as aqa economics: January 2013

Monday 28 January 2013

carbon taxes

australia's carbon tax (june 2012)

pigou club manifesto

us carbon tax debate national journal 2013

positive on negative externalities: climate change

Sunday 27 January 2013

climate change and macro + fiscal effects

The Stern Report 2007
the stern review on the economics of climate change was hailed as a wake up call for the impact our present approach has on the environment and criticised many traditional methods of "internalising the externality" such as taxes. You can listen to the lecture and see the powerpoint presentation at the link below:

video of stern lecture

the full report is available from:

Stern Review on the economics of climate change

stern and climate change:

powerpoint on the dangers climate change

climate change presentation (t2u) handout (pdf)

Sunday 20 January 2013

merit goods - higher education + NHS

Higher Education Case Study
Introduction:
The introduction of tuition fees at £9000 per annum for university study could be an area of discussion on this years econ 1 paper.

Basic merit good arguments apply (see the last post on healthcare) but here the state is moving away from free provision towards charging individuals for their study.

It is felt there are clear merit good arguments for education to 16 (or indeed 18 with legislation to be phased in over the next couple of years) thus making it a legal requirement and providing it free makes sure the "right" quantity of education is consumed. National Curriculum and inspection by OFSTEAD works on quality within this framework.

Higher education provision is not so clear cut - the government feels the benefits are more private in nature thus students should make more of a contribution to the cost.

There are equity issues here in that it maybe only those from above average incomes may take the risk of investing in degrees. Thus the government has built in some means-testing and suggested a quota system or positive discrimination to support children from lower socio-economic groups.

The impact of the introduction of tuition fees will only be known in the longer term. The rise in youth unemployment may be enough to encourage more students into education as a way of dealing with a lack of job opportunity although many graduates are now struggling to find work.

Will we see the death of the liberal arts degree as students seek a greater return on their investment from more technical subjects??

Highly skilled and flexible workers are the key to sustainable growth in a competitive global environment - clear positive externalities of higher education exist in this sense.

Basic Analysis:

NHS Case Study
Introduction:
The central provision of healthcare since WWII under the NHS follows the themes of:

equity - where every individual has the right to a certain level of care regardless on income
merit good - where the state deals with failures in the form of information issues related to externalities and an underestimation of private benefit
asymmetric information: doctor have all the information thus may make decisions motivated by financial goals
moral hazard: insurance markets have difficulty dealing with the unique challenge of affordable healthcare cover.
economies of scale - bigger is better for unit cost

Analysis:

Policy:

subsidy

zero price provision

Conclusion:
the NHS has delivered effective care for the UK population for over 60 years but is facing a triple threat:

increased demand from an ageing population
increasing costs from ever more complex drugs, technology and procedures
austerity challenging total expenditure in the face of the above two issues

Efficiency gains through reorganisation and the use of private sector providers on partnership with the public sector is seen as a model to provide healthcare for the 21 century but is proving difficult to achieve both practically and politically. other resources: health care:
http://www.oheschools.org/ohe.pdf

nhs for sale (panorama)

nhs postcode lottery (panorama)

sicko michael moore (trailer)

briefing (michael moore

bbc archive nhs

education
tested to destruction? (panorama)

back to school (panorama)