Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Economy

Formal Business Correspondence

Inquiry: High-Performance Solar Panels

Dear Ms. Smith,

We are conducting a review of suppliers for high-performance solar panels suitable for large-scale urban projects. Your company’s products have come highly recommended.

We kindly request the following:

1. Detailed technical specifications of your solar panel models.
2. Current pricing and lead times for delivery.
3. Warranty and support policies.

Furthermore, we would appreciate any additional documentation, such as case studies or certifications, that highlights the performance of your products in urban environments.

We look forward to receiving your response at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

James Carter
Head of Sustainability Projects
Urban Infrastructure Co.... Continue reading "Business Communication Essentials: Inquiries, Quotations, and Vocabulary" »

Sustaining a Competitive Advantage

A competitive advantage must not only be created but also sustained over time. Sustaining a competitive advantage depends on several factors:

• Barriers to Imitation: Obstacles that prevent competitors from reproducing a competitive advantage. Examples include protected knowledge (patents, brands, etc.) and accumulated experience.
• Competitor's Ability to Imitate: The ease with which rivals can replicate a competitor's advantage.
• Industry Dynamism: As an industry undergoes more changes, competitive advantages tend to become more transitory.

Generic Competitive Strategies

The primary generic competitive strategies are Cost Leadership and Differentiation Strategy.

Cost Leadership Strategy

A company achieves a cost advantage... Continue reading "Achieving and Maintaining Business Success: Cost Leadership Strategies" »

Financial Markets and Institutions: Module 1

The Value of the Finance Industry

The finance industry plays a crucial role in the economy by facilitating the efficient allocation of capital and managing risk. Its value is generated through several key functions:

The Role of Secondary Markets

• Liquidity: Enabling assets to be quickly converted into cash.
• Price Information: Allowing investors to assess the value of investments.
• Low Transaction Costs: Facilitating cost-efficient trading.
• Risk Sharing: Distributing financial risks among investors.
• Economies of Scale: Enhancing efficiency in financial operations.

How Financial Markets Generate Value in the Economy

1. The Informational Role of Financial Markets

   Stock prices are set in financial markets, serving as

Direct and Indirect Exporting

• Exporting
  • Exporting can be direct or indirect.
  • In direct exporting, the company sells to a customer in another country.
  • The Internet is becoming increasingly important.

Exporting may be done passively or actively. Passive exporting occurs when a business receives orders from abroad without actively looking for them. Active exporting involves developing policies for setting up systems for organizing the export function and for dealing with export logistics, documentation, and finance.

With indirect exporting, intermediaries handle most aspects of export deals. Returns are obviously lower. You lose control over final selling prices.

• Indirect Exporting: Products are sold to a third party who then sells them within the

Main Goals of Central Banks

Primary Objectives

• Promote steady growth in national output.
• Maintain low unemployment rates.
• Ensure stable and orderly financial markets.

Monetary Policy Actions

Inflation Rising

• Central Bank raises interest rates to reduce price pressures and slow down the economy.

Sluggish Economy

• Central Bank lowers interest rates to boost aggregate demand, output, and reduce unemployment.

Creation of the Federal Reserve System (1907)

• Comprises 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks.
• Key roles include:
  • Conducting monetary policy.
  • Supervising and regulating banks.
  • Ensuring financial stability.
  • Providing financial services to government and public.

Monetary Policy Instruments

Interest Rate

Primary tool for adjusting economic activity.

Open Market Operations

Buying/... Continue reading "Central Bank Functions and Monetary Policy" »

Government Expenditure and Financing

Recurrent expenditure refers to the government's spending on regular activities such as salaries, pensions, and interest on internal and external loans. It is also known as regular or administrative expenditure.

• Constitutional Organs: Covers expenditure on the State Council, Parliament Secretariat, Supreme Court, Election Commission, Office of the Auditor General, Law Council, and Office of the Attorney General.
• General Administration: Includes expenses for the Council of Ministers, district administration, police, jails, and other routine operations.
• Revenue Administration: Encompasses costs related to land revenue, customs, excise, and other revenue collection activities.

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure... Continue reading "Core Economic Concepts: Finance, Markets, and Development" »

The Circular Economy: A Sustainable Economic Model

The economic model most aligned with sustainability is often considered to be the circular economy. Unlike traditional linear models of production and consumption, where resources are extracted, used, and discarded, the circular economy aims to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency by promoting reuse, recycling, and regeneration.

Key Principles of the Circular Economy

One of the key principles of the circular economy is the idea of closing the loop, where materials and products are kept in circulation for as long as possible through strategies such as remanufacturing, refurbishment, and sharing platforms. This approach not only reduces the environmental impact of resource extraction... Continue reading "Circular Economy & Political Risk in Global Business" »

Multiple Choice Questions

Choose the correct option:

1. Concepts studied under Microeconomics.

   (a) National Income (b) General Price Level (c) Factor Pricing (d) Product Pricing

   Options: (i) a & b (ii) b & c (iii) c & d (iv) only b

   Ans: Option (iii) c & d

2. The law of DMU is important to

   (a) Producer (b) Consumer (c) Government (d) None of the above

   Option: (i) a & b (ii) b & c (iii) d (iv) a, b & c

   Ans: Option (iv) a, b and c

3. When price falls demand

   (a) Rises (b) Contracts (c) Remains constant (d) Becomes Negative

   Option: (i) a (ii) b (iii) c (iv) d

   Ans: Option (i) a

4. Product differentiation is possible in the following market

   a) Perfect competition. b) Monopoly c) Monopolistic competition. d) All of the above

   Option: (1) a &

Theory of Indifference Curves

Developed by Prof. Thomas S. Alvarez

ECONOMICS AND INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION I

Indifference Curves

The table below shows points in four different indifference curves for a consumer.
(a) Draw the indifference curves I, II, III, and IV on the same set of axes.
(b) What are indifference curves?

I II III IV
Qx Qy Qx Qy Qx Qy Qx Qy
2 13 3 12 5 12 7 12
3 6 4 8 5.5 9 8 9
4 4.5 5 6.3 6.3 8.3 9 7
5 3.5 6 5 7 7 10 6.3
6 3 7 4.4 8 6 11 5.7
7 2.7 8 4 9 5.4 12 5.3

(a)

(b) Indifference curves graphically display the tastes and preferences of consumers (in the analysis of utility, the total utility curve introduced consumer tastes). The consumer is indifferent to all the various combinations of X and Y on the same indifference curve... Continue reading "Indifference Curves, Budget Lines, and Consumer Equilibrium" »

The Prisoner's Dilemma

The Prisoner's Dilemma is a fundamental concept in economics and game theory. At its simplest, it illustrates why cooperation can be challenging, even when mutually beneficial. This difficulty arises because one party cannot reliably predict the other's actions. For example, consider two farms alongside a river. The river will flood unless $1,000 is spent on flood control. Both farmers will suffer significant losses if it floods. The optimal solution is for both farmers to pay $500 each. However, each farmer knows that if the other farmer paid the full $1,000, they would receive the benefit of flood control for free. Consequently, each waits for the other to pay the entire $1,000. In the meantime, the river floods. This... Continue reading "Essential Economic Concepts: Dilemmas, Trade, and Market Dynamics" »