Gary Becker (1930 – 2014) was an American economist who helped to spread economics into fields of social science, such as sociology, demography and criminology. Becker undertook economic analysis in areas such as racial discrimination, the incentives of crime, drug addiction and family relationships. Becker also helped to popularise and develop the concept of human …
Taxation on goods, income or wealth influence economic behaviour and the distribution of resources. For example, higher taxes on carbon emissions will increase cost for producers, reduce demand and shift demand towards alternatives. Higher income tax can enable a redistribution of income within society, but may have an impact on reducing the incentives to work …
Living standards vary significantly across the globe. Wealthy economies, such as the US have an average GDP per head (at PPP) of $59,495 in the US (IMF 2017) This compares to an average annual income as low as $808 Burundi. (IMF 2017) There are many reasons for these divergences in income including – historical trends, …
Price discrimination occurs when firms sell the same good to different groups of consumers at different prices. There are often different types of price discrimination offered. Often they are categorised in the following way: 1st-degree price discrimination – charging the maximum price consumers are willing to pay. 2nd-degree price discrimination – charging different prices depending …
Summary Education has positive benefits for the rest of society. If university education is left to market forces, there may be under-provision, and the economy may suffer from a lack of skilled graduates. Furthermore, in a free market, higher education would become the preserve of wealthy families who can afford to send their children to …
A look at factors that determine an individuals supply of labour and the market supply of labour. Higher wages usually will encourage a worker to supply more labour because work is more attractive compared to leisure. Therefore the supply curve for labour tends to be upwardly sloping. However, a worker isn’t just interested in earning …
Unemployment is defined as a situation where someone of working age is not able to get a job but would like to be in full-time employment. Note: If a mother left work to bring up a child or if someone went into higher education, they are not working but would not be classed as unemployed …
