Economics regarding Oligoploy markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economics regarding Oligoploy markets - Essay Example Perfect competition has always been considered to be best for the consumer and is favoured by nations. It is the ideal situation where all similar or identical products are available simultaneously to all buyers. This would make it impossible for both buyers and seller to influence prices. Demand and Supply will determine price at any point in time. In the real world however there is little evidence of such conditions. In the continuum between monopoly and perfect competition Oligopoly has raised its dreadful form to the detriment of the consumer. This is the situation where a few sellers, usually three or four, control the supply side and influence the customer to accept their product or service along with the price they dictate. What is not so obvious is that they also force their supply chain to accept this dictatorial attitude to get the best prices and terms. The beauty of this entire operation is that both consumers as well as the supply chain consider the oligopoly as their benefactor and willingly subscribe to their ideology. Even the state is fooled by them into the false thinking that they contribute positively to the economy by providing huge job opportunity and creating excellent platforms for increasing efficiency and quality. But the fact is that an oligopoly is exploitative although it appears to be benign; and when it hurts it is often too late to help the stakeholders. An Oligopoly is a cluster of companies that deal with similar products or services and offer them within a very narrow band of prices to the consumers. It makes a great show of perfect competition as prices and products are similar and the intensity of rivalry is perceived through their aggressive and persuasive promotional tactics. On the surface, externally, there is great fanfare of competition and competitive advantage but in reality there is great conformity amongst them. An

Textual Analysis of Nafta in the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Textual Analysis of Nafta in the Media - Essay Example However, the trade agreement has received criticism from different quarters in the United States and thus a textual analysis of all the comments was necessary. Analysis of NAFTA data The process context analysis involves quite a number of procedures and data sourced from different sources. Most of the criticism of NAFTA came from administrators, politicians and other experts through newspapers articles, websites, online publications and the mainstream media. In the process of analyzing text it is important for the researcher to conduct the study by collecting data rather than making wild unsupported claims (pg. 140). The messages and data attributed to the NAFTA agreement by various administrators in the United States should be analyzed carefully using evidence. Evidence based research is important in validating the data produced or relayed through various media. Messages being relayed by various interested parties interested in the NAFTA go through a lot of processes in their produc tion. Data on NAFTA has been in existence since 1994 when the agreement when the agreement came into existence. In the process of context analysis it is important for the researcher to collect information from different sources. For the data to have empirical data value it is important for the researcher to conduct analysis by identifying and contacting the participants. In the analysis of NAFTA it is important for the content of the text to be derived from interviews or data sourced from different researches conducted. Many administrators in the United States have framed NAFTA as a trade agreement that does not benefit the United States but instead it favors Mexico. Most of the politicians and trade officials hold these views. Since the main participants in this analysis are administrators and politicians it is important to make contact with them during the analysis (pg. 139). Context analysis involves testing hypothesis from messages with a view of analyzing the context and correc tness of the data presented by the participants. In the case of NAFTA data has to be collected through sampling by use of purposive samples focused on different regions in the United States. Using purposive sampling, samples can be gathered from different regions in the United States with focus on economic data. For instance, since the agreement was enacted in 1994, data samples from the media would be gathered from online sources and researches. Each media category could attract one sample per month for the next ten years and these samples would be used the context analysis (pg. 145). Process of Analyzing NAFTA Data In the process of analyzing text it is important for the researcher to use the set out and recognized data analysis methods. Content analysis is made up of four intricate steps which are; unitizing, sampling, coding and analysis. In the process of analyzing how the NAFTA has been framed by different interest groups in the media, it is important to first come up with a r ational purpose of the data analysis. The process of analyzing NAFTA’s data we start with unitizing whereby we create the content by choosing the content to analyze. Our unit of data in connection to NAFTA is newspaper articles, news interviews, online publication and research studies conducted on NAFTA (pg. 149). The most pragmatic approach is to use research conducted by various analysts in the analysis of NAFTA data. Since NAFTA covers the three countries on Mexico, Canada and United States, it is important

Hidden Time Capsule from both the Renaissance and the Age of Baroque Essay

Hidden Time Capsule from both the Renaissance and the Age of Baroque - Essay Example This period began in Italy, Rome, at around the year 1600 and rapidly spread to other European regions (Fitzpatrick, 2008). Its popularity and success were however encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church which insisted that the arts produced at the time were to communicate various religious subjects through emotional or direct involvements. This was in response to the protestant reformation that was taking place at the time. The baroque architectural styles were perceived as means through which visitors would be entertained and triumphant control or power would be expressed (Buelow, 2004). On the other hand, the renaissance period began back in the 14th century and lasted through to the 17th century and was also started in Italy while spreading to other European regions in the course of time (Hinds, 2009). The period mainly encompassed the creative flowering of the vernacular and Latino literatures, the establishment of linear perspectives along with various rendering styles for brin ging out the natural realities of painting (Mason, 2005). In writing this paper, I am imagining that I am a cultural anthropologist searching a hidden capsule from both periods with two items each from these periods’ art, music, architecture, philosophy and literature locked inside them. The paper therefore describes the each of the items that have been found in the capsules from these periods. Inside the first capsule, I found the first art from the Renaissance period which came from Giotto di Bondone who lived between the years 1267-1337 and treated paintings as windows in space. He made his break by using the Byzantine styles and made his first masterwork found were the decorations of Padua’s Scrovegni Chapel which were completed around the year 1305 (Hinds, 2009). I also found the sculptures of Pieta and David that were made by Michelangelo even before he turned thirty years were classical and herculean in structure in this capsule. Michelangelo was the most famous painter, sculptor and artist of the renaissance period (Mason, 2005). Inside the second capsule that came from the baroque period, Aleijadinho of Brazil creations of the statute called Santuario de bom jesus de matosinhos that is located in Congonhas was found. Most of his finest works were several soapstone structures of Old Testament prophets that were created on the terraces of the Brazilian temple (Fitzpatrick, 2008). The fountains of Bernini that were created between the years 1598 to 1680 also have high traits of the Baroque period were also found in the second capsule. Bernini was renowned for making sculptures that could combine the spiritual with the physical and created several busts for the powerful people who lived during his time (Buelow, 2004). In the first capsule, I found music from the renaissance period that had been produced by composers like Guillaume Dufay and Giovanni da Palestrina which included masses and motets (Mason, 2005). Masses were sacred compositions that mainly set the Eucharistic liturgies into music. On the other hand, motets were highly varied musical compositions that were choral (Hinds, 2009). In the second capsule, I found musical types like the concerto and the sinfonia which came into being during the baroque period. The sinfonia was an Italian form of symphony and comprised of an orchestral piece whereas the concertos were composed of three elements which were the solo instruments, movements and an orchestra that accompanied the two (Fitzpatrick, 2008). The cathedral of Morelia Michoacan that are situated in Mexico and the Basilica di San Sebastiano gardens in Sicily are the best examples of baroque period architecture that were found in this capsule. These two

Consequences for domestic oil & gas companies resulting from the Research Paper

Consequences for domestic oil & gas companies resulting from the recent crash in oil prices - Research Paper Example According to Baker Hughes, there was a reduction of energy industry oil rigs by 16 rigs in the week ending December 23, 2014 with 26 more rigs reduced in the week ending January 2, 20153. The decline in the rig count is evidenced by the chart below. The other impact on the US oil and gas companies is a reduction in drilling of new wells with a fall of 40% in issuance of new permits for oil production in the United States in November in response to fall in oil prices. Hemerich & Payne, an energy exploration and production company based in Tulsa, reduced its oil rigs by 50 in January in response to the low oil prices after a previously reducing its oil rigs by 11 rigs. The other impact of the declined oil prices on US oil and gas companies is a reduction in share prices. US shale producer’s shares fell by 8.4% on January 5, 2015. The fall in oil prices resulted in the fall of share value of Continentals resources by 12%4. Transocean’s shares declined by 7% making it a 65% fall in stock for the company within the last one year5. Rigs witnessing low production have also been shut to allow the company’s to concentrate on more productive rigs. The fall in oil prices also resulted in the layoff of workers in the oil and gas sector. Schlumberger (SLB) stated low oil prices and few wells being drilled as reasons for dismissal of 9,000 workers6. A total of 53,041 jobs were lost in January in the United States with 40% of the job cuts being directed related to the fall in oil prices7. Of the 53,041 jobs lost, a high percentage was lost from the energy sector with 21,322 jobs attributed to oil price cut. Halliburton and ConocoPhilips announced 0.42% (1000 workers) and 0.75% job cuts in January respectively, because of the reduced prices of oil. In Texas, 19, 833 people lost their jobs with the main reason being the fall in oil prices while Baker Hughes reduced its workforce by 7,000 workers. The fall in oil prices has also affected economies that were booming

Social Cultural and Economic Context of Zimbabwe Essay Example for Free

Social Cultural and Economic Context of Zimbabwe Essay The fall of the Ian Smith led Rhodesian government led to Zimbabwe gaining its independence in 1980. The ZANU PF government led by then Prime Minister Mugabe of the ZANU PF party embraced a policy of national reconciliation between races in order to encourage amity, nation-building and economic growth between the country’s white minority and black majority racial groups. This lead to a period of growth throughout the 1980s, the economy performed extremely well, which led the Central government expenditure to triple and increase its share from 32. % of GDP in 1979 to 44. 6% in 1989(Hazzlewood, 1967:284). Having inherited a socially skewed system of allocation of resources from its predecessor, the ZANU PF government began to rectify this distribution of resources from the mainly white domiciled areas in the urban areas and commercial farms to rural parts of Zimbabwe focusing on provision of clean water (Transitional National Development Plan, pp. 61-62), and providing educational resources in areas where prior to independence there had been none (International Education Journal, 2005, 6(1), 65-74 Gibbs Y.  Kanyongo). However towards the end of the 80’s the growth experienced shortly after independence waned and by the early 90’s Zimbabwe fell into an economic crisis forcing it to implement IMF and World Bank proposed Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) which was designed to lure investors into the country and remove any limitations on growth on the country. This policy forced the government to create a free market place in which the government’s reach would be miniscule and market forces would rule the day (Dansereau, ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’, p. 3). This policy eroded what little socio-economic gains that had been made in the first decade of the newly independent state (L. Sachikonye, ‘Whither Zimbabwe? Crisis and Democratisation) by introducing government spending on the socialist policies such as free education and projects with the intention of improving the infrastructure of the country to those habitant in the rural areas of the country who had been neglected by the former colonial government. This was followed by the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) included among other things, removal of price and wage controls, reduction of government expenditure, a 40 per cent devaluation of Zimbabwean Dollar, removal of subsidies on basic consumer goods, a radical restructuring of various parastatals and other public enterprises (Sichone, 2003:1). SAPs also coincided with the years of drought (1992, 1993, 1995) which put a heavy burden on an economy that was mainly reliant on commercial agriculture through its export of teas, cotton and tobacco. This already fragile economy was later shattered by the war veterans unbudgeted pay outs in 1997 which culminated in what is widely referred to as â€Å"Black Friday†14th of November 2007(L. Mambondiani :newzimbabwe. com). Already reeling the economy took another hit via the chaotic fast-track land reform that took place in 2000 which led to the United States freezing lines of credit by means of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001. This land reform led to vastly inexperienced persons receiving large tracts of farmland with virtually no experience which resulted in a substantial decrease in agricultural yields (Dancaescu, Nick.  Note. Land reform in Zimbabwe. 15 Fla. J. Intl L. 615 (2003). This led to an enormous decline in agricultural production which in turn led to chronic food shortages which were borne by the people of Zimbabwe. This further compounded by underperforming state owned enterprises whose debt obligations were undertaken by the government. This led to rampant inflation which by 2008 had reached +11 000 000 per cent July leading to the rebasing of the currency by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe by removing 3 zeros and issuing new bearer checks which did nothing to alleviate the situation as the zeros quickly reappeared . On top of all this Zimbabwe also had a spiralling external debt amounting to US$3 968 million. With the harmonized elections of 2008 which resulted in the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) there was the complete abandonment of the Zimbabwean dollar and the adoption of the multi-currency (South African Rand, Tswana Pula and the US Dollar). This led to some growth which although was very small was a positive change as compared to what Zimbabwe had experienced in the last eight years. Upon becoming the Prime Minister Of Zimbabwe in the Independent era from 1980 Mugabe preached a policy of reconciliation involving members of competing political parties in his early cabinet such as Joshua Nkomo leader of PF ZAPU and other whites who had previously worked under the colonial regime. However these policies were not to last long as from 1983 to 1984 there was a major suppression of Nkomo and his supporters based on what could be defined as ethnic basis. With government setting curfews in Matabeleland here Nkomo’s support base resided which was mainly the Ndebele tribe as opposed to the Shona tribe which Mugabe hailed from. The sending in of the army, in particular the North Korean trained 5th brigade which attempted to supress the â€Å"dissidents† through a campaign of mass violence campaign, known as the Gukuruhundi, or (strong wind) which resulted in as many as 20,000 civilian deaths. This eventually led to Nkomo’s part agreeing to be swallowed by ZANU PF via the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987 thereby making Zimbabwe for all intents and purposes a one party state. This status-quo remained for much of the 90’s with ZANU PF stifling any opposition to its power by amending the constitution following the lapsing of the 1980 Lancaster agreement, restoring corporal and capital punishment and denying recourse to the courts in cases of compulsory purchase of land by the government. Attempts by students trade unionists and workers to protest via demonstrations being curtailed via banning of anti-government protests by the police. This growing swell of antagonism by these various groups culminated in the creation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999. In 2000 besides the clear voter intimidation of opposition supporters the MDC managed to win 57 of the 120 seats in the parliamentary elections. These effect of these results then coloured the months leading up to the 2002 presidential election where intimidation and violence was rife towards opposition. The outcome of these elections were Mugabe wining by a large margin although international observers did call them to be rigged in the sense that the pre-election environment was neither free nor fair, and the election itself was marred by significant fraud and rigging regional opinion was however mixed. The resulting legal challenge against these results by the MDC by 2004 still did not have a ruling which resulted in the the United States, the EU, and other European countries imposed travel restrictions against senior Zimbabwean officials and embargoed the sale of arms to Zimbabwe. The US and the EU also froze the financial assets of selected ruling party officials. In 2005 the MDC party then spilt into two separate parties with one retaining the MDC name under Welshman Ncube and the other being called MDC-T which was under its founding party leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The acrimonious split occurred over differing views over the party’s participation in the 2005 Senate elections. Tsvangirai’s camp didn’t want to contest these elections on the premise that the MDC had released a statement in 2004 stating that they would not participate in any elections till conditions prevailed for free and fair elections whilst the Ncube led faction was of the opposite opinion. In 2008 the harmonised elections first round the Tsvangirai led MDC was adjudged to have won won 47. % and Mugabe won 43. 2%, thereby necessitating a run-off. These figures however seen by many international observers to have been massaged as the results for the first round of elections took nearly five weeks to be released. The period leading up to the runoff between Mugabe and Tsvangirai saw an unprecedented wave of violence aimed towards supporters of MDC-T, resulting in the death of up to a 100 of Tsvangirai’s supporters leading him to pull out of the election s citing this violence. This resulted in the Government of National Unity (GNU) which was mediated by the Southern African Community Development (SADC) where a power sharing coalition was negotiated between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Ncube. The GNU was given a life span of five years in which the negotiated terms of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which govern it where meant to be put into legislature with the hope of putting in systems such as a new constitution that will reform Zimbabwe to the point of having free and fair elections. Implementation of the GPA has however been fraught with disagreement with the pure lack of sincerity on ZANU PF’s part on stalling the reforms such as the repealing of repressive legislature like the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which have been used to bar the MDC’s and civil society from holding rallies to simple internal meetings.

Osmosis Triple Science Essay Example for Free

Osmosis Triple Science Essay Introduction In this investigation I am investigating if varying the amount of sugar solution or distilled water determines the concentration of cell sap. I will do this by using different concentrations of sugar solution and distilled water. If the medium is hypotonic — a dilute solution, with a higher water concentration than the cell — the cell will gain water through osmosis. However if the medium is isotonic —a solution with exactly the same water concentration as the cell — there will be no net movement of water across the cell membrane. If the medium is hypertonic — a concentrated solution, with a lower water concentration than the cell — the cell will lose water by osmosis. Investigation variables To have a controlled reliable investigation I will control the following variables: To try my best to do the experiments at the same room temperature. I will prepare the carrots in the same way because any minor changes can ruin the experiment. The mass of the carrots is a dependent variable and this terminology means that the piece of carrot will be measured constantly throughout the experiment. I will measure in grams, in addition the piece of carrot will be measured before and after it is put into the solution, this will allow us to see if any osmosis has taken place. Fourthly the volume of the solution which the carrot pieces are put in must be same for all of them for example all of them should be covered in what is supposed to be covered in. Also I am going to use the same set of scales to measure the carrot pieces in the solution. This is because measurements may vary between the scales. I did this in a lab so everything was under control to make my results very reliable. My hypothesis I predict that the less sugar solution we use the higher the concentration of the cell sap would be. Plan First I will take some xylem cells from inside of the carrot and some phloem from the outside of the carrot I will take 15 samples of each type of cell from each carrot I will put 3 samples in each solution I would then leave it for 1 hour Then I would reweigh its mass Then plot these results onto a graph And then where the line crosses 0 is the concentration of the cytoplasm Conclusion As I conclude I can say that in my investigation I found out that the more sugar solution you cover in the carrot piece the higher the concentration of cell sap would be and there would be more osmosis activity. However what does mystify me is what you can see above, the two outliers because they don not surprisingly fit with the others but I am sure that if we do this investigation again there would be two outliers or less.

World Economics assignment Essay Example for Free

World Economics assignment Essay Introduction In this report, it will introduce the World Economy. Main focus is the key feature of the global economic environment. The core economic issues that are focused on in this report are trade, international payments, exchange rates and economies undergoing change. Procedure To gather the required information to produce this report, extensive usage of the internet, various search engines and university library to understand global economics theory and current affairs. Analysis on Element 1 Firstly, international trade increased word-wide output. International trade activities have develop and explore the comparative advantages of a country, meanwhile, boost the professionalism of industries, higher efficient because of this. If the world-wide output is enhanced and comparative advantages are well-exerted, producers can obtain benefits of economies of scale, accordingly, the cost will descend and profit ascend. Secondly, it provides greater range of commodities for consumers and more choice. Customers coming from varied counties could buy commodities which are not produced domestically by the means of international trade. It contributes to enlarging purchasing market. Since, no matter the similar types of products or goods that not are able produced in domestic area, they could be got through international trade. Additionally, world trade has made an overall increase in standard of living. Specifically, a host of job vacancies offered by muti-national companies help solving the employment problem, then corporation revenue and individual revenue are elevated. Consequently, increased tax will be invested to welfare and infrastructure system. Analysis on Element 2 According to wikipedia, Free trade is a system of trade policy that allows traders to act and or transact without interference from government. According to the law of comparative advantage the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade of goods and services.(1) According to wikipedia, The Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) was created in the 1960 Treaty of Montevideo by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The signatories hoped to create a common market in Latin America and offered tariff rebates among member nations. LAFTA came into effect on January 2, 1962. When the trade association commenced it had seven members and its main goal was to eliminate all duties and restrictions on the majority of their trade within a twelve year period. By the late 1960s the area of LAFTA had a population of 220 million and produced about $90 billion of goods and services annually. By the same time it had an average per capita gross national product of $440. The goal of the LAFTA is the creation of a free trade zone in Latin America. It should foster mutual regional trade among the member states, as well as with the U.S. and the European Union.(2) Analysis on Element 3 According to wikipedia, In economics, principle of absolute advantage refers to the ability of a party (an individual, or firm, or country) to produce more of a good or service than competitors, using the same amount of resources. Adam Smith first described the principle of absolute advantage in the context of international trade, using labor as the only input(3). For instance, the capital market of UK is absolute advantage when comparing to the developing countries. According to wikipedia, The law of comparative advantage refers to the ability of a party (an individual, a firm, or a country) to produce a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than another party. It is the ability to produce a product with the highest relative efficiency given all the other products that could be produced(4). For instance, during the end of 19 century and beginning of 20 century, textile industry of UK developed well. However, in the middle and end of 21 century, Chinas textile industry became a comparative advantage because of enhanced efficient by means of adopting new product technologies. Analysis on Element 4 According to wikipedia, Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to discourage imports, and prevent foreign take-over of domestic markets and companies(5). Its a practice of regulating imports and exports with the purpose of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition. Governments adopt protectionism in order to help the country become self-sufficient, to protect new industries, or as a bargaining tool. In terms of tariff which was applied in protectionism, there are two examples. On September of 2010, Chinese government enforce new import duties ranging from 50.3 to 105.4 percent on US chicken lasting for five years, since a investigation found that US chicken was being sold at low prices a process called dumping(6). Another instance is, according to the webpage, on November of 2009, Brazil would raise cane over U.S. ethanol tariff. The reason for that is Brazil sugar producers say sugar-based fuel is more environmentally sound than electricity or corn ethanol for as an alternative for powering cars(7). Analysis on Element 5 Trade barriers are constraints that tend to hinder the motivation to engage in the importing or exporting of goods(8). There are two types of barriers that a government can employ, which are Tariff barriers and Non-Tariff barriers. According to the student guide, Tariffs are taxes or customs duties placed on foreign products to artificially raise their prices and this hopefully, suppresses domestic demand for them.(9) According to wikipedia, Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs) are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff.(10) it can take many forms, including quotas, embargoes, exchange controls, import deposits, voluntary export restrains, product standard procedures, subsidies and etc. There are two instances that indicate how tariff barriers influence the global trade. According to the webpage, On September of 2010, chinas commerce ministry announced that it would impose import tariffs on American poultry of up to 105.4 percent(11). Another is, on August of 2010, Mexicos new list which includes meats, vegetables and household items face tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent, which will hurt Texas more(12). Analysis on Element 6 In brief, according to the webpage, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization which can provide a negotiating forum, offer a set of rules and helps to settle disputes for its memberships between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flow as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible(13). According to the publication of European Commission, on 8 December 2003, the EC requested consultations with India on 27 antidumping measures imposed on a variety of EC exports, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, paper, textile and steel. The problems in the Indian cases mainly referred to the highly insufficient injury and causality analysis, the failure to provide meaningful disclosure documents and a continuous disregard of arguments presented by EC exporters and the EC. Following the consultations held in February 2004, India opened a review process which has led to the termination of most of the contested measures, including those of most economic interest for EC exporters (steel and pharmaceutical products)(14). Analysis on Element 7 The aims of EU are following: Firstly, Eliminate customs duties and quotas between members. Secondly, establish common external tariff for non members (operated through common commercial policy). Thirdly, establish free movement of people, service, goods and capital between members, meanwhile, reduce anti-competitive practices. Fourth, associate with countries outside union to increase trade. Further, move towards full economic and monetary union. Lastly, develop common foreign, security and defense policy(15). In respect of trade, EU has encouraged to use one single currency which promotes the development of trade. Regarding to administration, the applying of Schengen Visa decrease administrative impediments and encourage the flow of individuals and business. Moreover, it implements unified foreign policy when confronted with trade disputes. Analysis on Element 8 The Balance of Payments can effectively be broken down into two parts. According to the webpage, The Current Account records international trade in goods and service, international income flows and current transfers. The Capital Account and Financial Account form the counter part to this, recording the changing pattern in the international ownership of assets. While the Financial Account records changes in the cross-border flows of assets the international Investment Position measures the total stocks of foreign assets and liabilities held by a nation(16). The trade in goods balance is the difference between the value of goods exported and the value of goods imported. The trade in services is recorded in the same way, with credits to the Current account reflecting services exports and debits services imports. Net income flows reflect international payments associated with the ownership of the factors of production (land, labor and capital). Current transfer records a miscellaneous set of net payments including workers remittances, social security, foreign aid and contributions to international organizations(17). In 2009, the current account deficit stands atà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15.5 billion. The deficit of trade in goods account falling toà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½81.9 billion. The trade in services account has shown a surplus of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½49.9 billion. The investment income balance rose to a record level of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½32 billion. The deficit of transfers account reached a record of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14.8 billion. Additionally, The capital account represented in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.2 billion and financial account had a net inflow of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.6 billion(18). Analysis on Element 9 According to the bar chart of trade in good and trade in services, the UK trade was fluctuated over the last 30 years. The UK trade has really only been in surplus in the very early 1980s which around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3 billion. However, after that, there has a apparent drop from 1982 to 1989 where at a bottom in minus à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 billion in 1989. Then, from 1990 to 1997, it roughly remained same which around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 billion deficits. What is worse, the UK trade has a substantial decline which from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½21 billion deficits in 1998 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½90 billion deficits in 2008 during the ten years. In 2009, the trade of good has a deficit around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½81.9 billion(19). As for the trade in services, the UK has traditionally been in surplus and certainly has been so from 1976-1997. The services trade approximately remained surplus à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4 billion during four years which from 1980 to 1984. Then, it peaked at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7 billion within 3 years which from 1985 to 1987 during the 1980s. From 1991 to 1997, it ascended gentlely from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11 billion deficit. However, there was a sharply growth after 2005 which from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25 billion positive to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½56 billion positive in 2008. In 2009, it dropped to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½49.9 billion trade in services. Analysis on Element 10 According to the wikipedia, The exchange rates between two currencies specify how much currency is worth of a foreign nations in terms of the home nations currency(20). It has two forms which are fixed exchange rate and floating exchange rate. As to the floating exchange rate, according to the student guide, if the value of currency rises imported goods will be cheaper, therefore the trade in goods is likely to move into deficit. If the value of a currency falls, domestic goods and services will be dearer in domestic markets. This should mean an improvement in trade in goods(21). With regarding to the fixed exchange rate, according to the student guide, a persistent surplus could be dealt with by measures which allow domestic consumers to feel confident to purchase more. If the domestic economy cannot respond then imports would probably increase and exports might become less competitive.(22) Therefore, it will lead to a decrease of trade in goods. If the opposite were the case, a persistent deficit then measures could be used to restrict domestic demand and also to place greater restrictions on imports.(23) Hence, an increase of trade in goods will be emerged with that. For example, it is suggested that the American government has a requirement of increasing the value of RMB (increasing the exchange rate of RMB to change dollar) in 2001. In the end of 2006, Chinese government put the policy to take the exchange rate, it means originally 100 US dollars exchange 826 RMB, now only swap about to 800 RMB. In this way, they can make use of less money to change more products of Chinese in order to offset the quota of currency. Analysis on Element 11 The single currency is usually a double edge sword, which both bring the UK government strengthens and weaknesses. Advantages: To the UK economy, keeps interest rates lower, the commitment to low inflation should allow the economies to operate lower cost. Increase foreign investment, if the UK join the single currency system, direct inward investment should be attracted because the reduction of uncertainly there is not the need to calculate demonstrate the UK pound(24). Disadvantages For the UK government, changes from old currency may be costly; the government needs spend additional money, like, purchase the new equipment and staff training. The UK government will lose the independent monetary policy, since when UK adopt the single currency, the scope for fiscal policy adjustments is restricted by need to stay within 3% of GDP(25). Analysis on Element 12 To individuals, adopting the single currency could eliminate cost on exchange currency. No matter Tourists or citizens, they do not need to care about more money will be spend because of changing exchange rate. Besides, it renders purchasers convenient and efficient shopping, most essentially, a wide range of selections of goods and considerations without additional expenditure. To the business, utilizing a single currency intensifies stiff competition among members within EU. By the contrast, it also provides corporations with increasingly opportunities and possibilities of expansion, so that these firms could produce their product to wider within EU. Whats more, it decreases the cost of foreign investment to dedicate domestically. Analysis on Element 13 According to wikipedia, Least Developed Country (LDC) is the name given to a country which, according to the United Nations, exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world. A country is classified as a Least Developed Country if it meets three criteria: * low-income (three-year average GNI per capita of less than US $905, which must exceed $1,086 to leave the list) * human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy) and * economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters)(26) For instance, Bhutan and Maldives in Asia is confronted with several problems which include shortage of education investment, out-dated medical treatment and high incident of employment. Analysis on Element 14 NICs like Kiribati may face the problem of indebtedness. According to the student guide, As the living standards and per capital income of NICs approach those of the mature economies they will certainly find it difficult to sustain growth, they may well have benefited from aid from the World Bank or IMF. Were they clever enough to pay off all debts they might have owed externally or as close to it as they could before being exposed to some fairly fierce competition(27). In Cambodia, the unemployment is usually very high with very little industry because most people work on their own small plots of land. The social, cultural and religious patters within these countries are barriers to mobility and change(28). Analysis on Element 15 The impact of multi-national firms on NICs and LDCs may be broadly similar. The benefits have increase employment, the new methods and technology and contribute to economic growth, to name just a few. At the same time the problems have which may eliminate domestic competition, occupy the local nature resources and the profits are mainly transfer back to Home County(29). Volkswagen as the first group company into Chinese marketing, they merger the Shanghai automobile firm and established the Shanghai Volkswagen Company. The professional training designed for Chinese worker brought in the updated technology and management skills. The other instance is about Samsung Electronics. The organization install their manufactory in developing countries like India, it may use up the natural resources and give extreme detrimental environmental influences on host country. Summary All those are the 15 key elements about the world economy. At present, the global economy tends to integration, so to realize world economy is very necessary for countries, businesses, and even individuals. 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