Government Intervention Flashcards

1
Q

How do markets and prices allocate resources?

A

Through the 4 functions of the price mechanism:

  • Signalling
  • Incentives
  • Rationing
  • Allocation
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2
Q

What is signalling?

A

When it’s shown if prices are too high or low

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3
Q

How do prices incentivise?

A

A change in prices may alter the economic behaviours of the economic agents:

-A rise in prices may throw off consumers from buying the goods and services (less quantity will be demanded)

-A rise in prices may influence suppliers to supply more, as they realise there are more profits to be made;

-Similarly in the labour market, higher wages may incentivise workers to acquire new skills and supply more of their labour (by working more hours maybe)

All of these factors give rise to the concept of the supply and demand curves

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4
Q

What is the role of rationing in the price mechanism?

A

Where rising prices ration demand for a product:

-The rising price is symbolic of the consumers’ strength of being able to pay, and their preferences, thus rationing demand for the good

This gets rid of the excess demand, as there were too many consumers being able to pay for lower prices, and as we know with higher prices, they turn off some consumers from being able to pay.

It only distributes scarce goods to consumers who value them the most.

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5
Q

What is the role of allocation in the price mechanism?

A

Resources are brought away from markets with excess supply and high prices into markets where there’s excess demand and low prices

(basically where supply=demand,
or the market equilibrium)

Thus achieving allocative efficiency

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6
Q

An example of a market performing the allocative function of prices

A

The housing market:

1.) Demand for housing in a particular area increases, meaning prices tend to rise (in order to ration away excess demand)

2.) This increase in price signals to suppliers that there’s higher demand

3.) This encourages them to allocate more resources to building homes in that area

4.) Therefore, the market price helps allocate resources efficiently based on consumer demand

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7
Q

How does the market fail?

A

-Due to inequity (such as uneven distribution of income and wealth) (can lead to social tensions and disparities in access to essential goods and services, especially for the poor - thus hindering economic growth and stability)

-And inefficiency (e.g the price mechanism fails to allocate resources efficiently) - this is partial market failure, because of misallocation of resources

Complete market failure - when there’s a missing market (because the functions of prices have broken down)

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8
Q

How can the price mechanism break down?

A

Through de-merit goods (e.g cigarettes) and negative externalities (e.g pollution):

-The prices of de-merit goods such as cigarettes and alcohol don’t account for the full social costs that they may impose (as they may be sold to cheaply) : thus leading to overconsumption

  • Negative externalities like pollution mess with the prices, as increased production costs (such as pollution control) may be passed onto the consumers as they may have to pay higher prices.

leading to inefficient resource allocation (as firms may be too focused on dealing with pollution issues rather than productive activities) and therefore market failure

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9
Q

How can the government improve efficiency?

A

-By encouraging innovation (dynamic efficiency)

-Improving resource allocation (allocative efficiency)

-Boosting productivity (productive efficiency)

This can drive long-term economic growth and competitiveness

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10
Q

How does the government ensure social welfare?

A
  • By providing essential services (public goods)
  • Social safety nets (benefits system)
  • Access to quality healthcare, education, affordable housing and job training
  • Property rights
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11
Q

What is nationalisation?

A

When the state takes over a privately owned company so that it’s wholly or majority state-owned and controlled

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12
Q

Why might a company be nationalised?

A

Because they may not be socially efficient

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13
Q

What is privatisation?

A

The sale of state-owned companies to the private sector (normally through a stock exchange)

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14
Q

Why might the government privatise a company?

A

Because there’s a profit motive; this can raise revenue for the government.

With the sold-off firm going into a free market, there’s the belief that firms will be more productively and dynamically efficient;

resources will be allocated efficiently (with the price mechanism) .

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15
Q

Examples of sectors that have been privatised

A

Gas, water, railway, Royal Mail

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16
Q

Who and why proposed renationalising the Royal Mail, rail services, energy supply networks, regional water and sewerage companies, and banks in 2019?

A

Jeremy Corbyn during his election battle against the conservatives and Boris Johnson:

  • There have been many strikes with the rail services and they’re abusing their monopoly power by raising ticket prices
  • Energy supply networks have risen their prices for house owners
  • Water and sewerage companies have been exploiting the public with their monopoly power (high prices and haven’t been dynamically efficient in fixing the leakages and pollution in the water)
  • Banks have been charging high interest rates
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17
Q

Why did this person lose to the conservatives after proposing the renationalisation of these sectors?

A

Because the public may not want to pay more taxes for the government to maintain these sectors

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18
Q

Which company is commercially funded but publicly owned by the state?

A

Channel 4 - raises their revenue through adverts but is owned by the government

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19
Q

Positives of privatisation

A
  • Can help create shareholder democracy (like Margaret Thatcher tried to do) ; e.g Royal Mail gave some of their shares to their workers which in turn made them more productive as there was a profit motive
  • Private sectors are more likely to be productively and dynamically efficient (innovative) with the profit motive/incentive
  • The government can raise revenue so they can pay off their debts
  • With the belief of a free market having the price mechanism, resources may be allocated more efficiently
20
Q

Negatives of privatisation

A

-Public sector assets are often sold too cheaply (as with the water companies when they were handed to the private sector almost free of debt in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher)

-These shares were mostly kept by foreigners, pension funds and insurance funds (creating inequalities in society as those who sold too quickly are losing out now)

-State owned companies can be dynamically efficient too

  • Social objectives (such as welfare) are less important than profit motives
  • These sectors may best be run by the state as they’re more strategic
21
Q

Which party wants to nationalise rail services if they win the election in 2024

A

The Labour Party and Keir starmer (it’ll take 5 years)

22
Q

What is levelling up?

A

Where the government closes the inequality gap between the north and the south of UK

-This can be through subsidising businesses to open up in the north so they can create more job opportunities

23
Q

How can consumers be subsidised?

A

-Through education
-For travel
-For housing bills (make them more affordable during pandemics and crises)

24
Q

What is wealth?

A

A collection of assets, stocks/investments, savings, dividends/shares

(Stock concept)

25
Q

What is income?

A

The money that flows from the factors of production

26
Q

What is the Gigi coefficient for the UK?

A

0.351

(Fairly decent)

27
Q

What is the concerning Gini coefficient?

A

0.4 and above is when it starts to become a concern

28
Q

What is the gini coefficient in the US?

A

0.47

More unequal than UK

29
Q

What are causes of inequalities in income and wealth?

A

-Uneven distribution of income

-Wealth is concentrated to only a few people (through inheritance)

-Access to education may be limited for some

-Benefit system (people may choose to not work which may cause more people to earn less)

-Lack of info about pay rates (leads to occupational immobility of labour)

-Lack of trade unions (people may be exploited, especially by monopsonies)

30
Q

How can the government decrease unemployment?

A

Through infrastructure projects such as:

-HS2 (High Speed 2 railway project)
-Olympics / World Cup
-Housing projects
-Construction of highways

By increasing national minimum wage to incentivise the unemployed (as there’d be higher wages)

31
Q

What are examples of unintended consequences

A

-Discouraging de-merit goods by taxing the production of these goods or setting a minimum price (can lead to drop in supply of these de merit goods) : can lead to consumers turning to the black market in order to gain access to these goods

-National minimum wage can decrease the amount employed

32
Q

Examples of pure public goods

A

-Street lights and roads
-Healthcare
-National Defence

33
Q

How can the government encourage merit goods?

A

-By subsidising more production of these goods

-By providing more information (through education)

34
Q

How can the government encourage merit goods?

A

-By subsidising more production of these goods

-By providing more information (through education)

35
Q

What is relative poverty and what can it consist of?

A

Living below the 60% of the median income

This can include those living on just the state pension

Can also include living under welfare benefits (FSM, food banks)

36
Q

What is absolute poverty and what % in the UK live in absolute poverty?

A

Failing to meet the basic needs (such as food, clothing, shelter, etc.)

E.g homeless, living under $2 per day

18%

37
Q

What is pension poverty?

A

Where you’re only living on a state pension of £11,500 a year
(if that; you must have contributed a full 35 years minimum to get this in full)

38
Q

How can the government solve inequality and poverty?

A

-By introducing the progressive tax system (tax the rich more than the poor because of the brackets)

-Increasing national minimum wage (to increase standards of living)

  • Providing quality access to education and healthcare (more meritocratic)

-Creating social safety nets with unemployment benefits

-Preventing monopolies and monopsonies (so they can’t exploit the poor)

39
Q

What is the triple lock?

A

The policy that ensures that the state pension will increase each year by the highest of the 3 metrics:

-Either 2.5%
-Rate of inflation in the previous September
-Or rate of wage growth in the previous September

40
Q

How can equity be targeted at?

A

By ensuring there’s fair distribution of resources:

-Through fair distribution in income (minimum wage laws)

-Education and healthcare (to make the society more meritocratic)

-Progressive taxation system (tax the rich more than the poor)

-Price discrimination (Firms can charge the rich who have a price inelastic demand higher prices than the poor who have a price elastic demand)

41
Q

Why have rental prices been more expensive after Covid?

A

Because of:

-Supply chain disruptions

-Decreased construction activity

-Increased demand for housing in certain areas

42
Q

How can the government reduce rental prices?

A

-By implementing policies such as rental control

-Incentivise landlords to reduce rent for lower-income tenants

-Subsidising housing construction (makes it more affordable)

43
Q

Why have the UK and EU imposed a windfall tax on energy and tech firms?

A

-So they can generate tax revenue

-So they can address concerns about significant price increases that have led to these firms’ profitability (especially during times of economic hardship)

44
Q

How can imposing taxes on businesses impact consumers?

A

-Can lead to an increase in prices as the firms may offset their tax burden by passing some of it onto their customers

-Businesses can’t be as dynamically efficient as they won’t have as much profits to reinvest into research and development in order to be innovative - thus affecting the quality and choice of products being sold to customers

45
Q

How can subsidies impact consumers?

A

-Consumers may find goods/services to be more affordable due to production being subsidised (because of economies of scale and lowered cost of production)

-However subsidies may have to come out of taxpayer’s money

-Producers may become subsidy reliant and may be dynamically inefficient