Understanding Fiscal Policy and Its Impact on Economic Stability
Fiscal Policy: Includes all government decisions on the amount of expenditure by the public sector and the specific composition of that expenditure. Taxes: Payments are mandatory, unilaterally imposed by governments. They are the main form of income for the public sector, aiming to have all members of the economy help support public expenditure according to their capabilities. Apart from the impact of revenue collection, which involves obtaining resources for financing public expenditure, taxes
Read MoreUnderstanding Surplus Production, Money Evolution, and Financial Systems
Surplus Production, Money, and Financial Systems
Surplus Production: The natural resource exploitation that provides resources for daily use.
Production Specialization and Division of Labor: This occurs when the population not needed for agricultural tasks can dedicate themselves to other occupations. This leads to exchange, where a specialist producer of a needed good exchanges their goods. This exchange is based on barter, which requires a double coincidence of needs.
The Evolution of Money
Money
Read MoreInflation Targeting, Seigniorage, and Economic Schools of Thought
Main Features of Inflation Targeting
The main features of the monetary policy strategy of inflation targeting are:
- A quantitative inflation target (generally 2%).
- Using an internally-made conditional inflation forecast as an intermediate target variable.
- A high degree of transparency and accountability.
Understanding Seigniorage
Seigniorage is the profit made by a government from issuing currency. It can be useful for the government as a source of revenue for:
- Financing debt.
- Funding expenditures.
- Reducing
Understanding Money: Forms, Value, and History
Money is any item generally accepted by a society as a medium of exchange to pay for goods or services. For a good to be well qualified as money, it must fulfill the following functions:
- Medium of exchange: It should be interchangeable. This happens when it is readily traded for other goods and services.
- Unit of account: It must be an accounting unit. This occurs when the value of a good is used to express the value of other goods and services.
- Store of value: It must be a store of value. This occurs
Strategic Branding and Marketing Mix Elements
Strategic Role of Branding
Branding plays a crucial role in a company’s success. It helps to:
- Defend market share.
- Attack competitor brands.
- Act as a market entry barrier (strong brands with large market share make market entry difficult for competitors).
- Enter new markets.
- Satisfy different market segments.
Brand Portfolio (Model of Riezebos)
Example: Volkswagen Group
- Bastion brand: Volkswagen
- Fighter brands: Seat, Skoda
- Prestige brand: Infinity (for Nissan)
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is the managerial
Read MoreEconomic Variables, Policies, and National Accounts
Economic Variables and Their Cycles
Variables can be classified according to their movement in relation to the economic cycle:
- Pro-cyclical variables: Tend to increase during economic expansions and decrease during contractions.
- Counter-cyclical variables: Tend to increase during downturns and decrease during expansions.
- Acyclical variables: Do not move in line with the economic cycle.
Understanding the Demand Curve
The demand curve can shift due to several factors *other* than price changes. These include: