XI. Tasks for thought.
1. Which of the following statements are normative, and which are positive?
The price of oil more than tripled between 1973 and 1974.
In the early 1990s, the poor countries of the world received less than their fair share of world income.
The world distribution of income is too unjust, with poor countries having 58 per cent of the world population, but receiving only 4 per cent of world income.
One of the goals of the structural economy reforms in Russia is to raise the consumption level of society.
Since the 1970s inflation has fallen in most Western economies, but the
unemployment rate has increased.
Our government ought to introduce policies to reduce the unemployment rate.
Smoking is antisocial and should be discouraged.
The imposition of higher taxes on tobacco will discourage smoking.
2. Which of the following statements would not bе true for а pure “command economy"?
а) Firms choose how much labour to employ.
b) The distribution of income is government-controlled.
с) The government decides what should bе produced.
d) Production techniques are not determined by firms.
е) А government planning office decides what will bе produced, and for whom it will bе produced.
3. Figure 1 shows society's choice between social services and private goods in the fопn of а production possibility frontier. The three points А, В, С represent economies in which the government plays а more or less active role. Match each of the points with the most appropriate of the descriptions of hypothetical economies:
а) An economy in which the government intervenes as little as possible, providing only the minimum necessary amounts of essential services.
b) An economy in which the government takes а great deal of responsibility, taxing at а high level and providing considerable social services.
с) An economy in which the government provides more than the minimum necessary amounts of social services, but leaves room for a private sector.
25
A
•
20
• B
15
10
• C
5
5 10 15 20 25
XII. Speaking.
Discuss advantages and disadvantages of each of the three types of economies.
The ‘cold war' era has vanished and countries - members of NATO are withdrawing their military bases from а number of poor countries. Discuss роssiblе consequences for these countries' economies.
Canada has a mainly market economy, but there are also some sectors, such as public education, that are set up along socialist lines of public ownership and control.
a) Can you think of three other such sectors?
b) Why do you think these semi-socialist sectors were created? What benefits do they offer? Why were Canadians not content just to leave them to the market?
c) What characteristic problems do these socialist sectors face? That is, are there recurrent patterns in the complaints that people make about them?