Professional English for economists. Учебное пособие

the population from rising above the subsistence level. Malthus also questioned the automatic tendency of a market economy to produce full employment. He blamed unemployment upon the economy's tendency to limit its spending by saving too much, a theme that lay forgotten until John Maynard Keynes revived it in the 1930s. Coming at the end of the Classical tradition, John Stuart Mill parted company with the earlier classical economists on the inevitability of the distribution of income produced by the market system. Mill pointed to a distinct difference between the market's two roles: allocation of resources and distribution of income.

The market might be efficient in allocating resources but not in distributing income, he wrote, making it necessary for society to intervene. Value theory was important in classical theory. Smith wrote that the "real price of every thing ... is the toil and trouble of acquiring it" as influenced by its scarcity. Smith maintained that, with rent and profit, other costs besides wages also enter the price of a commodity. Other classical economists presented variations on Smith, termed the 'labor theory of value'. Classical economics focused on the tendency of markets to move to long-run equilibrium.

1.6.2. Retell the text in English using following words and phrases in your speech:

identify - идентифицировать, отождествлять; labor – труд;

nation's wealth - благосостояние нации;

a self-regulating market system - саморегулирующаяся рыночная система; competitive markets - конкурентные рынки;

approach – подход;

notable - выдающийся человек;

economic thought - экономическая мысль; landowner – землевладелец;

diminishing returns - сокращающиеся доходы; living standards - стандарты жизни; inevitability – неизбежность;

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allocation - распределение, локализация; value theory - теория стоимости;

long-run equilibrium -долгосрочное равновесие.

1.7 Discussion

1.7.1 Discuss with your group the economic situation in your country. Name its positive and negative sides. Speak about the global crisis; suggest measures to improve the economic situation in Russia. Use such conversational as:

-I suppose, I think, I consider …;

-In my opinion ...;

-From my point of view …;

-On the one hand, on the other hand …;

-To begin with …;

-I’d like to point out the fact that …;

-Actually ... .

1.7.2 Find information about prominent economists of the past or present. Make a report about one of them. Your report should include such points as:

1)Biography;

2)Economic ideas/ works;

3)Prove your choice.

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2 Unit 2 Economic activity

2.1 Speaking drills

1)What do you call “activity”?

2)Who are “active people”?

3)What is economic activity?

2.2 Useful words and phrases

economic activity – экономическая деятельность to define – определять

to expect – ожидать influence – влиять

interrelationship – взаимосвязь

corporate profits – корпоративные доходы, общий доход

inflation-adjusted market value – рыночная стоимость с поправкой на инфляцию to measure – измерять

economic growth – экономический рост full employment – полная занятость

to distinguish – выделять, различать, отличать

to advance – иметь преимущество, лидировать, быть впереди to eliminate – сокращать, устранять, избегать

national income accounting – учёт национального дохода

2.3 Vocabulary skills

2.3.1 Explain the meaning of the following adjectives:

-economic;

-economical;

-demographic;

-intensive;

-domestic.

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primarily the study of how countries can advance their economies. The latter is the study of the economic development process particularly in low-income countries.

Growth is usually calculated in real terms. These are the inflation-adjusted terms. This is used to eliminate the distorting effect of inflation on the price of goods produced. Measurement of economic growth uses national income accounting. Since economic growth is measured as the annual percent change of gross domestic product (GDP), it has all the advantages and drawbacks of that measure.

Demographic factors may influence growth by changing the employment to population ratio and the labor force participation rate. Industrialization creates a demographic transition in which birth rates decline and the average age of the population increases.

Women with fewer children and better access market employment tend to join the labor force in higher percentages. There is a reduced demand for child labor and children spend more years in school. There are other factors which are also very essential for economic growth. Their importance for each single economic system may differ.

2.4.2 Say if you agree or disagree with the statements

1.Economic growth doesn’t depend on any factor

2.One of the measures of economic activity is the gross national product

3.The growth of the ratio of GDP to population is important for the economy

4.Women with more children tend to join the labor force in higher percentages

5.Demographic factors do not influence economic growth

2.4.3Retell the text. Say some words about the economic situation in Europe, USA,

Russia

2.4.4Translate the text. Write out the words and phrases in italics, translate and memorize them

Economics is the science that concerns itself with economies, from how societies produce goods and services, to how they consume them. It has influenced world finance at many important junctions throughout history and is a vital part of our everyday lives. The

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assumptions that guide the study of economics, have changed dramatically throughout history.

Adam Smith is widely credited for creating the field of economics, however, he was inspired by French writers, who shared his hatred of mercantilism. In fact, the first methodical study of how economies work, was undertaken by these French physiocrats. Smith took many of their ideas and expanded them into a thesis about how economies should work, as opposed to how they do work.

Smith believed that competition was self-regulating and that governments should take no part in business through tariffs, taxes or any other means, unless it was to protect free-market competition. Many economic theories today are, at least in part, a reaction to Smith's pivotal work in the field. Karl Marx and Thomas Malthus had decidedly poor reactions to Smith's treatise. Malthus predicted that growing populations would outstrip the food supply. He was proven wrong, however, because he didn't foresee technological innovations that would allow production to keep pace with a growing population. Nonetheless, his work shifted the focus of economics to the scarcity of things, versus the demand for them. (For related reading, see Economics Basics: Demand and Supply.)

This increased focus on scarcity led Karl Marx to declare that the means of production were the most important components in any economy. Marx took his ideas further and became convinced that a class war was going to be initiated by the inherent instabilities he saw in capitalism. However, Marx underestimated the flexibility of capitalism. Instead of creating a clear owner and worker class, investing created a mixed class where owners and workers hold the interests of both classes, in balance. Despite his overly rigid theory, Marx predicted one trend: businesses grew larger and more powerful, in accordance to the degree of free-market capitalism allowed.

2.4.5Make up a sentence using each word or word combination in italics

2.4.6Ask 5 types questions to the text 2.4.4

2.4.7Find some additional information about economists of the past and present, make up a report in the form of presentation on the history of economic thought. Retell the text

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3 Unit 3 Getting the job

3.1 Speaking drills

3.1.1 Answer the following questions:

1)What steps are necessary to take to get a job?

2)What job do you consider to be the most suitable for you?

3)What manner of behavior is more preferable for an interview?

3.1.2 Range the following things which will help people to find a good job, beginning with the most significant one:

good acquaintances;

excellent knowledge of the specialty;

communication skills;

official clothing style ;

excellent abilities to represent yourself, official manner of speech;

experience in your field;

correct and attractive resume;

education;

leadership qualities;

wide world outlook;

abilities to find professional information in different media and internet sources.

3.2 Useful words and phrases

3.2.1 Words and phrases:

job advertisements - объявления о работе; executive position - руководящая должность; comparison - сравнение, сопоставление;

an essential piece of information - важная часть информации; applicant - заявитель, претендент, соискатель;

mention – упоминать;

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fringe benefits - дополнительные льготы; demand – требование;

educational standards - образовательные стандарты; executive board - совет директоров;

instead – вместо;

personality-driven - личностно-ориентированный; novice – новичок;

analytical aptitude - аналитические способности; independence - независимость, самостоятельность; conception of management - концепция управления.

3.3 Vocabulary skills

3.3.1 Match the words and expressions in the box with the headings below:

1)fringe benefits

_____________________________________________________________;

2)education

_____________________________________________________________;

3)stages in recruiting

_____________________________________________________________;

5)people looking for work

_____________________________________________________________;

4)personal qualities

_____________________________________________________________;

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3.4 Reading skills

3.4.1 Recruitment. Job Ads: Reading Between the Lines

Checking out job advertisements is popular with executives worldwide. But though the activity is universal, is the same true of the advertisements? Are executive positions in different countries advertised in the same way? A comparison of the jobs pages of The Times of London, Le Monde of Paris and Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung suggests not.

First, what UK job seekers consider an essential piece of information -what the post pays - is absent from French and German adverts. It is often left to applicants to raise this themselves. In contrast most British advertisements mention not only salary, but also other material incentives including a car and fringe benefits. French or German advertisements rarely refer to these.

The attention given to rewards in the UK indicates the importance of the job and its responsibility. In France and Germany, that information is given by the level of experience and qualifications demanded. Salary can be assumed to correspond with this.

If French and German adverts are vague about material rewards, they are precise about qualifications. They usually demand 'a degree in ...', not simply 'a degree'. In Germany, for example, a technical director for a machine tool company will be expected to have a Dipl.-Ing degree in Mechanical Engineering.

French advertisements go further. They may specify not just the type of grands ecole degree, but sometimes a particular set of institutions (Formation superieure X, Centrale, Mines, НЕС, ESSEQ), these being the most famous grandes ecoles.

All this contrasts with the vague call for 'graduates' (or 'graduate preferred') which is found in the UK. British companies often give the impression that they have a particular type of applicant in mind, but are not sure about the supply and will consider others. Their wording suggests hope and uncertainty, as in this advertisement from The Times: 'Whilst educational standards are obviously important, a large measure of personal oomph is likely to secure the success of your application.

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In the UK qualifications beyond degree level make employers nervous, but in France or Germany it is difficult to be 'overqualified'. Many people on German executive boards have doctorates and the French regard five or six years of intensive postbaccalaureat study at a grand ecole as ideal training. British managers are not selected primarily for their intelligence, as managers are in France, or for their expert knowledge, as in Germany. Instead, the British give importance to social, political and leadership skills.

This difference also shows in the personal qualities mentioned. British advertisements stress energy, ability to communicate and motivate. German advertisements like achievement, but it tends to be less personality-driven. German companies want candidates with sound knowledge, experience and competence in their field. They rarely recruit novices as do British employers. French advertisements refer more to intellectual qualities like analytical aptitude and independence.

Even the tone of the job advertisements is different in the three countries. By French and German standards, British advertisements are very racy. They attract young executives with challenges such as: 'Are you reaching your potential?', whereas French and German advertisements are boringly direct, aiming to give information about the job rather than to sell it.

All this points to three different conceptions of management. The French regard it as intellectually complex, the Germans as technically complex, and the British as interpersonally complex. But they agree on one thing: it's complex.

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