TOPIC 6 ECO (chapter 14-16) Flashcards
industrialised countries type of eco today
dominated by clash of **capitalism & communism (US vs Soviet Union) **diff approaches to solving eco problem
common ground between nations today abt solving, approach based on operation of markets
-choices of individuals determine what g&s produced
-business determine **how **to produce g&s
completely free market eco (laissez-faire system) disadvantages
why would they all happen?
-some unsafe g&s (neg ext, undesirable)
-environment suffers irreversible harm
-some community wants & needs unsatisfied
-some ppl wont earn enough money to live
-inequalities within eco may worsen
-markets can be unstable & inefficient
markets pay attention to PRIV ECO INTERESTS, not broader social interests (market failure)
market failure
price mechanism takes account PRIVATE benefits & costs of production to consumers & producers, faiL TO ACCOUNT indirect costs (damage to enviro)
how can market failure arise
provision of g&s and income distribution
-negative externalities
-abuse of market power
-eco instability
need interests of society as WHOLE
why do gvts intervene in markets?
address market failures to achieve better aollocation of resources, more equitable distribution of income & greater eco stability
challenge for GVTs in too much market intervention
**find right balance
too much intervention stifles innovation, efficiency & growth
2 characteristics of public goods
- NON EXCLUDABLE
- NON-RIVAL
public good
good private firms dont want to supply bc cant restrict usage and benefits to those willing to pay (free riders) (clean air, street lighting public parks)
free riders
groups/individuals benefit from g/s without contributing to cost of supplying g/s.
-g/s likely under-supplied in relation to total demand
why would a free market undersupply a public good relative to demand for it/not supply
they’re non-excludable/non rival and attract free riders
-no incentive for firms to produce if consumers wont pay for them
SO GVT DOES!
what does it mean when a good is NON RIVAL
a person’s enjoyment of public good doesnt restrict others enjoymentof good
-if GVT spends money on pollution controls & enviro policies to improve air quality, valuable to everyone’s enjoyment
what other goods does gvt provide? examples
merit goods
high quality healthcare system(directly) or financial support for communities (indirectly)
demerit goods
bring harm to community eg. drugs, gambling, tobacco
gvt places restrictions
not all colelctive goods provided by gvt are public goods give example
public transport service NOT public good cause ppl gotta pay, EXCLUDABLE
Natural monopoly
market structure where goods efficiently provided by only 1 supplier bc enromous investment required to supply it
-occurs when comp creates inefficiency
-rail networks, water distribution
-gvts operate these try set fair price , not exploited
why do inequalities in income distribution from free markets widen over time?
wealth generates more wealth
-own land & assets, earn rent & interest from FOP & growht in value of investments
-greater opps developing skills & finding employment
relative poverty
those whose SOL substantially lower than average for eco, lvl income <30% of average earnings
australias most common form of poverty
relativce poverty
few in absolute poverty
absolute poverty
individuals only just enough income to enable survival (relative is compared to rest of pop)
history of welfare state
-during 20th century
from industrialised countries after depression and ww2
-grew 2nd half of century due to ageing pop, high unemployment & increase students in tertiary education
-1980s, some argued too generous, costly & created incentives to drop out of workforce
-GVTs reduce welfare benefits, obligations eg applying for jobs for incmome support, welfare benefits ofr unemployed limited, support for disabilities increase
what is the largest expense to AUS budget
redistribution of income
externalities
-form of market failure, occur when price mechanism fails to represent true social costs/benefits of production and consumption (private firms/ind)
-airlines dont consider aircraft noise when negotiating airfares
not directly affected in price mechanism
examples of negative externalities in australia
-increased carbon dioxide, contribution to global warming from burning fossil fuels
-biodiversity loss (land clearing from agriculture, mining operations)
-soil erosion & increased soil salinity (farming)
-water pollution (mining, chemicals in river systems)
climate change (negative externality)
human activities result in emission of GH gases eg. carbon dioxide lead to increases in global temperatures
-burning fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil) for electricity & transport
-sometimes agricultural, deforestation practices
while ind&bus pay market price of energy production produces carbon dioxide, only reflects private costs faced by companies in producing
-ind & bus dont pay long term cost of energy use (climate change), unlikely change consumption habits
-GVT policies eg carbon taxes ensures price mechanism reflects costs of carbon emissions
MPEC ways firms in highly concentrated industries possess substantial market power to exploit customers?
- monopolisation
- price discrimination
- exclusive dealing
- collusion & market sharing
how can firms exploit their customers through monopolisation
firm uses dominant market position to eliminate existing compeition/prevent new firms entering market
-eg, temporary price cutting than benefiting consumer
how do firms use price discrimination to exploit customers
sells same type of g/s in diff markets at diff prices
-charge higher prices to consumers believes have higher willingness & ability to pay
-greater degree of market power greater ability for firm to do this
-eg. charge higher for tourist places
how do firms use exclusive dealing to exploit customers
firm sets conditions for supply & exclude retailers from dealing with other compeitotrs
-larger retailers develop complex arrangements that bypass exclusive dealing laws
-eg bunnings warehouse low price bc agreements prevent stock anywhere else
how does collusion & market sharing enable firms to exploit consumers
firms get together and agree on price & market-sharing arrangement (cartel) reduces effective competition between them, inhibiting entry of new competition into market
eg. price fixing competitors agree on price instead of competing
common in OLIGOPOLIES
severe fluctuations in lvl eco activity makes it diff for gvts to sustain eco growth. market forces can bring on boom periods, which lead to what?
boom periods: excess demand for g&s causes inflation (demand-pul), distort business decision making, reduce consumer purchasing power & force increase in interest rates –> RECESSION
recessions increase unemployment, business failures, etc
how does gvt intervene to minimise harmful effects unstable eco growth?
economic stabilisation policies (macroeco policies)
-fiscal & monetary policy
what do macroeconomic policies influence? give examples
entire economy eg. fiscal & monetary policy
who do microeconomic policies influence? give 2 examples
individual firms & industries
competition policy, trade policy
aim of macroeconomic policy & what gvt does to reduce problems of excessive/insufficient eco activity
counterbalance business cycle to stabilise lvl of eco growth.
-excessive, risk inflation & gvt tries spending less, increasing taxation/raising interest rates to keep economy growing longer
recession, gvt tries stimulate growth increasing gvt spending, tax cuts & low IRs
what are microeconomic reform policies for
improve work practices & productivity levels with structural adjustment of individual firms & industries
AUS 3 tiered structure of GVT
- Commonwealth/ FEDERAL GVT
-overall responsibility for eco, most influence on its performance - STATE (6 state & 2 self governing territories NT ACT)
-develop infrastructure, deliver GVT services (health, edu), foster regional development - LOCAL (537)
-local planning, community facilities & roads
under the AUS ____, the central COMM GVT and state gvts are _____ and have diff roles, although they work together
Constitution
independent of each other
AUS Constitution
document provides overall framework for AUS system of democratic GVT & relationship betw Federal and state gvts
-sets law-making powers of Comm and state gvts
-abs limits on gvts abilities
-state covers powers not in constitution for comm
-both share responsibility for eco matters (bus regulation, taxation, health & edu)
main constitutional constraints for COMM GVT
forced to negotiate with (State gvts) 6 state gvts when implementing major eco reforms, need support
state governments role
limited role in national eco management but extensive responsibilities for delivery of GVT services
-operate health system (but COMM major role funding healthcare through medicare system)
-school edu
-infrastructure (transport system, electricity)
largest source of revenue for state governments
GST, collected by COMM, then distributed to states through ….
AUS has ‘vertical fiscal imbalance” wth does this mean
difference between the shares of revenue collection and of expenditure among various tiers of governments is called the ‘vertical fiscal gap
fed has most taxation powers while states have many expenditure responsibilities
what does the NSW GVT spend on the msot & least
health, edu, general public services
recreation, culture and religion
national cabinet
comm negotiates role in formerly traditional responsibilities of states (funding services) and brings together comm, state & territory gvts
local gvts responsibility
local planning & development decisions
-local services, eg. road building, community facilities (parks, libraries)
main source of revenue for local gvts
rates levied on local property owners
1/4 funding from comm & state grants
some from fees, fines imposed by councils
public sector
parts of eco owned/controlled by gvt (all tiers, including gvt enterprises)
2 important indicators of how public sector changed over time
spending as % GDP
public sector(public sector outlays)
-expenditure of all gvt compared with exp for eco as whole
public sector employment as % total employment
-prop of employees working in public sector
public sector outlay as % GDP trends in AUS
increasaed 2nd half of 20th century
-public sector grew sig in decades after WW2,
-stabilised past 20 yrs
-smaller than many industrialised countries, esp Europe
trends in changes to composition of GVT spending
spend less on infrastructure
-spend more on SWP and community services
-transfer payments largest (1/3 of Comm expenditure) (funds transferred back to households as SWP than directly on g&s)
trends in prop workers in public sector
declined 1985-2000 during period of privitisation of most gvt businesses
-since stabilised 16%
-reduction reflects GVTs contracting out many activities in private sector
-many ppl performing GVT services (road building, IT services) now doing as private sector contractors to GVT, not as public sector employees
gvts expanded role after WW2
-in industrialised countries, gvts adopted more active role influencing eco’s performance, spending would accelerate eco activity to achieve full employment levels (Keynesian theory)
1980S, GVTS reduced spending to curb lvls of taxation & borrowing from private sector, budget defecit –> excessive borrowing from private sector
-privitised gvt enterprises!
KT returned after GFC and COVID left aus with persistent budget deficits & ^ debt levels
provision of GVT services from the public sector
as eco grows, LS improve, public expectations of gvt grows in standards of healthcare, edu
-expects community services (polic, recreational facilities)
-expects ability to interact with gvt agencies through individualised, online services
-expected to address problems created by eco growth (Pollution, depletion of natural resources)
before growth of social welfare in public sector and why it did
before development of SWP, relied on charity to survive
-as life expectancy grew, unemployment rates increased, pop aged, cost of these programs increased
how does gvt affect allocation of resources 2
- influencing way bus & consumers behave in market through taxation/spending measures
- producing g&s itself (public goods)
also regulatory policies eg prohibiting sale of undesired goods
purposes of taxation
raise revenue to allow gvt spending
influence price of g&s –> consumer demand & production
-divert resources away from certain types of eco activity
-sreduced rate of tax (tax concessions) attract resources towards specific sector
-mostly indirect taxes
gvt direct taxation to achieve resource allocation goals
direct taxes are paid by individuals/firms where levied (cannot pass to someone else)
-personal income tax, must be paid by person on whom it is levied/company/capital gains tax
gvt indirect taxation to achieve resource allocation goals
indirect tax levied on ind & bus firms but can pass to someone else
-attached to g/s than ind/company
-GST levied on seller but passed to consumer
-can divert resources away from production of undesirable goods