Analyzing the Meaning of Honesty and Dishonesty in Society

Analyzing the Meaning of Honesty and Dishonesty in Society “Honesty is the best policy,” this well know statement not even followed by its preachers nowadays holds close to no value in the minds of most today. Honesty seems to have faded to the back of our minds allowing us to forget of its importance and find justification in every lie we tell, and not until a lie generates a negative effect will it be deemed unjustified and immoral.Truth throughout time has been deemed highly respected and at times in small anecdotes able to save someones life. In the story of Joseph, the boy with a robe of many colors, betrayed by his brothers and sold, believes his brothers are lying when they, pleading for grain to feed all their family, tell him of all their family including their youngest brother. Joseph, then second-in-command to Pharaoh, also the youngest in their family as he recalls, so "On the third day Joseph said to them, ‘Do what I say and your lives will be spared, for I am a godfearing man: if you are honest men, only one of you brother shall be kept in prison, while the rest of you may go and take grain for your starving households; but you must bring your youngest brother to me.English: Hippolytus and Phaedra Sarcophagus, Campo...

Learn to Pronounce and Count Cardinal Numbers in Italian

Learn to Pronounce and Count Cardinal Numbers in Italian You might find cardinal (counting) numbers the most useful to know- you will need them to express  time, record dates, do  math, interpret recipe amounts, and, of course, count. In Italian, cardinal numbers are written as one word. Use the following table to memorize numbers from 1 to 100. ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 1-100 1 uno OO-noh 2 due DOO-eh 3 tre TREH 4 quattro KWAHT-troh 5 cinque CHEEN-kweh 6 sei SEH-ee 7 sette SET-teh 8 otto OHT-toh 9 nove NOH-veh 10 dieci dee-EH-chee 11 undici OON-dee-chee 12 dodici DOH-dee-chee 13 tredici TREH-dee-chee 14 quattordici kwaht-TOR-dee-chee 15 quindici KWEEN-dee-chee 16 sedici SEH-dee-chee 17 diciassette dee-chahs-SET-teh 18 diciotto dee-CHOHT-toh 19 diciannove dee-chahn-NOH-veh 20 venti VEN-tee 21 ventuno ven-TOO-noh 22 ventidue ven-tee-DOO-eh 23 ventitr ven-tee-TREH 24 ventiquattro ven-tee-KWAHT-troh 25 venticinque ven-tee-CHEEN-kweh 26 ventisei ven-tee-SEH-ee 27 ventisette ven-tee-SET-teh 28 ventotto ven-TOHT-toh 29 ventinove ven-tee-NOH-veh 30 trenta TREN-tah 40 quaranta kwah-RAHN-tah 50 cinquanta cheen-KWAHN-tah 60 sessanta ses-SAHN-tah 70 settanta set-TAHN-ta 80 ottanta oht-TAHN-ta 90 novanta noh-VAHN-tah 100 cento CHEN-toh The numbers  venti,  trenta,  quaranta,  cinquanta, and so on drop the final vowel when combined with  uno  and  otto.  Tre  is written without an accent, but  ventitrà ©,  trentatrà ©, and so on are written with an accent. Beyond 100 Do you remember those good old days before the euros arrival in Italy when you would pay a few thousand  lire  for admission to a museum or a  cappuccino  and  biscotti? Tourists needed more than just the numbers up to 100 to get around.  Lire  are history, but learning numbers greater than 100 might still prove useful. Though they might seem unwieldy, after a bit of practice youll be rolling them off your tongue like a pro. ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 100 AND GREATER 100 cento CHEN-toh 101 centouno/centuno cheh-toh-OO-noh/chehn-TOO-noh 150 centocinquanta cheh-toh-cheen-KWAHN-tah 200 duecento doo-eh-CHEN-toh 300 trecento treh-CHEN-toh 400 quattrocento kwaht-troh-CHEN-toh 500 cinquecento cheen-kweh-CHEN-toh 600 seicento seh-ee-CHEN-toh 700 settecento set-the-CHEN-toh 800 ottocento oht-toh-CHEN-toh 900 novecento noh-veh-CHEN-toh 1.000 mille MEEL-leh 1.001 milleuno meel-leh-OO-noh 1.200 milleduecento meel-leh-doo-eh-CHEN-toh 2.000 duemila doo-eh-MEE-lah 10.000 diecimila dee-eh-chee-MEE-lah 15.000 quindicimila kween-dee-chee-MEE-lah 100.000 centomila chen-toh-mee-leh 1.000.000 un milione OON mee-lee-OH-neh 2.000.000 due milioni DOO-eh mee-lee-OH-neh 1.000.000.000 un miliardo OON mee-lee-ARE-doh

The LPN To Transition 2. APA Formating Transition into Scholarly Essay - 1

The LPN To Transition 2. APA Formating Transition into Scholarly Writing - Essay Example There are many differences in the roles of LPN and RN, as RNs has more authority and power than an LPN. Registered nurses have a larger role in the healthcare of patients. The duty of RN is deeply to analyze the issues pertaining to the health of a patient and to relate the condition of a patient with the health status of the patient. Licensed practical nurse does not have a wide scope, but they are more tasks oriented and the working criteria of LPN are less than that of RN (Weydt, 2009). The main role of RN is to perform an initial assessment of the patient as it an essential part of the duty. LPNs can perform assessments but not the initial assessment. As the criteria of work of an RN are much greater than an LPN, it has to perform more duties that include the formulating the diagnosis of a patient and to form a care plan for the patient. The primary role of LPN is to make sure that the formulated care plan made by RN is put into action. RNs have the authority to delegate the work to LPNs (Ebright, Patterson, Chalko, & Render, 2003). LPNs have no authority over RN, but they are only allowed to work on those tasks that lie in their scope as defined by their license of that state. At some workplaces, RN directly supervises the work of an LPN and make sure that the LPN performs his task in the provided manner. LPNs have no authority to make changes in the healthcare plan of the patient but if there in a need to do so, the LPN must call and report the issue to RN and get their approval, to do the needful changes. There are various advantages of an RN as compared to LPN in this field. Few strategies and suggestions can help in the transition of LPN to RN and become successful in the work. To transit from License practical nurse to Registered nurse, the applicant must either take an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a

Micheal jackson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Micheal jackson - Essay Example Some of his commonly known music videos include Beat It, Thriller, Scream, Black or White and Billie Jean which were considered to be advocating for racial integration in the American society (Fisher, 23). He emerged with a number of dance moves such as the robot and moonwalk to which people knew him best and became part of his thrilling performance whenever he was on stage. The curtain finally went down in his life in June 25, 2009 in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, in the United States aged fifty when he died. The life as well as the music career of Michael Jackson is filled with numerous remarkable events and he made a great contribution to the music industry that has long lived beyond his death. He is therefore worth writing about owing to the fact that very few music artistic have achieved what Michael was able to achieve in his entire music career. Many people all over the world have something to remember about this popular pop artist who inspired them in life. He had a great influence on other genre of music such as hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock by being the role model to the artists who performed such genres (Danesi,57). Despite the fact that pop culture has been witnessed in a number of departments and areas of life, music has registered the most remarkable application of this culture and it is mainly attributable to the King of Pop; Michael Jackson. His biography clearly demonstrated the formation as well as the establishment of this form of culture that has become a way of life in various parts of the world to date. In June 1975, the Jackson 5 made a historic signing with Epic Records which is a subsidiary of CBS Records. The move necessitated a change in their name from The Jackson 5 to The Jacksons. It was at that time that another Jackson known as Randy formally joined the band. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums

Environmental Analysis Paper Essay Example for Free

Environmental Analysis Paper Essay Hospitality is one of those lines of business paths that are widespread. In Australia, Brisbane hotel provides a broad assortment of properties-budget, trade, tourist, lavishness, bed and breakfasts and apartments lodging. Moreover, Holiday City Brisbane hotels offer comfort, excellence and enormous worth for the money, perfect for leisure time and commerce travelers. This paper seeks to examine the environmental analysis of Brisbane hotel in Australia. (Higham, 2005, p. 98) 1. Industry Analysis On the foundation analysis unaccompanied, Brisbane market appears to be a suitable market for an augment in lodging supply. On the other hand there are a number of other considerations such as access to capital, augmented building and labour outlay. (Addis, 2006, p. 103) Brisbane is situated on the eastern coast; it is the capital of Queensland-Australia’s head of state tourist area. It is Australia’ best ever growing city region in South East Queensland and occupies 1,140 square kilometers. (King, 1997, p. 88) For a property shareholder, a significant indicator of hotel viability will be value versus building cost. Hotel values have not kept rate with the enlargement in building costs. See more: how to write an analysis of a research paper Hotel values sky rocketed in 1997 before moribund to a cyclical low of $161K per room in 2001. Building costs on the other hand have augmented each year, moribund only marginally in 2001 in reaction to the worldwide financial downturn. (Garling, 1991, p. 100) The low point of hotel values were 62 per cent of building costs and even as they have augmented by around 10 per cent per annum over the last five years double the rate of building costs, the expansion gap is still 20 per cent at present. This gap will differ across the cities of Australia. (Kohen, 1995, p. 90) The porter’s five forces model is a straightforward tool that supports premeditated understanding where authority lies in an industry situation. It also helps to comprehend both the strength of Brisbane existing cutthroat position, and the potency of a position Brisbane is in search to move into. Regardless of the fact that the five force structure focuses on commerce concerns rather than community policy, it also emphasizes comprehensive rivalry for value to a certain extent than just competition amongst existing rivals. (Freeland, 1968, p. 115) The innovative cutthroat forces model as projected by Porter acknowledged five forces which would impact on an organization’s performance in a cutthroat market. These include the following: (Swaffer, 2002, p. 102) i) The Degree of Rivalry The degree of rivalry, which is the most noticeable of the five forces in the hotel industry, helps decide the extent to which the value fashioned by a business will be dissolute through head to head contest. (Cunill, 2006, p. 78) Perth has overtaken Brisbane as Australia’s number one hotel bazaar after having strengthened its bazaar leader position all through each quarter during 2007 to record the uppermost Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) expansion, highest ADR expansion and uppermost tenancy result (82. 5%) for the full year. (Richards, 2006, p. 120) Hotel section analysis in the three main markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane reveal that 5-star hotels are driving the sturdy bazaar performance. All the three cities recorded twofold figure RevPAR expansion during 2007 which is higher than the lower-tier segments. (Jamieson, 2006, p. 115) ii) The Threat of Entry Both the prospective and obtainable competitors influence standard business productivity. The threat of new entrants is frequently based on the bazaar entry barriers. They can take varied forms and are used to avert an influx of firms into a business at any time profits attuned for the cost of capital goes up above zero. (Higham, 2005, p. 104) The most widespread forms of entry barriers include: economies of scale, cost of entrance such as investment into expertise; distribution channels such as ease of admission for competitors; cost compensation not connected to the size of the corporation and government legislation. (Swaffer, 2002, p. 105) In a cutthroat market, all firms fabricate a standardized product. This means the goods presented by a variety of sellers are mainly identical. Since competition is based exclusively on the price, and the merchandise is homogenous, it then follows that buyers will buy from whoever’s product is cheapest, and this is also applicable in the hotel industry in the sense that tourist will choose to check inn to a hotel which they are comfortable with the price; therefore each producers is requisite to take up the least-cost method of fabrication and all surplus profits and losses will in the long run be abolished by entrance to, or exit from the business. (Addis, 2006, p. 108) Australia is in threat of becoming a lattice exporter of tourists in 2008 as strong expansion in outbound travel outpaces inbound tourist arrivals. The recently released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Overseas Arrivals and Departures data reveals that arrivals have exposed some revival in the primary two months of 2008 (up 1. 7%), outbound travel has augmented by a staggering 14. 5%. (King, 1997, p. 94) The major competitor of Brisbane hotel is Sydney. However this was in the past. Sydney attracts a broad range of commerce events, and these proceedings tend to be larger than regular. Whereas the National Business Events Study (NBES) establish that New South Wales hosted 27 percent of the entire meetings in Australia in 2003, this represented 40 percent of the entire delegates. In terms of standard occasion size, Sydney hosted the biggest proceedings (roughly 162 delegates per event), followed by the Gold Coast (102), Melbourne (96), Adelaide (92), the ACT (89) and Perth (80). (Jamieson, 2006, p. 123) Nevertheless, this position is being windswept as other States are attracting an escalating percentage of intercontinental trade proceedings delegates. Queensland is to some extent differently positioned. Because of its chief coastal resort cities, it has key conference amenities at Cairns and the Gold Coast, as well as Brisbane. When these three locations are taken jointly, it reveals that in the mid-nineties they jointly held only about half as numerous meetings as Sydney. Ever since, their position has augmented considerably and in the epoch 2003-2005 they held about as several meetings as did Sydney. (Swaffer, 2002, p. 110) iii) The Threat of Substitutes A threat from substitutes exists if there are substitute products with inferior prices of improved performance parameters for the equivalent function. They could potentially draw a momentous proportion of bazaar volume and for this reason reduce the possible sales volume for existing troupe. This category also relates to balancing products. The threat of substitution is also influenced by switching costs such as retraining, retooling and redesigning that are incurred when a consumer switches to a dissimilar kind of product or service. (Higham, 2005, p. 111) Brisbane hotel faces the barricade of cost of setting up such as renting or owning building and licensing faced by new-fangled entrant. Even though firms in a monopolistically cutthroat market do face a low barrier to entry, the firms vend differentiated products, therefore causing new-fangled firms harder to be recognized. For example; Pier Nine Oyster Bar and Seafood Gril in Brisbane is a well-liked seafood restaurant. It then follows that a new seafood restaurant may have intricacy attracting clientele because of Pier’s recognized reputation. (Addis, 2006, p. 114) iv) Buyer Power Buyer power is one of the two level forces that control the misappropriation of the value fashioned by Brisbane hotel industry. The most imperative determinants of buyer power are the size and the attention of clientele. Other factors are the degree to which the buyers are well-versed and the attention of the competitors. (Jamieson, 2006, p. 130) Brisbane hotels come in all the shapes and sizes one would expect from Australia’s third biggest city-the enormous names like Hilton, Marriott and Sheraton are all there, all along with loads of self-governing establishments which vary from extremely quirky to absolute dirty. Similar to any bed where you relax your head, you acquire what you disburse for. Moreover, at the cheaper end of the range, a flawlessly contented room in an essential visitor hotel in the heart of the city like the Nomads will place you back about $80 a night at reserve rates, whereas a two bedroom suite in the historical 5 star Conrad Treasury Casino will cost you roughly $220 if you are looking less than two weeks ahead-which is fairly of high-quality for a five star hotel. (King, 1997, p. 101) v) Supplier Power This is a reflect icon of the buyer power. As an end result, the examination of supplier power characteristically focuses primary on the relative size and attention of suppliers comparative to commerce involvement in the inputs supplied. (Garling, 1991, p. 107) The aptitude to charge clientele different prices in line with differenced in the value fashioned for each of those buyers more often than not indicates that the bazaar is characterized by high dealer power and at the same occasion by low buyer power. (Kohen, 1995, p. 97) Brisbane hotel is an outstanding example to other main hotel markets in the steady preamble of new supply, as opposed to gesticulate of new-fangled hotel developments flooding the bazaar once the market conditions become encouraging. A slow but stable flow of new stockpile goes a long way towards sustainably increasing the market without causing occupancies and revenues to fall. (Cunill, 2006, p. 91) 2. External Stakeholders and Broad Environment External stakeholders These encompass real land agents, state visitor offices, developers, financiers, body business service providers, hotels with a strata title attention and administration human rights brokers. (Swaffer, 2002, p. 118) The assortment of community schemes is echoed in the range of lawmaking schemes that subsist across Australia. One of the basic differences across jurisdictions is the terms and lawful jargon used to explain key features in Brisbane hotel. This difficulty poses realistic problems for stakeholders in general and for practitioners who are required to function athwart state boundaries. (King, 1997, p. 117) Broad Environment This consists of four significant factors such as current social forces, global economic forces, global political forces and technological innovations. (Garling, 1991, p. 114) i) Current social forces Given that travel was a requirement for numerous workers at the turn of the century, it then follows that homosexuality action in countryside contexts and urban public spaces was inextricably associated. The features of superior population areas, clear in Brisbane hotel and larger local areas were also noticeable in lesser urban settlements. (Higham, 2005, p. 116) ii) Global economic forces Australia’s four principal city lodging markets enjoyed a record year of tenancy levels in 2007, with the outlook for 2008 being evenly as optimistic in spite of far from ideal national and worldwide market circumstances. (Kohen, 1995, p. 101) Australia Bureau of statistics (ABS) data released for the full year 2007 shows that for the initial time the internal city hotel bazaar of Brisbane has achieved tenancy levels over 80% averaged all through the year. This performance underscores Australia’s confrontation to the universal monetary slowdown as trade travel remains burly. High occupancies are also a side-effect of the capital boom, which is supporting Brisbane hotel markets as local centres for these resource-based state economies. (Addis, 2006, p. 122) With continuous expansion in accommodation demand, thanks to affluent economic environment and sturdy market essentials, Australia’s chief city markets of Brisbane will see occupancies linger high and proceeds increase. (Garling, 1991, p. 119) The majority multicultural cities are Melbourne and Sydney. Both cities are well-known for the diversity and quality of universal foods available in their many restaurants, and Melbourne particularly promoted itself as a hub for the arts therefore posing a threat for Brisbane hotel in Australia. (Jamieson, 2006, p. 134) iii) Technological innovations True commerce innovation does take place through a variety of mechanisms such as commerce strategy, organization practices, procedure alteration, and assets investment in new-fangled plant and equipment. To be familiar with this, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) by now has events of technological innovation. (Cunill, 2006, p. 103) iv) Global political forces The worldwide hotel business recorded optimistic growth in standard daily rate and proceeds per obtainable room for the month of July 2008; this is according to the statistics from Smith Travel Research (STR). Moreover, fashion hotels are an element of a speedy development in the market for lavishness recognized customer products. This was incorporated prior to the political situation that arose in Australia. (Higham, 2005, p. 121) 3. Factors that Influence the Sector’s demand and cost structures i) Technological innovation This has debatably been the leading factor in determining fiscal services of Brisbane hotel in the past two decades. Systems for dealing out, communicating and sturdy information are an indispensable element of the infrastructure sustaining fiscal activities. (Kohen, 1995, p. 112) Technology has connected markets around the globe and opened cross-border delivery of both wholesale and retail fiscal products. This has created a competitive advantage to Brisbane hotel in Australia. (Freeland, 1968, p. 119) ii) International Integration This has resulted prior to technological advances and as a result there has been a rising tendency towards international integration amongst financial markets. In numerous areas of the Australian bazaar, predominantly those connected with across-the-board funding, international markets have replaced home markets as the main source of finance. A result of globalization is that competition between fiscal service providers occurs internationally to a certain extent than at the state or local level. Globalization has spawned a production of institutional shareholders who control huge portfolios and have particular loyalty to products and state marketplace thus boosting Brisbane hotel financial status. (Swaffer, 2002, p. 125) iii) Changing customer needs Markets developments have also been fashioned by changing customer needs. In Australia, the most clear of these has been the enlargement of enforced superannuation and the accompanying enlargement in the finance administration business. This has resulted to Brisbane hotel modifying their products and services so as to satisfy the customer since the customer is the king. (Freeland, 1968, p. 121) iv) New Entrants These factors have encouraged new-fangled entrants and innovative ways of doing business. For instance, unlike a decade ago, hotels and construction societies are at present extremely aware of the competition that they face from securitizes. This has made Brisbane hotel and other industries formulate strategies of dealing with new entrants. (King, 1997, p. 126) 4. Strategic Issues facing Organizations in hotel sector i) Location Brisbane is a low-lying terrain mass positioned in a floodplain. Nevertheless, this has worked to the benefit of the hotel. Brisbane is located along the Brisbane River and is neighboring to the Great Dividing Range and the Moreton Bay. This has generated a lot of income since it serves as a tourist attraction base. (Garling, 1991, p. 122) ii) Climate Geologically, Brisbane hotel is situated contentedly in the State’s Southeast corner, at the oceanfront of the Pacific Ocean to the east. Because of this, it then follows that many inhabitants and vacationers from Melbourne and Sydney come over and expend winter in Brisbane thus boosting the hotel’s revenue. (Higham, 2005, p. 128) iii) Events and Festivals Several events and festivals have also boost up tourism in Brisbane hotel. For instance; Brisbane River Festival is usually held in the middle of September every year. In addition to this, Brisbane is becoming a well-liked sports destination in all of Australia and not just in Queensland. It has previously hosted the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup and still hosted a number of events for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. This has generated a lot of income for the Brisbane hotel. Moreover, Brisbane is proposing to support and hold the 2024 Olympics. This will generate the country lots and lots of revenue. (Jamieson, 2006, p. 136) Conclusion The event trade in Australia continues to thrive and events are more and more viewed as vehicles for the facilitation of local growth. Regions may be fashioned for various reasons, counting economic purposes, and debatably such economic purpose will decide the most suitable set of local restrictions, the types of local organizations that will be established and the kinds of local policies and programs that will be implemented. Moreover, technological innovation, international integration, changing customer needs and new entrants have contributed towards the hotel formulating strategies in order to satisfy their customers and as a result Brisbane hotel has maintained a competitive edge thus earning profitable foreign exchange from the tourists.

Racial Privilege in America Past and Present Essay -- essays research

The Blame Game: a Prelude to Racial Privilege In order to fully understand an easily debatable and highly controversial policy, such as racial privilege, one must first understand the political and social climates that led up to it. Racial privilege has been practiced during two periods in America’s past: the post-reconstruction era, via Jim Crow laws, and today, by way of affirmative action. After Reconstruction in the American south, landowners reorganized their land in such a way that it could be farmed without the use of slaves. The most common structure employed sharecropping, in which the land owner divided his property into several plots of land, each farmed by different individuals who paid for the use of this land with a predetermined percentage of their harvested crop. At its onset, sharecropping was a racially diverse program. Boyer et all notes that â€Å"By 1880†¦ white sharecroppers now outnumbered black ones, although a higher proportion of southern blacks, about 75 percent, were involved in the system† (597). Tenants, most having no capital with which to purchase farm equipment, livestock, and seed, offer yet another pre-determined percentage of their harvested crop as collateral and repayment for loans. Since both the landowner and the creditor were invested in the profitability of the farmer’s crops, they insisted that these farmer s raise only easily marketable cash-crops, limiting crop diversification (Boyer 598). When supply began to exceed demand, value of these crops rapidly declined. Sharecroppers, both white and black, were plunged heavily into debt and poverty. The failure of this system presented a window of opportunity for the Democratic leaders of the Old South who wish to restore the power stru... ... Eds. Christopher Jencks, and Meredith Phillips. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1998. 431-56. King, Jr., Martin Luther. I Have a Dream. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Washington, D.C. 28 August 1963. Rai, Kul B., and John W. Critzer. Affirmative Action and the University. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. Skrentny, John David. The Ironies of Affirmative Action. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Steele, Shelby. A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. ---. White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Sterba, James P. â€Å"The Case for Preferential Treatment.† Affirmative Action in the University. Ed. Steven M. Cahn. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1993. 286-90.

Government Intervention Essay

Discuss the case for and against government intervention in an economy. In most of the countries, the government has intervened in the market system. To some extent there is a dire need of government intervention in the market system, although there is a debate over this point among the economists. Many economists believe that the role of government intervention improves the market system. The government can easily enforce the rules that can help in the smooth functioning of the market system. On the other hand, there are economists who believe that government interventions in a market system are the reason of inefficiency in the system. There are some goods that underprovided and underconsumed. Such goods are cold merit goods. They can be defined in terms of their externality effects and also in terms of informational problems facing the consumer. A merit good is a product that society values and judges that everyone should have regardless of whether an individual wants them. In this sense, the government is acting paternally in providing merit goods and services. They believe that individuals may not act in their own best interest in part because of imperfect information about the benefits that can be derived. Good examples of merit goods include health services, education, and work training programmes. Why does the government provide merit goods and services? * To encourage consumption so that some of the positive externalities associated with merit goods can be achieved * To overcome the information failures linked to merit goods, not least when the longer-term private benefit of consumption is greater than the shorter-term benefit of consumption * On grounds of equity – because the government believes that consumption should not be based solely on the grounds of ability to pay for a good or service Education is an example of a merit good. Education should provide a number of external benefits that might not be taken into account by the free market. These include rising incomes and productivity for current and future generations; an increase in the occupational mobility of the labour force which should help to reduce unemployment and therefore reduce welfare spending. However, there are some goods which are thought to be ‘bad’ for you. They are cold demerit goods. Examples include the costs arising from consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs together with the social effects of addiction to gambling. The consumption of demerit goods can lead to negative externalities. The government seeks to reduce consumption of demerit goods. Consumers may be unaware of the negative externalities that these goods create – they have imperfect information about long-term damage to their own health. The government may decide to intervene in the market for demerit goods and impose taxes on producers and / or consumers. Higher taxes cause prices to rise and should lead to a fall in demand. However high taxes increase unemployment because firms may relocate abroad increases cost of production for firms making the less competitive to firms in another countries where no tax is applied. But many economists argue that taxation is an ineffective and inequitable way of curbing the consumption of drugs and gambling particularly for those affected by addiction. Banning consumption through regulation may reduce demand, but risks creating secondary (illegal) or underground markets in the product. Market failure with demerit goods – the free market may fail to take into account the negative externalities of consumption because the social cost is less then private cost. Consumers too may experience imperfect information about the long term costs to themselves of consuming products deemed to be demerit goods. The social optimal level of consumption would be Q3 – the output that takes into account the information failure of consumers and also the negative externalities. One way to solve this problem is to try to remove the information failure. Information deficits can often lead to a misallocation of resources and hence the possibility of market failure. Information failure occurs when people have inaccurate, incomplete, uncertain or misunderstood data and so make potentially ‘wrong’ choices. Government action can have a role in improving information to help consumers and producers value the ‘true’ cost and/or benefit of a good or service. Examples might include: * Compulsory labeling on cigarette packages with health warnings to reduce smoking * Improved nutritional information on foods to counter the risks of growing obesity * Anti speeding television advertising to reduce road accidents and advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the risks of drink-driving * Advertising health screening programmes / information campaigns on the dangers of addiction Another dvantage of government intervention is the national minimum wage. The national minimum wage was introduced into the UK in 1999. It is an intervention in the labour market designed to increase the pay of lower-paid workers and thereby influence the distribution of income in society. In October 2005, the value of the minimum wage for adults was ? 5. 05 – following a series of small increases over recent years. The main aims of the minimum wage 1. The equity justification: That every job should offer a fair rate of pay commensurate with the skills and experience of an employee 2. Labour market incentives: The NMW is designed to improve the incentives for people to start looking for work – thereby boosting the economy’s available labour supply 3. Labour market discrimination: The NMW is a tool designed to offset some of the effects of persistent discrimination of many low-paid female workers and younger employees A diagram showing the possible effects of a minimum wage is shown above. The market equilibrium wage for this particular labour market is at W1 (where demand = supply). If the minimum wage is set at Wmin, there will be an excess supply of labour equal to E3 – E2 because the supply of labour will expand (more workers will be willing and able to offer themselves for work at the higher wage than before) but there is a risk that the demand for workers from employers (businesses) will contract if the minimum wage is introduced. Although all political parties are now committed to keeping the minimum wage, there are still plenty of economists who believe that setting a pay floor represents a distortion to the way the labour market works because it reduces the flexibility of the labour market 1. Competitiveness and Jobs: Firstly a minimum wage may cost jobs because a rise in labour costs makes it more expensive to employ people and higher labour costs might damage the international competitiveness of British producers. To the extent that rising unemployment worsens the living standards of those affected it has a negative impact on poverty. 2. Effect on relative poverty: Is the minimum wage the most effective policy to reduce relative poverty? There is evidence that it tends to boost the incomes of middle-income households where more than one household member is lready in work whereas the greatest risk of relative poverty is among the unemployed, elderly and single parent families where the parent is not employed. Government intervenes to stabilise farmer’s income and reduce price fluctuations using buffer stock schemes. The prices of agricultural products tend to fluctuate more violently than the price of manufactured products and services. This is largely due to the volatility in the supply of agricultural products coupled with the fact that demand and supply are price inelastic. Buffer stock schemes seek to stabilise the market price of agricultural products by buying up supplies of the product when harvests are plentiful and selling stocks of the product onto the market when supplies are low. The supply curves S1 and S2 represent the supply of wheat at the end of two different seasons. Supply is perfectly inelastic since farmers cannot change the quantity supplied onto the market post harvest. The organisation wishes to keep price fluctuations within a certain band: it will not allow the price of the product to rise above P max or to fall below P min. Assume that in one particular year there is a bumper harvest so that S1 is supplied onto the market. In absence of any intervention the market price would drop below P min, so the organisation buys up AB of the product to increase the market price up to P min. In the next year bad weather may result in a poor harvest so that only S2 is supplied. The market price would rise above the maximum permitted by the organisation, so the organisation sells CD of its stocks onto the market to reduce the price to P max. In contrast buffer stocks do not often work well in practice. Perishable items can not be stored for long periods of time and can therefore be immediately ruled out of buffer stock schemes. There are also high administrative and storage costs to be considered. Also education or healh sphere can suffer. The economists have a mixed view about the importance and effects of government intervention in the market system, it can be said that government interventions should aim at working with the market system that is already existing rather than implementing policies that make great changes. If the government intervention is such that it introduces inefficiencies greater than rationalizing the entire market system, there is a threat of damaging the economy. The distorted government intervention can lead to consumer dissatisfaction and higher costs. Most of the economists are of the view that government interventions should be facilitating in nature rather than having a direct control over the market.