Application for essays - Microeconomics Flashcards
Argument against privatisation
Water industry privatised in 1989 and the last reservoir was built in 1991
Who criticised MRP theory?
Neoclassical economist Paul Samuelson
‘ It is not a theory that explains wages, rents or interest; on the contrary it simply explains how factors of production are hired by a firm, once their prices are known’
What is the ratio of CEO pay to typical workers (criticism of MRP)?
CEO paid 312 x more than workers (2017)
How did trade union membership compare in 2021 to 2020?
Membership had fallen
* Membership in 2020 : 23.7%
* Membership in 2021 : 23.1%
Earners of which level of income are most likely to be in a trade union?
Middle income earners
What did teachers in Scotland do in 2022?
Teachers in Scotland decided to strike in November 2022 for the first time in national schools since the 1980s
Who first came up with the term ‘monopsony’?
Joan Robinson
What is an example of a bilateral monopoly?
Between WWII and the 1980s, the National Coal Board were the sole employer of coal miners whilst the National Union of Miners was an extremely powerful trade union which operated a closed shop (must be enrolled in order to get a job)
How much is the National Living Wage and who is it for?
£10.42 for people 23 or over
What is a criticism of NMW reducing employment?
Study in San Francisco in which neighbouring boroughs had differing MW’s showed that unemployment was no higher in the borough with higher MW
Asda staff and their need for an increase in wages
In 2018, Asda’s 120k workers suffered so badly, they claimed over £200,000,000 in benefits and tax credits (£350,000 per store)
Who criticised ‘ Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons ‘ and what were her views on the matter?
Elinor Ostrom
Ostrom visited many examples of commons land including rubber tappers in the Amazon and found that there were many principles that allowed the commons to be used effectively (e.g. cohesion)
(She won the Bank of Sweden Nobel Memorial Prize for her work in 2006)
Who regulate telecommunication pricing in the UK?
OFCOM
Use when talking about competition policy (monopoly max pricing) as an example of price capping
An example of privatisation worsening the quality of services
Serco won a contract worth £700 million in 2013 to provide NHS services.
However, in 2012, Serco admitted to falsifying over 250 reports to the NHS for out of hours GP services in Cornwall.
How was competition policy enacted in 2019?
CMA blocked Sainsbury’s and Asda’s merger to prevent unethical monopoly from forming
