A market economy can be defined as an economy in which the allocation of resources is determined only by their supply and the demand for them. Market economy can also be defined as an economic system in which economic decisions and the pricing of goods and services are guided solely by the aggregate interactions of a country’s citizens and businesses and there is little government intervention or central planning. To conclude, the market economic system is basically a system whereby private individuals take up the responsibility of allocating resources to the public and relies chiefly on market forces to determine prices. Countries practicing the market economic system tend to assume that the forces of demand and supply are the main determinants of what is right for a nation’s well-being. They {the countries} rarely experience government interventions such as price fixing, license quotas and industry subsidizations. In reality, the market economy Continue reading
International Economics
Monopsony and Competition Law in Indian Context
Can a buyer be the biggest bully? The classical theory of monopsony answers this question. It envisions a market scenario with only one buyer, who can use his leverage to reduce the quantity of product purchased, thereby driving down the price that he has to pay. Seldom does a monopsonistic situation arise in the market, so much so that little has been thought till date about the potential adverse impact of such a scenario on market competition. Another reason for the antitrust analyst’s apparent neglect of the power on the buyer’s side of the market may be that such power tends to reduce the selling price of a commodity, thereby causing a prima facie increase in consumer welfare, which has always been one of the traditional goals of competition law. Classical Monopsony -What does It Entail? Pure monopsony can be looked upon as the demand-side analogue of the monopolist who Continue reading
Alfred Chandler’s Model of Integrated Managerial Enterprise
Managerial enterprises received the priority and governmental focus in the modern economic strategy that led to the fast and impressive growth of the economies of developed countries. Numerous countries have chosen the model designed by Alfred Chandler as the primary tool for changing the perspectives and visions to transform and grow to become powerful national economic enterprises. The model is based on the economic logic. The decisions made by managers based on this approach had a momentous impact on the path of economic advancement of Germany making this country one of the most influential players in the global arena, increasing production level in the United States, and helped Japan reach its leading position in the world. Adherence to the economic logic became the engine for the economic improvement. However, weak implementation of the Chandler’s model consequently led the United States to the decline in the competitiveness in machinery and electronics Continue reading
The Bretton Woods System – Background, Design and Reasons for Collapse
Since the beginning of the 19th century, globalization, international trade and free trade between countries became the new economic order and several attempts have been made since then to develop policies and schemes to ensure the stability of the international monetary system. It is safe to say that in truth, the world economy has never been in a state of utopia, but nevertheless, we have never stopped trying to attain such. The Bretton Woods era of 1944 to 1977, one of the few fairly successful schemes the world powers created in trying to achieve economic utopia, though existed for a short period, has been accredited as being one of the most successful international monetary systems, so impressive was the economic stability and growth of the era that there have been ongoing talks for a comeback of the system. Background of the Bretton Woods System At the end of the World Continue reading
Detailed Information about Bretton Woods Exchange Rate System and The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
Bretton Woods Exchange Rate System (1944) In 1944, as World War II drew toward a close, the Allied Powers met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in order to create a new post-war international monetary system. The Bretton Woods Agreement, implemented in 1946, whereby each member government pledged to maintain a fixed, or pegged, exchange rate for its currency vis-Ã -vis the dollar or gold. These fixed exchange rates were supposed to reduce the riskiness of international transactions, thus promoting growth in world trade. The Bretton Woods Agreement established a US dollar-based international monetary system and provide for two new institutions, The IMF and the World Bank. The IMF aids countries with balance of payments and exchange rate problems. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) helped post-war reconstruction and since then has supported general economic development. The IMF was the key institution in the new international monetary system, and Continue reading
Unemployment – Meaning, Causes and Effects
The economists describe unemployment as a condition of jobless within an economy. Unemployment is lack of utilization of resources and it eats up the production of the economy. It can be concluded that unemployment is inversely related to productivity of the economy. Unemployment generally defined as the number of persons (It is the percentage of labor force depends on the population of the country) who are willing to work for the current wage rates in society but not employed currently. Unemployment reduces the long run growth potential of the economy. When the situation arises where there are more other resources for the production and no man power leads to wastage of economic resources and lost output of goods and services and this has a great impact on government expenditure directly. High unemployment causes less consumption of goods and services and less tax payments results in higher government borrowing requirements. The Continue reading