Economics & Public Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Economics & Public Policies - Essay Example The paper tells that the production possibilities curve represents the total output of the combination of two products in an economy provided the inputs and technology are available. There are 3 basic assumptions underlying the production possibilities curve: quantity and quality of all resources as inputs fixed; unchanged technology and fully employed resources. If the federal state and local governments in the U.S. engage in increased health-related expenditure, they would require increasing taxes to meet the increased costs. Assuming the fixed quantity of resources, i.e. public taxes and technology over a given time period, the U.S. is capable of providing limited amount of public health care services. This also depends upon how much the taxpayers are willing to sacrifice other goods and services for increased public health service. The production possibilities curve shows that increase in health care services will lead to less of other government public services due to its limite d resources. Therefore, the production of other goods and services will be less. As the quantity of health care services is reduced, the government will be able to provide more of other goods and services. The probable production possibilities curve is provided in the study. When each member of the community makes a voluntary contribution towards per unit of a pure public good, that contribution equals to his/her marginal benefit derived from the public good at efficient level of output. This equilibrium contribution per unit is known as Lindahl price. The Lindahl prices are assigned in such a manner that no budget deficit or surplus arise at the efficient output of the good. Lindahl equilibrium requires that the total contribution by the community towards the public good is equal to the Marginal Social Benefit and total cost of producing that public good (Hyman, 2010, p.165). This means that ?Ti*Q = MC*Q = AC*Q Where Ti is the voluntary contribution by each individual; Q is the eff icient output; MC is the Marginal Cost of pure public good; AC is the Average Cost of pure public good; Therefore, the total contribution or revenue collected will be (?Ti*Q) and it should be equal to the total cost of the production, i.e. AC*Q. MC*Q equal to AC*Q implies there is no budget surplus or deficit. However, assuming that marginal cost of pure public good increases if more is purchased by the community, i.e. MC>AC then ?MBi>AC because MC = ?MBi. Therefore, the sum of per unit voluntary contribution becomes more than the average costs of production and so this will result in budget surplus at the efficient annual output. Answer 3: Pollution Abatement There are very few human activities that do not pollute the environment, and it has become imperative to address the global concerns over the environmental degradation. The objective of a hundred percent pollution abatement cannot be achieved because the regulators do not have the information of the pollution’s marginal external costs and marginal costs of abatement (Grafton, 2004, p.63). Therefore, most of the pollution abatement policies aim to ensure that the pollution control methods are cost-effective. The costs of pollution abatement not only consider the marginal social costs, but also the opportunity costs associated with cleaner environment.

John Locke's beliefs on the edcation of the child Essay

John Locke's beliefs on the edcation of the child - Essay Example There he studied medicine which became one of the most important roles in his life. As a highly influential philosopher, Locke wrote on topics that were revolutionary for the time – political philosophy, epistemology and education. John Locke’s writings became a foundation for modern Western philosophy. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689) and Letters Concerning Toleration are examples of Locke’s writings that illustrate his belief in natural law and the fulfillment of the divine purpose for humanity. In John Locke’s writings, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding the philosopher and physician implemented a theoretical and philosophical perspective with enquiries on two questions of thought or critical reasoning, â€Å"What is the origin of our ideas?† and â€Å"What is the basis of our knowledge?† Locke’s main work on education – Some Thoughts Concerning Education – originated from letters to a friend. Althou gh the writings are reflections and critical thoughts on the education of a specific child (his friend’s child) in a specific social situation, Locke’s writings are also concerned with education in general. On the Education of the Child According to the philosophical writings entitled, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, critical thoughts on the education of the child include: (1) The act of learning is just a part of education. The act of learning is the result of experiences of the child (experiential learning as it is known in our modern and postmodern ethos). Locke’s educational theory often denounced scholasticism and advocated the experimental methods adopted during observations of a friend’s child â€Å"the individual education of a gentleman’s son, not the formation of a school system†¦No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience†¦ Learning is not innate. It is often based on the formulation and analysis of ideas a nd knowledge† (Locke, 1909-1914,  § Introductory Note). (2) Vital to education and learning is the development of character. This includes of wisdom, virtue and ‘good breeding’. Locke held that man’s manners and abilities are an outcome of thinking and education of the child’s mind. â€Å"If I have said in the beginning of this discourse†¦ that the difference to be found in the manners and abilities of men is owing to their education than to anything else, we have reason to conclude that great care is to be had of the forming of children’s minds, and giving then that seasoning early, which shall influence their lives always after†¦ that it’s suitable to their breeding† (Locke, 1909-1914,  § 32). (3) The development of character – wisdom and virtues – is not taught academically or by the use of force or corporal punishment. Character is developed by the acts of suggestion and example to create or sugges t positive behaviour instead of unstructured or chaotic behaviour. This is what is meant to be positively proactive and socially responsible. It is also a good example of what is meant by the development of the 'productive citizen' or socially responsible participant within a community or society. The philosophical and critical thinking of the John Locke essays on Some Thoughts Concerning Education further writes his thoughts on the purpose of education theory, curriculum (knowledge building) and processes – to child development. Locke, the points out that one purpose or aim of education in child development is the ‘