on the condition of the economy and the stage of development of a country. Inflation is generally measured by calculating the cost of a basket of goods and services bought by an average consumer. This is measurement is represented in the form of an index known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The rate of inflation is a cause of concern for policy makers, economists and the public alike. While most laypeople consider the existence of inflation to be undesirable, (because an increase in price levels without a corresponding increase in wages signifies a fall in purchasing power) economist tend to discount the much overplayed costs of inflation. To arrive at a conclusive opinion about the significance of the costs of inflation, it is first necessary to understand what causes inflation The main reason behind cases of high or persistent inflation is the growth in the quantity of money available in the economy. Monetarists believe that changes in the quantity of money are a direct cause of inflation. The quantity of money available in an economy is known as the money supply and is usually under the control of the government. The money supply in an economy is usually measured by the availability of currency (notes and coins), checkable deposits (demand deposits) as well as saving deposits, plus wholesale currency deposits, and in the broadest sense foreign currency deposits may also be included. Different measures of money are used according to need but the most common is M2 (Cash in circulation plus demand deposits). (Sloman, 1999, p. 560) The quantity theory of money states that people hold money because they wish to engage in transactions to buy goods and services. The greater the need for transactions the greater will be the amount of money held. The amount of money held is expressed through the following equation, where M=quantity of money, V= velocity of money-the rate at which money circulates, P= average price of a transaction and T= total number of transactions over a period of time. M V = P T It is more useful and practical to substitute T with Y, which is the level of Output of an economy. The level of output will determine the number of transaction over a period of time and thus the equation changes to M V = P Y This equates the quantity of money available to the value of goods and services of an economy (GDP). The velocity of money is held to be constant to make the model simpler. If one variable on the left side of the equation increases then there should be a corresponding increase in one of the variables on the right side. If velocity is taken to be constant, and level of output of an economy is taken to be a function of the factors of production, then any changes in M will result in corresponding change in the price level: P. Thus if an increase in money supply causes the nominal GDP to increase and the there is no increase in the output of goods and services then it is an obvious conclusion that the price levels have increased. The quantity theory thus implies that the price level is proportional to the money supply (Mankiw, 2003, pp.

E-commerce in International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

E-commerce in International Marketing - Essay Example If you pay via cash, check, credit card, etc. The major difference between the two is that in E-Business a firm is utilizing web based resources to promote its products and in E-Commerce the company is only operating virtually using a web based interface to interact with its customers. International Marketing differs in E-business and E-Commerce. As in E-Business a firm might not be catering to all the countries with the same website, but in E-Commerce a firm needs to change its catalog only according to the products that it's offering to different countries. For example in E-Commerce a product might be available for the customers of U.S. but not for the customers of Canada hence customers from different countries need to specify their country in order to be able to see what's available to them. Likewise if a product is marketed in E-Commerce internationally, only the common aspects of the international markets its being sell to are used in making an international marketing strategy. But in E-Business the company can create different websites for different international markets it's selling in; hence E-Business in international marketing differs from country to country. ... Other factors that play a part are the demand, supply of that product and whether it's a necessity or a luxury product. The technological infrastructure should be efficient in delivering automated replies to customers, it should provide necessary and related information to the customer. The infrastructure should provide backup in time of problems. When developing an internet marketing strategy in relation to international marketing its important to considered some aspects of the market. The most important is to design the website using the language of the country. Other aspects include making web advertisements according to the cultures and norms of the country that the market belongs to this can be achieved by viewing the local websites of the market. Internet can play a major part for any organization in achieving its objective in the international market for marketing its product. This source of marketing is cheaper and more effective as more people surf the internet. It's easier for the customers to learn about the organizations product sitting at home. On television a viewer can only watch but on internet the customer can get answers to his or her questions apart from viewing information about the product. Another important concept is the language factor a if a website can be viewed by an international customer in his or her own language than he will get a better understanding of the product. Ans.3 As I have to explore and implement various ways of E-Business for my organization, the first step would be to know about the markets that have high demand for our products. The second step would be to select markets that have technological support

History of the Public Smoking Ban

History of the Public Smoking Ban The emergence of public smoking ban can be backdated to 1590 when Pope Urban VII threatened to excommunicate anyone who took any form of tobacco inside a church. Afterwards other European cities enacted smoking bans. Modern, countrywide tobacco ban was imposed in Germany during the rein of Adolf Hitler. In the sunset years of the 20th century, second-hand health related risks of tobacco smoking became more publicized. Coupled with restrictions on cigarette advertising and fear of revenue losses, the tobacco industry embarked on campaigns aimed at â€Å"tolerance and courtesy† to reduce the heightened tension between smoker and non-smokers, whilst eluding issues related smoking ban. Over the years, laws implementing bans on outdoor smoking have been enacted by many countries in various ways. The Irish government became the first country to do so. In one form or another, is also has been enacted in countries such as USA, Norway, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, South Africa, United Kingdom and Australia. The World Health Organization (1997) survey on tobacco control policies reported that a vast majority of countries numbering to 134 now have some form of restriction on smoking in public places. The underlying explanations cited for smoking bans in public places has often been safeguarding of the society from the its detrimental effects, which include increased risks of cancer, heart disease, and other acute and chronic diseases. The implementers have often put forward scientific evidence showing that tobacco smoking is harmful to the smokers and to those inhaling second-hand smoke. Air quality has often been advocated by the public one of the advantages of smoking ban. For this reason, the basis for smoking ban rationale relates to normative economics. Normative economics entails value judgements about â€Å"what the economy ought to be like† or what particular policy measures ought to be undertaken to achieve a desirable objective. Since normative economics looks into the appropriateness of particular aspects of the economy, it advocates for economic policies. In this case, the value desirable goal aims at reducing health care costs and improve productivity and create job opportunities, reduced risk of fire, cleanliness in places where food are handled, potential cutback on energy (decreased ventilation needs), reduced quantities of litter, make it easier for smokers to quit, and to promote healthier environments. Although restrictions attributed to smoking ban are primarily intended to reduce exposure to second hand smoke, it is most likely that there will be a reduction in smokers opportunity to indulge. This may lead to significant reductions in cigarettes smoked and consequently the â€Å"cost of smoking† Chaloupka and Warner (2000). In particular will be the smokers working or mostly spend most of the time within the Central Business District (CBD) of Nairobi where the smoking ban law is stringent as compared to the suburban. In Ireland, for example, it is said that approximately 7,000 smokers are thought to have quit in the first six months after imposition. What does this imply? First of all it is essential to acknowledge that cigarettes as products have inelastic demand. Tobacco is the raw product for cigarettes and contains nicotine an addictive substance that has no close substitutes. According to Curbing the Epidemic (The World Bank, 1999), elasticity of cigarette ranges on an average of (-0.4) though it varies from region to region, and from study to study. With this simple observation, it therefore implies that the total quantities of cigarettes consumed by each individual ‘continuing smoker will decline, ceteris paribas. This means, that there was an inward shift in demand for cigarettes after the implementation of the ban. Figure 2 demonstrates this implication of shift in demand. Before the enactment of the smoking ban, the consumers demand curve was D1 and the amount spent totaled to Kshs. 100.00 as depicted by the shaded area (OABF). After the enactment, the demand shifted to D2, hence the consumer total expenditure was Kshs. 50.00 as shown by the area (OACE). Economists have often referred to this phenomenon as non-price measures to reduce demand on cigarette. The imposition of smoking ban in the proximity of Kenyas county councils and municipalities includes all workplaces (private and public), businesses and public places (indoor and outdoor) with the exception of restaurants which have been obliged to designate special smoking zones. In the Nairobi for example, there are only three spots in the Central Business District (CBD) allocated smoking zones which do not sufficiently address the needs of all smokers. This ban comes in at the time when the tobacco manufacturing industry BAT Kenya Ltd. has been pushed to a threshold level as a result of tough regulation on advertisement campaign. What will the consumer do with the rest of the money saved? Since the consumer will be saving Kshs. 50.00, daily it will sum up to Kshs. 1,500.00 per month. This would definitely affect the cigarette position on the consumers budget line, assuming the income remains the same. In the Neoclassical economics, the goal of consumer behavior is utility maximization (consistent with maximization of net benefits). This means that the marginal utility of the last Shilling spent on the last cigarette will be equal to the marginal utility of the last Shilling spent on any ‘other good (equimargin principle). To get a better picture of this situation, let assume the following: Before smoking ban After smoking ban Income Kshs.30,000Kshs.30,000 Expenditure on cigarettesKshs. 3,000Kshs. 1,500 Amount spent on others Kshs.27,000Kshs.28,500 Table 1: Cigarette smokers budget before and after ban Figure 2 shows the smokers (consumer) budget line. Since the consumer is constrained by it the budget line, the new law will results into an outward movement along the budget line of the expenditure dedicated to smoking relative to what is spent on others. The implication is that the extra money derived from the reduction of smoking will be substituted and spent on others. This may at times result into some level of decrease in demand for inferior goods. Maybe the smoker will buy a gift for his wife or girlfriend, some items for himself, indulge in other activities such as beer drinking to divert from the affects of the smoking ban. In an interesting scenario would be where the consumer will be end up spending on expensive cigarettes since the consumer may want to maximize on utility. The smoking ban carries along with it requirements that the hospitality sector (hotels, casinos, bars and restaurants) has to designate regions for smokers and non-smokers. In addition it would be a not be a surprise to observe â€Å"no-smoking† and â€Å"smoking† related signs in these places. This will have a twofold effect which can also be viewed from the point of opportunity cost of smoking on businesses (due to the fact that the new decree is at times not adhered and may be up to the business to decide despite them knowing of the legal risks involved). One will be on the businesses that will follow the decree. These businesses may benefit from the fact that they may not lose on some non-smoking clientele base, but lose on some smokers who may avoid these places due to the pinching effect of the ban. The second would be businesses that would not completely adhere to the decree and may loose on clientele that may not appreciate the fact that they are not being ackno wledged, but gain from smokers who may feel that they are not being restricted. In general, economic loss will be experience in varying businesses in the hospitality sector. These include: The imposing of smoking ban will reduce pollution causing activities since the polluters, that is, smokers will be affected. This will result into increased levels of purified or cleanliness of the air. Unfortunately this does not come free. In economics any improvement linked to the environment has both benefits and costs to the society. There exists a trade-off between how much improvement is gained and how much money is used. This can be demonstrated by bringing together marginal benefits and marginal costs into one figure to provide some indication of the exchange and determine how socially efficient is the environmental improvement. What economists term as the socially efficient quantity of pollution† means that social benefits will be maximized when pollution is reduced to a certain point. Unfortunately, too much pollution reduction is too costly for us to undertake. In the case of smoking ban in Kenya, net social benefits can be determined by the difference between total benefit (TB) and total cost (TC): Why? For example in the demand and supply curve, consumer surplus is can be determined by the area above the market price (equilibrium) and below the demand curve, which is similar to our case above. The implications would be that there will be a positive social benefit as results of smoking ban and clean air due to movement from MC1 to MC2 This law will entail some long term implication in that it will prevent the youth from smoking at an early stage, as there will be lesser number of people exposed to the perils of smoking. Hence this will greatly benefit the society in terms of reduced levels of current and mostly essentially, the future generation. Furthermore, restrictions on smoking may change the perceived norms related to smoking by changing attitudes concerning the social acceptability of smoking (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1994). Evidence has shown that hospital admissions related to heart attacks the cases of dropped due to enactment of the ban. For example, after the smoking ban was imposed 2003 in Pueblo, Colorado USA heart attacked cases dropped by 27% while neighbouring towns where the ban was not introduced showed no change. Also a survey conducted in Scotland showed that smoking ban has some positive impact on health. The research revealed that massive health gain as a result of smoking ban. So not only will individual Kenyan smokers benefit in terms of better health (since some would quit while the continuing smokers will reduce indulging) but also potential second hand smokers (such as bar workers and those who spend considerable time with the smokers). Net social benefit (NB) = Total Benefit (TB) Total Cost (TC) NB = TB TC In economics, â€Å"net benefits are maximized where marginal benefit equals marginal cost (MB = MC)†. The same applies for socially efficient point that occurs where MB = MC and the point where they interact (MB and MC), maximum net social benefits is realized. This is demonstrated in figure 3 where as a result of the imposition of smoking ban MC1 shifts to MC2, causing the equilibrium to change from E1 to E2. Since smoking ban results to E2, then net social benefits is computed as: NSB = A + B + C C NSB = A + B Loss of revenue Loss of actual employment A decline in wages and salary payments Besides the cigarette manufacturers, the impact of a ban is expected to trickle down the industry chain. This includes the tobacco farmers. In Kenya, there are 300,000 farmers involved in growing of tobacco leaves, which means that there would likely be a reduction in revenue on their side. This will result into some of them halting the growing the tobacco leaves and looking for other substitution to their farming. The fear of being phased out is another determining factor on the future volumes (tobacco leaves) produced unless the tobacco industries takes alternative measures to increase it foreign exports and counter local market situation, hence ensure no decline in local quantities of tobacco leaves demand. It is obvious that the reduction of health risks will result into less expenditure that the government will spend of health care in the long run. This ensures improved productivity which will boost the production possibility frontier (PPT). Others benefits to the government include gains in terms of less energy used for ventilation needs and possibilities of increased investment. One would expect that the government revenue would be reduced from the drop in taxes gained from the manufacturing industries, tobacco farmers and the hospitality. Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case. In June 2007, a month before the enactment of the ban, the Kenyan government increased the â€Å"Sin-Taxes†. It seems that the government had counter measures of reducing any chances of future loss of revenue in anticipation of the ban in Junly 2007. For this reason, then it appears that the stakeholders (smokers and related industries) took the overall burden. However, the government will need to create more job opportunities for loss in employment. In addition, government will have to give subsidies to tobacco farmers since the new law will reduce their income and discourage them to continue farming. Since cigarettes contain the addictive substance called nicotine, some smokers may not be able to eventually quit. This may prompt the government to initiate surrogate smoking programs such â€Å"smoking cessation†. One would expect that the new law will impact on the valuation of the tobacco industries. This is definitely true since there was an initial drop in the stock price of BAT stock in the NSE immediately after the ban was enacted. According to The East African, it is estimated that the BAT stocks in the NSE lost Ksh3.5 billion ($48.6 million) in a period of one year. BAT share prices dropped from Kshs. 200 per share to Kshs. 165.00, the lowest during that trading period. In spite of this, today, the stock price has stabilized. This can be owed to the fact that the short run production was affected which led to market speculations of the uncertainty of the BAT in the long run. However, BAT did take counter measures of expanding its foreign market hence giving assurance of long run. Currently, according to Business Daily, so far the BAT shares at the NSE have been stable despite further series of smoking bans by other local authorities. This is consistent with economics of production wher e all the fixed factors of production are variable in the long run hence ensuring some level of return to scale just as BAT has done to ensure it stays in production. Contrarily, in the short run, a firm is only able to change the variable factors and not fixed factors just as the stock prices of BAT reflect in short run versus long run.

She Walks In Beauty by Lord Byron and Douglas Dunns Reincarnation :: English Literature

Both She Walks In Beauty by Lord Byron and Douglas Dunn's Reincarnation are about romance. "She Walks In Beauty"/ "Reincarnation" Both "She Walks In Beauty" by Lord Byron and Douglas Dunn's "Reincarnation" are about romance. Although this is true they have much to be contrasted. "She Walks In Beauty" is about a man who is truly besotted with a woman who, from my observations, he doesn't even know. I think this from the fact that he doesn't talk about anything except for her looks and he says that he doesn't know her name: Had half impair'd the nameless grace ==================================== The poet takes pleasures from the woman's beauty and, unlike "Reincarnation" by Dunn, the poem mainly focuses on the woman's sexual attraction. She is often compared to perfection: Of cloudless climes and starry skies This also shows just how infatuated he is with her. This is an immense scale to put her on as it compares her not only to a section of a country but to the enormity and perfection of the galaxy. This metaphor also refers to her mysterious nature because -the poem was written almost two hundred years ago, in the early nineteenth century- not much was known about the night skies as it is so far away nobody has ever been there. This also shows how little he knows about her. A sense of adulation also occurs throughout Lord Byron's poem and it seems as though he cannot criticise her at all. This is completely contrasted with the bond between himself and the woman in Dunn's "Reincarnation". We can say, almost certainly, that "Reincarnation" is autobiographical, as we know that Dunn's wife died in 1984 from cancer. I think the sudden and premature death of his wife has been the inspiration for this poem that is so full of naked emotion and so full of true love, unlike the lust for the woman in the poem by Lord Byron, that you can almost feel his pain. For now I know the shame of being late, Too late. This shows the sorrow he is feeling. It also hints at remorse, giving us the sense that he feels slightly guilty about the death, which was obviously not his fault. It could also be showing us that he feels he has unfinished business with her or maybe he feels that he didn't have chance to say goodbye because he was so unprepared for it. The diction chosen by Lord Byron is very sophisticated. The words he chooses to use, such as eloquent make his poem flow with a smooth and graceful rhythm. The rhymes in "She Walks In Beauty" are monosyllabic

Meta-Investigation on The Michael Brown Case Essay

Block A. A. Terms problem- The teams are not communicating primarily caused by the J. Edgar Hoover Model, page 37, Detective Terms. [This model does not require identifying the investigative building blocks or rules of investigations and assumes that everyone on the team will know them. It can be argued that this is the main cause of most problems in building cases. Further evidence for this lack of communication was the failure to manage the body(Physical Evidence#5) in a timely manner(Block A-Rules of Investigations) No one in the investigation has really known who has jurisdiction over this case. It went from city to county and then state and no one actually preceded to be the 1st in line of action to step up and say, â€Å"Hey, we have it.† One of the influencers in this case was Al Sharpton, basically bringing in the Feds and making it a civil case of racism. The population of Ferguson is 67% black, which has served as a big influence on this case. Case Label Block 1 There are no actual charges yet for this case, because they are still investigating this case in Ferguson, Missouri. The officer had reasonable doubt to ask Michael Brown to get off the road and to get onto the sidewalk. He had the law on his side if he would have frisked the two young guys and possibly arrest one or both of them. The media and Al Sharpton and other Elites are trying to make this out to be a civil case. It almost seems as if Michael basically committed Copicide. The rule of discretion was followed, it seems. The officer followed through at his own discretion instead of calling for backup. Verbal Evidence Block 2 Michael Brown had no most-serious felony convictions or pending cases. Dorian Johnson, witness to Michael Brown getting shot, has been accused of lying in the past upon several occasions. This makes him to be a bad witness for this case, good for the officer’s case though.

Abigail’s Party

It could be said that Mike Leigh uses the comic convention of disguises at the end of Act 1 to show Beverly’s change of attitude from her disguise back to her real self. This is shown when Beverly suggests â€Å"[getting] pissed† after having an argument with Laurence. The use of the word â€Å"pissed† as a colloquialism for drunk could be seen as being symbolic of Beverly’s true social class seeping through the performance she continuously puts on throughout the night.This is humorous for the audience as Beverly spends a great deal of time and effort in the first part of Act 1 making sure that she is able to impress guests like Angela and Tony and try to feel in the same social class as Susan. She does this by adding a copy of â€Å"[placing] a copy of Cosmopolitan magazine in the magazine rack† and â€Å"[putting] on a record (Donna Summer: Love to Love you† among other things yet after one small spat shall we say with her husband represses back to having the personality the audience believes she’s trying to hide.Some might also say that Leigh’s use of fools near the end of Act 1 is to create after a very tense moment. An example of this would be after Laurence makes quite a long speech which gives us an idea of his views about people as he says that people often â€Å"just drift through life, without any real aims†. He also describes these people as being â€Å"weak†. Both these points are extremely serious and also quite angry.This means that when Angela tells a story about the time â€Å"[she] went to a party† right after these serious points, the audience feels sorry for Laurence as no one seems to be listening to him, but they also can’t help but laugh at Angela’s complete vacancy of points Laurence was making. This makes Angela a clear example of a natural fool as she has no real knowledge about when she is making an irrelevant point. It could also be said that th e comic convention of foolishness is used when Angela and Beverly doesn’t know when she is saying something inappropriate or hurtful.An example of this would be when they try to reassure Susan about her daughter Abigail’s party but end up doing the exact opposite by Beverly saying that â€Å"teenagers get over-excited† to which Angela add that â€Å"it all starts with one kiss†. This is humorous as while trying to do one thing, Beverly and Angela end up doing the exact opposite without realising it which is a classic example of a natural fool. This part of the play could also be seen as cringe comedy because of the sympathy the audience feels for innocent Susan who has been kicked out of her house by her daughter only to e made to feel even more uncomfortable in Beverly’s house with her continuous points about teenagers and their rumoured carelessness which, including the gin and tonics Beverly gives Susan, causes her to be physically sick at the v ery end of the act. Hypocrisy could be considered to be another comic convention that is shown at the end of Act 1. This is particularly something that Beverly shows more than anyone else as when she is describing teenagers as having â€Å"a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other [and] they’re having a bit of a dance†.The hypocrisy of this is that Beverly throughout the act is continuously refilling people’s drinks, offering cigarettes to everyone and is described on page 42 as â€Å"[proceeding] to have a dance solo in front of the others†. This is humorous as it makes it plainly obvious that Beverly is a natural fool because she is, in many ways just as childish as the teenagers that were in Susan’s house. This is another case of the audience feeling superior to the characters on stage as they when seeing the play would mostly be middle class and therefore they would also probably not be as childish as Beverly or Angela.Leigh’s uses o f comic conventions are, in my opinion, used to establish a social ladder change between when the characters are first introduced and when the act finishes which is shown with Susan coming to the house with a bottle of red wine and ending up being sick in the toilet. Leigh’s clear use of comic conventions such as hypocrisy is also to breakdown the difference between sophistication and childishness. Mostly though, Leigh uses comic conventions to get the audience to question where they stand on the social ladder and if it really matters in this world.