Документ Microsoft Word

Monopolies

Pure monopoly is a theoretical market structure where there is only one seller of a commodity or service, where entry into the industry is closed to potential competitors, and where the seller has complete control over the quan-, tity of goods offered for sale and the price at which goods are sold.

Monopolies may begin by the granting of a patent or a copyright, by the possession of a superior skill or talent, or by the ownership of strategic capital. The huge capital investment necessary to organise a firm in some countries is a barrier to entry in these monopolistic fields and, thus, provides established corporations in these industries with potential monopoly power.

At the same time, in recent years, many large U.S. corporations, viewed by many as the chief instrument of monopoly, have become vulnerable to new forms of competition. U.S. consumers can buy goods from foreign producers, pjthe case of automobile, they can purchase products made by Honda, Toyota, or Volvo, to name a few. The U.S. Government has tried to minimise the danger of monopolies through legislation.

Taxes

Taxes are a compulsory financial contribution by a person or body of persons towards the expenditure of a public authority.

The government has a choice of taxing income, wealth or consump­tion to finance its expenditure on defence, social services, municipal services etc.

The main forms of direct tax are income tax paid by individuals and corporation tax paid by businesses. Income tax in Great Britain dates from the 1790s and has until recently been the major source to generate tax revenue. Income tax can be progressive, proportional or regressive. The idea of a progressive tax is to take more from those who earn more.

Indirect taxes are imposed on certain products or services that peo­ple buy. The main ones are value added tax and excise duties.

Pressure to increase government expenditure may lead to a search of new taxes.

Some people argue for a more direct link between specific taxes and particular items of government expenditure. For example, taxes from motorists could be spent on roads and the transport system while the tax from alcohol and tobacco could be spent on the national health service. But it is impossible for the government to match all individual taxes with particular spending programmes.

The major principles of a tax system are that it should be equitable and reasonable. Then the incentive to avoid and evade tax would be less. The system of tax collection shouldn't be costly and shouldn't contain a lot of tax allowances and exemptions.

There are many ways in which people find jobs. These include replying... advertisements in the national, local or specialist press; direct approaches ... employers and through a job centre or employment agency.

A lot of governments provide a range of services... job seekers... employ­ment services.

The Employment Service in Britain gives information ... job opportuni­ties, vocational training programs, about how to raise skill levels. Much atten­tion is given ... school-leavers, students, and graduates who are seeking jobs because ... some areas of Britain a lot of young people are out of work. There are areas with high youth unemployment. The British government has intro­duced a large number... programs to give school-leavers and young people a better chance... getting full-time or part-time jobs. Besides, those who fail to find a job, get unemployment benefits.

American students are also fond ... getting temporary or part-time jobs, especially... the summer. Many students work as counsellors in summer camps ... young children. Most students work... supermarkets or in fast food restau­rants. Others take jobs as messengers, delivery people or sales clerks. Occa­sionally, students work... some of these jobs during the school year as well as during the summers.

The modern market economy is populated by three types of eco­nomic agents, whose interaction constitutes economic activity: consumers, producers, and the government. The main purpose of the econ­omy is to produce goods and services for the satisfaction of the needs of consumers.

Consumers, typically representing households, spend their income to buy consumer goods and services or to save.

How does a consumer distribute the income earned by him amongst a variety of goods and services offered in the market?

There are different factors affecting his decisions. For instance, a fall in the price of a good or service will increase his consumption of it, while a rise in its price will have the opposite effect.

Then a rise in his real income will naturally result in an increased consumption of goods and services, a fall in real income having the opposite effect1.

The pattern of consumer expenditure is also influenced by tastes, consumer preferences and family circumstances. As incomes rise, ex­penditure on basic goods will form a smaller proportion of total spend­ing. The terms "necessities" and "luxuries" are of little use in analys­ing consumer expenditure because what are today's luxuries will probably be tomorrow's necessities.

It should be stressed here, that some customers, however, want to have high-quality products even when quality means a higher price. Some other customers prefer foreign products.

The amount spent on goods and services and changes in this vari­able have a big impact on the level of economic activity: the increase in consumer spending creates new employment opportunities and causes better living standards.