Education Is Considered As An Investment Economics Essay

Education Is Considered As An Investment Economics Essay Education is considered as an investment in human capital. Human capital can be described as the knowledge, abilities and skills of an individual, acquired through education, training and experience, which help the latter to be more productive and thus improve his potential income earning. Ismael (1998), Becker (1964) and Mincer (1974) have emphasized on the fact that, by investing in human beings, we will gain from some forms of benefits in the future. However, Blankneau and Simpson (2004) find no clear evidence on the link between government spending on education and economic growth. Human capital is one of the most important components of sustainable economic development of a country as illustrated by Lucas (1988) and Romer (1990) in their new growth literature. The expanded neoclassical growth model developed by Mankiw, Romer and Weil (MRW) (1992) and the endogenous growth models developed by Lucas (1988), Romer (1990), Barro (1990) and others have only recently stressed on the importance of human capital in growth theories. Even though human capital incorporates health, experience, skills, education and other social factors, in this paper we will concentrate only on the role of education and its effects on the economic development of Mauritius. One problem that arises is when dealing with the measurement of human capital. In fact, there is no agreed definition of which proxy should be used to represent human capital. Generally, the average number of years of schooling has long been seen as a convenient proxy. For example, Mankiw et al. (1992) use secondary enr ollment as proxy for education and Barro (1998) uses enrollment in different levels of education, i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary, and also enrollment by gender as proxies. In our study we will be using the average number of years of different schooling levels as proxies for education. Petrakis and Stamatakis (2002) have stressed on the fact that each different level of education has different impact on growth. For example, they find that the effect of primary and secondary education on the economic growth of developing countries is more significant than that of tertiary education, and for developed countries it is the opposite that takes place. Since it improves human capital, we could say that education does affect economic growth predominantly, but actually, the impact of education on the economic development is quite ambiguous. There were countless debates over the years by researchers over whether education has a positive, negative or no relationship at all with the economic growth of a country. Barro (1991) finds that education has a positive and significant impact on economic growth. He observes that any rise in enrollment rate, raises GDP too. De Meulmester and Rochet (1995) provide evidence that this relationship may not always be true. Devarajan et al. (1996) find that education has a negative impact on economic growth for some developing countries. They deduce that developing countries are not productive at the margin because these countries do not fairly allocate their public capital expenditure and this explains the opposing relationship between education and economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to dete rmine the impact of education on the economic growth of Mauritius. Empirical Evidence Barro (1991) finds that education and economic growth are highly correlated. He uses enrollment rate as a proxy for education and per capita GDP as a proxy for economic growth. Data are collected across more than 100 countries during the years 1960 to 1990 and Barro finds that each additional year of enrollment increases per capita GDP. Bils and Klenow (2000) also come across similar results in their research. They find that variation in schooling explains approximately one third of the variation in economic growth. Although Bils and Klenow (2000) provide evidence of the positive relationship between education and economic development, they also claim that more growth would result in more education and not the opposite, i.e. a reverse causation effect. Akcabelen (2009) uses the ARDL approach to determine the short-run and long-run effects of different levels of education on Turkeys economic development. Secondary enrollment and tertiary enrollment are used as different proxies for education and this enables us to examine the impact of each level of education on the economic growth. Akcabelen concludes that there is positive correlation between all levels of education and the long-run economic development of Turkey. Loening (2002) uses time-series data from 1951 to 2000 and applies the error-correction methodology to analyze the impact of education on the economic growth of Guatemala. He observes that output per worker increases by 0.16 percent following a 1 percent rise in the average years of schooling. So he agrees on the fact that education does have a positive impact on the overall economic development of the country. Afzal et al. (2010) use time series data from 1970-2009 to analyze the relationship between education, physical capital, inflation, poverty and economic growth in Pakistan. According to their findings, education and physical capital have both a positive and considerable effect on economic growth in the short-run as well as in the long-run. They also find that inflation slows down economic growth in the long-run and poverty has no effect at all on the economic development of Pakistan. Other researchers, such as Kakar et al. (2011), have used time series data for the time span 1980-2009 and apply the Error Correction Model (ECM) and come to the conclusion that education influences Pakistans economic development only in the long-run. They also observe that the quality of education is more important than the quantity of education in achieving economic growth, so the government should increase its investment in education with the aim of enhancing the quality of education further. Since Mauritius is part of Africa, it is also good to see the results of researches conducted in other African countries. Fonkeng and Ntembe (2009) use enrollment and GDP as proxies for education and economic development and they notice that education at higher level, i.e. at tertiary level, is positively correlated with economic growth of Cameroon. Musila and Belassi (2004) use government expenditure on education as proxy for education for the years 1965 to 1999. They apply the cointegration and the ECM methods and find that there is positive correlation between average workers expenditure on education and the economic growth of Uganda. Ndiyo (2007) uses time series data from 1970 to 2000 on real education expenditure, real capital formation and GDP, and employs the VAR technique. Based on the results obtained after computations, Ndiyo (2007) demonstrates that education does not have a positive effect on the economic development of Nigeria. He suggests that this result can be explai ned by various factors such as labor market distortions, redundancy, brain drain, industrial disputes and job discontinuities, and government failure etc. Khorasgani (2008) analyses the impact of higher education on Irans economic development for the period 1959 to 2005. The proxies used for human capital are education attainment and research expenditures. Khorasgani (2008) also uses Cobb-Douglas production function together with the ARDL method to determine the short-run and long-run effects of higher education on the economic growth. The study demonstrates that real output increases by 0.314 percent in the long run and 0.198 percent in the short run following a 1 percent increase in higher education attainment. Hence, higher education has a positive and significant impact on the economic development of Iran.

New England Soup Company: Business Overview Essay

On January 11, 1991, William Kolander, president of the New England Soup Company of Boston, Massachusetts, was reviewing a research report he had received from a Boston-based research house. The report presented the findings of a study on the firm’s new formulation of Kolander’s Chowder brand of canned soup. The study had also been sent to the firm’s sales manager, Kirk George, and the production manager, Edward Corey. A meeting was scheduled for January 12 with the research firm and the New England Soup Company management. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the research findings and to make decisions concerning Kolander’s product offerings. The Company The New England Soup Company was a small firm that produced and distributed a line of specialty canned soup products to both the institutional and retail markets. Approximately 62 percent of their 1990 sales volume went to the institutional market ($68,526), and 38 percent went to the retail market ($42,102). The company was founded by William Kolander in 1957. Kolander’s father was a successful owner of several restaurants in the Boston area that were famous for their chowder. The young Kolander convinced his father in 1956 that there was a market to sell the chowder to local institutions (restaurants, hospitals, etc.) in the New England area, and he developed a canned chowder under his father’s supervision. Production facilities were acquired in the same year. After losses in the first few years, the business turned profitable in 1960. At this time, Kolander decided to enter the retail market with Kolander’s Chowder brand. Both the institutional and retail business grew rapidly during the 1960’s, as did the firm’s profitability. Expanded production facilities were built in 1968, and two additional specialty soup lines were introduced in 1970. These lines experienced limited success at retail but were reasonably profitable in the institutional market. Current Situation The last five years had been a period of level and then declining sales for Kolander’s Chowder (1987 -6943 cases, 1988 — 5676 cases, 1989 — 5101  cases, and 19901 — 4900 cases). Kolander attributed this decline in sales to the market entry of two new canned chowders in 1986 and 1987 (see Appendix A). The new competitors were Fisherman’s Delight Chowder and Cape Cod Chowder. Both brands were produced locally and appeared very similar in formulation to Kolander’s Chowder. Both of the new competitors had entered the market with a somewhat lower selling price than the Kolander’s brand. Distributors were also attracted by the slightly higher margins plus the desire to carry a competitive alternative to Kolander’s Chowder. Several large retailers had advertised the Fisherman’s Delight brand as a â€Å"weekly special† at 43 cents per can. Management Objective Kolander recognized that the firm faced a serious competitive threat from the two new brand entries. While there were several long-term issues he was considering, his immediate concern was one of developing a competitive strategy to counter the sales decline of Kolander’s Chowder. Specifically, he wanted to recover the lost distribution of the brand and switch customers from competitive brands back to the Kolander’s brand. This was to be accomplished within the next 12 months. While increased distribution outside the current market area was a possibility, Kolander’s immediate objective was to improve the market position of Kolander’s Chowder at retail within the New England are. Estimated from 1989 company records. The Research Project In October 1989, Kolander contacted a local research firm. After a number of meetings, the research firm recommended that a series of group interviews be conducted with current users of the two competitive chowder brands in order to explore reasons for the product usage, reactions to the brands, and perceived product differences. Through group sessions of this nature, the research firm believed that the cause of declining sales of Kolander’s Chowder could be established and potential solutions identified. The results  of the group sessions suggested that an important proportion of the competitive canned chowder users preferred a chowder that was thicker and creamier than the current Kolander’s Chowder brand formulation. Of the former Kowlander’s Chowder users, the desire for a creamier formulation was the predominant reason for switching. Many of these chowder users had switched to either Fisherman’s Delight or Cape Cod Chowder. Based on these findings, the research firm recommended that further research be conducted to evaluate changing Kolander’s Chowder to a creamier formulation. For purposes of the test, it was recommended that two creamier formulations be developed, a â€Å"creamy† version and an â€Å"extra creamy† version. These two new formulations would be evaluated in a taste test along with Kolander’s current chowder plus the two competitive brands. After several meetings on specific aspects of the proposed research design, Kolander decided to approve the project. Appendix B presents the results of this study. Case Question Focusing on the retail market, what product line does the research suggest Kolander should produce? Guidelines for 3-Slide Submission Slide 1: Analyze the data in Table 1 and make a product line recommendation Slide 2: Evaluate the focus group and the taste test and judge the quality of data from each Slide 3: What would you have done differently if you had guided the research process for this problem? APPENDIX A: New England Soup Company, Audit of Retail Food Outlets (Tables from the Report) Fifty retail food outlets in the New England market area have been audited annually since 1975. These are deemed representative of the potential distribution outlets of canned soups for the New England Soup Company. APPENDIX B: Evaluation of Two New Formulations of Kolander’s Canned Chowder Research Objectives To evaluate the preference for two new chowder formulations among users of Kolander’s Chowder, Cape Cod Chowder, and Fisherman’s Delight Chowder. Research Design and Procedure Two hundred male (n=100) and female (n=100) canned chowder users were selected from four geographic locations representative of the New England market area. The subjects were selected using a probability sampling procedure involving a telephone-administered qualifying questionnaire. Each  subject was paid $5 for participating in the test. The subjects came to one of four test locations (local churches). They were tested individually in 30-minute sessions. Subjects were brought into the testing room and seated at stalls. An instruction sheet explained that the subject was to evaluate several samples of chowder, that the test would consist of three parts, and that they would be required to taste a total of 15 cups of chowder. Normal taste-testing procedures were followed. The first part involved tasting five samples of chowder and ranking them from â€Å"most preferred† to â€Å"least preferred†. The five chowders were Kolander’s regular chowder, Fisherman’s Delight, Kolander’s creamy (version 1), Cape Cod, and Kolander’s extra creamy (version 2). The second and third parts of the test involved tasting five samples again. The samples had different code letters and the subjects were not told the samples were identical to the previous five. After tasting the five samples, the subjects were again asked to rank order the five samples. For each subject, the test procedure resulted in three preference orderings of the five chowder samples. The preference orderings were combined to form a composite ordering for each subject, a procedure that resulted in a more reliable measure of each subject’s true preference ordering. Results The data set consisted of 200 preference orderings of the five chowders. Table 1 presents 20 preference orderings which are representative of the entire data set. The difference between male and female preference orderings was not statistically significant. The data set was analyzed by calculating the average rank order of each chowder and scaling the chowders on a five-point scale ranging from most preferred (1) to least preferred (5). Table 2 presents the results of this analysis. Recommendation and Discussion Recommendation: Change the current Kolander’s Chowder formulation to the  version 1–â€Å"creamy† – formulation and develop a new label which makes this change conspicuous at point of purchase. The table 2 results clearly indicate that the current Kolander’s Chowder formulation and the â€Å"extra creamy† formulation ranked significantly (.05 level of significance) lower than the two competitors’ brands and the â€Å"creamy† formulation. These findings suggest that the market position of Kolander’s Chowder can be improved by a formulation change to the â€Å"creamy† version, which ranks higher than the two competitors and should recapture a significant share of sales lost to the Cape Cod and Fisherman’s Delight brands.

Mr. David O’Brien

I will look at the key aspects that are present in the piece and how they relate to the question asked and the reliability of the source provided. The three aspects that I will look for are the evidence of economic pressure and how this drove people to fight against the poor law and rebel against the middle class and the oligarchs from 1838. The political movement within Chartism that spawned the general convention as well as the formation of the national charter association, and eventually put forward the petition in 1842. And the cultural community that was very inclusive for its time, letting people from outside England and also other ethnicities like William Cuffay have as much of a say as anyone else within the movement. I will then conclude by choosing what I think is the main catalyst for support. Part 2 What evidence is there in the extract above of the three explanations for Chartism’s support that you learned about in the chapter, and which, if any, is stressed most strongly by the speaker? In this essay I will show evidence from the speech provided, of economic pressure, political movement as well as the inclusive cultural community present within the Chartist Movement that helped Chartism gain a following, and reference other sources to support my discussion. And explain which aspect I think the speaker emphasises more strongly than the others. The primary source provided is the speech that was said on July 6, 1839, and was heard by as many as 12,000 people. It was taken from a report in the Northern Star a Chartist publication. I don’t believe this source to be particularly reliable due to the absence of the speaker’s name and that it is from another article. Certain things could be elaborated due to the bias nature of the publication. The speaker makes many references to the economic conditions of the times. One of the most important â€Å"These evils chiefly of a political and social cast arise from one source class legislation†. Class legislation refers to the laws that chartist’s thought were put in place to defend the rich. One of these laws was the â€Å"poor law†. This law enacted in 1834 by parliament, tried to push the able bodied poor into workhouses to receive money and aid from the government if they were unemployed. These workhouses would provide lodging and food but had a social stigma attached to them. This was not popular among the chartists or the general population alike. Another extract highlights the hard life of the working class during the economic down turn â€Å"while destruction in horrid form stalks though street, lane and thoroughfare, in all its sickening outlines, all of its appalling aggravations, all its emaciated frames, its haggard features, its ragged clothing, its insufficiency of food, its skeleton like, ghastly aspect, followed in the rear by heart rendering cries insufferable despair, the bursting heart, the muffle voice of burning inward madness, the infuriated rage of desperation, the sad habiliments of mourning, and the toll of the death-bell over the famish victim of monopoly, closes the scene† This is in contrast to the lifestyle of the Clergy, Aristocracy and the middle classes of the period. As many working class men we not allowed to vote, had laws passed that directly affected them whilst living in conditions that were abysmal made for strong resentment. The speaker adds â€Å"with this nation suffering its liberty and rights to be remorselessly trampled upon by murderous factions, jobbers and commercial blood sucking vampires, the rich unnaturally elevated above the proper spheres of the mortal man, the poor crushed beneath the alpine mountain weight of taxation, misrule and oppression†. Adding to this resentment was the â€Å"Peterloo massacre† where Chartist’s died at the hands of British Army cavalry during a protest. Going back to other comments made by the speaker â€Å"Honourable gentlemen, I mean by this name the working class only† Highlighting the feeling between the working class and other casts, as very much divided. Extreme conditions and inequality existed throughout economic downturn and from 1837 to 1842 Britain was experiencing a sharp recession. 1839 was a â€Å"year of mass meetings† and there was a common ground among working class males that the idea of universal suffrage should be implemented, as they did not feel adequately represented in parliament. There is a strong political message for reform. Swell the numbers of the patriot throng which have sworn by him that liveth for ever, that they will have the peoples charter, or they will die in the struggle. (Bravo, and We will)† The movement formed a more organise d front just after this speech on 20 July 1840 with the formation of the National Charter Association (NSA). Braches organised meetings and distributed free press. Mass meeting like this speech and the NSA were pivotal in the creation of the second charter that was signed by 3,317,752 people supporting Universal suffrage and other points mentioned in the charter. The Chartist Movement was very inclusive, as at this time racism and discrimination were rife. Some examples of this in the higher leadership are Fergus O’Connor an Irishman of noble standing and William Cuffay the son of a freed black slave and well as being born with a deformed lower back and leg. â€Å"Mr Chairman and fellow working men, brethren of the human race†, an example of the camaraderie of the working class as a whole. The economic conditions and lack of representation are the main points in this speech. They led to the common support of the chartist cause, as support would increase in times of economic difficulty. Chartist’s adapted to create a political movement out of which, they had a voice. I conclude that Chartism was the catalyst for change and one of the main reasons we live in a democratic society today.

Moral Values in the Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde - 4043 Words

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Study In our daily lives, we actually have gone through a lot of incident whether it is good or bad. However, we hardly draw the conclusion of the incident we have been through. We might fail to reach something we have been wanting so long, though the thing we desire is well-planned, yet the result is not like what we expect before. The point is that every time we are facing a problem, we should really pay attention and take the message of it. There will always be sort of a lesson in every single difficulty. Not only shall we find in our daily lives, but we could also find it while reading literary works, watching movies and suchlike. Reading literary works has interesting adventure†¦show more content†¦Empathy appears when the sincerity of love comes into ourselves and awakes our sense of mutual care with real action. It is unlikely to help others if there is no such love. In the short story of Happy prince tells about how happy prince, the main character helps some people by giving away all he has, even his sapphire eyes which leave him blind until he has nothing and is no longer admired by the rich men in town. Based on the background which has been presented, the writer is interested in analyzing and deciding to take title â€Å"Moral Lesson revealed in the short story of Happy Prince†. 1.2 The Reasons for Choosing the Problem The writer has got some reasons why the writer wants to analyze this problem. Moral lessons could be obtained either in books, movies or even in our daily activity, but we could find it while we are reading some sort of literary works as well. In fact, there are lots of messages conveyed by the author in fiction work. People sometimes simply enjoy reading novel or watching movies without knowing nothing about the values in it. 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