Law, Legal, Finance and Social Issues

The Great Depression

2010-06-28T03:51:00.004+03:00

In the autumn of 1929 came the catastrophe which so few had anticipated but which in retrospect seems inevitable--prices broke on the New York Stock Exchange, dragging down with them in their fall, first the economy of the United States itself, subsequently that of Europe and the rest of the world. Financial losses of such magnitude had never before been known in the history of capitalist society

Social Roles

2010-06-28T03:49:00.001+03:00

The hypotheses suggested in the preceding chapter must be tested and developed by reference to case studies of human cultures. But which ones shall we choose? The comparative method yields data both from subcultures within a given cultural area and from distinct cultural wholes. As an example of the former we might compare Virginians with Kansans; as an example of the latter, Hopi Indians with

New York City After Great Depression

2009-03-06T06:57:00.001+02:00

The effects of depression and war reduced both the physical glamor and the prestige and self-confidence of the glittering giant of the twenties. Only at the mid-century, when an economic upswing prompted large-scale new construction, and the location of the United Nations in the metropolis underlined New York's position as a world capital, did the city's dynamism exert again its customary spell.

Tendencies Which Retard Changes in Spending and in Prices

2008-04-27T17:36:00.001+03:00

The tendencies we are to consider which slow down or temporarily reverse a change of spending obviously give no security against a gradual attrition of the dollar and no final security against panicky inflation. Nor do they guarantee that we shall not have a decline in demand to the point of disaster. But they do increase the latitude within which monetary policy can operate without producing

A Change in the Attractiveness of Debt Instruments Relative to Other Assets

2008-04-27T17:34:00.001+03:00

The monetary authorities by varying the conditions of liquidity can determine the level of rates in the short-term money market and gradually have an important impact on rates in all sectors of the debt structure. Rates on particular classes of debts reflect a great variety of factors. For instance, they reflect the supposed risk involved, special tax considerations, the portfolio preferences of

How Money Influences the Rate of Spending

2008-04-27T17:29:00.001+03:00

The level of spending and the cost-price structure are not determined statically by certain specifiable magnitudes existing at a moment. An economy is a living thing. What it does is current history and largely a product of recent history, though the impact of events may skip over time in an uneven way. In dealing with practical situations we are well aware of this continuity. We know that people

Findings of the Business Advisory Council

2008-04-18T19:40:00.001+03:00

In 1952, the Secretary of Commerce announced the findings of the Business Advisory Council that had studied the antitrust laws to determine the relationship between existing statutes and administrative procedures and public interest. Some of the key points of this report as they relate to competition are summarized below. To uphold competition was presented as the primary concern of antitrust

Kinds and Degrees of Competition

2008-04-18T19:39:00.005+03:00

At this point, a word of caution is essential: although pure competition generally is referred to as the ultimate in competition, this does not mean that the intensity of rivalry among sellers in any other type of market is less. In fact, when there are a few dominant producers, as there are in cigarettes or automobiles, the interfirm rivalry may be considerably more severe than the rivalry

Workable Competition - Economic and Legal Approaches to Competition

2008-04-18T19:39:00.003+03:00

The basic reason for considering the economic and legal definitions of competition is to clarify economic concepts that may be of use in establishing legal control of market forces. As a first approximation, a concept of competition must be developed that is workable or effective, even though it may not be exactly pure. Since the underlying philosophy of the free enterprise system recognizes that

Relationships Between Market Competition and Market Price

2008-04-18T19:38:00.002+03:00

Market price, regardless of the kind of competition present, is a price determined by balancing the forces of demand and supply. The kind of competition will exert its influence as it affects demand and/or supply and the relative weight of each of these components in the pricing equation. The balancing may reflect the relative power of one, few, or many sellers. The possible combinations are many

Types of Markets

2008-04-18T19:36:00.004+03:00

We may begin with a purely competitive market. Such a market is characterized by large numbers, homogeneous products, and freedom of entry. By large numbers we mean that the number of producers is so large that no one producer--or group acting as one--is in a position to exert any (reasonable) influence over price by manipulating output. What may be large in one instance may not be considered

The Economics of Market Behavior - Markets

2008-04-18T19:36:00.001+03:00

A market is that sphere of competitive rivalry within which buyers and sellers meet to effect exchanges. Exactly what constitutes a given market often is uncertain and controversial. Traditional markets outlined by such geographical boundaries as the Pacific Coast or by such classifications of products as wrapping materials do not always serve as adequate guides. A market should include all the

The Economics of Market Behavior What Are Prices?

2008-04-18T19:35:00.001+03:00

Probably there is no subject to which the businessman gives more attention than that of prices and their determination and behavior. It is through the price mechanism that the various market forces that determine the nature of transactions are brought together. The successful entrepreneur must adjust his activities to changing market relationships so that a margin will exist between the prices of

The Affective Pull of Mores

2008-03-20T21:05:00.000+02:00

The concept of economic institutions developed so far is cold and impersonal; to be fruitful for the study of persons, there is need to consider the warmth, the vitality, the personal meaning of institutions. A great deal of help to this end is offered by the way of thinking. We shall make full use of their suggestions, but shall feel free to offer some modifications. The life of society is

Economic Determinism

2008-03-20T20:59:00.000+02:00

IN STUDYING the way in which the raw material of human nature undergoes socialization, we have to begin at some one definite point. There may be a value in looking first at the most obvious feature of a society, namely, its economic base; and we may proceed to define two hypotheses: (1) that the economic problem confronting a society shapes all the phases of its group life, and (2) that

Sea Power and National Power - Commerce History

2008-03-13T09:00:00.000+02:00

In its narrowest sense, sea power means military power at sea, in other words, navies. But no one can study the history of nations in relation to the sea without realizing that the nations that have been maritime forces have usually not depended on naval power alone -- a condition that Admiral Mahan recognized when he pointed out, in 1890, that sea power consisted of merchant ships, naval vessels

Earliest steamships to cross the Atlantic

2008-03-13T08:57:00.000+02:00

The Great Britain, launched in England in 1844 for the Great Western Lines, represents a landmark in the history of the ship, for she was the first iron-hulled, double-bottomed, screw-propelled Atlantic liner. As everyone knows, the wooden-hulled paddle-wheeler, the Clermont, which steamed up the Hudson River on Aug. 17, 1807, was the first steamship to engage in commercially successful

The nineteenth century Communications

2008-03-13T08:53:00.000+02:00

The nineteenth century witnessed other changes, which, though not caused primarily by British instigation, assisted in the growth of the commerce that Britain was dedicated to promoting. Transportation by land and water and communication between widely separated areas became speedy and cheap. In 1869, the two coasts of the United States were linked by a transcontinental railroad, and railway

Commerce History Peace and Security

2008-03-13T08:51:00.000+02:00

Peace and security are great promoters of commerce among nations and also of the productivity which makes that commerce possible. Between 1815 and 1914, the English people were not engaged in any great war. Both the Crimean and Boer wars were localized conflicts in which hostilities were far removed from the British Isles. Free of the fear of invasion, the British devoted themselves to social,

History of the Market and Surpluses

2008-03-13T08:50:00.000+02:00

By 1800, the Industrial Revolution was well under way in the British Isles, and from the very beginning of the industrial era, Britain needed certain imports. Her industrial development was founded on abundant supplies of cheap coal, good coke, and iron ore; on a large and efficient body of laborers; and on large numbers of skilled artisans. To produce the machines, engines, locomotives, and

In thinking about competition we tend to be retrospectively oriented. We often have past or previous models of competition and competitive situations

2008-02-25T03:21:00.000+02:00

What do such changes mean for the firm? They imply a need to create differential advantage on other than a price basis. 3 They support the creation of preferences through aggressive, integrated marketing programs; by adjusting the goods and service mix, the communications mix, and the distribution mix of the firm to bring them into line with consumer wants and needs and so assure a market niche

Dimensions of competition

2008-02-25T03:17:00.000+02:00

Competition has many dimensions. There are legal considerations, political aspects, ethical perspectives, psychological and social dimensions. Essentially competition can be defined only in terms of the culture and nature of the people that surround it. Competition has its fullest meaning in the marketing environment of a consumeristic economy rather than in the cartelized, planned, or

Marketing as an intervening variable

2008-02-25T03:16:00.000+02:00

Marketing managers are always concerned with the changing relationships between a business and its external environment. Marketing must have its primary focus in company adjustments to meet the wants, needs, and opportunities of the market place in a better manner. Marketing, therefore, is an intervening variable between two environments. The first is an enabling environment, or a larger system,

Competition and innovation

2008-02-25T03:14:00.000+02:00

A competitive system assumes the willingness of management to accept risks and to adopt new perspectives and methods of business operations. Hence, it is inextricably intertwined with innovation. Competition is manifested through company innovations. Innovations which stem from change in turn result in further change. Since change begets change at an ever increasing rate, a major management

Competition and management action

2008-02-25T03:13:00.000+02:00

Competition in our economy takes place within a dynamic framework largely beyond the control of any individual management. Among the changing elements that will provide a backdrop for future competitive situations are: (1) continued economic growth, and accelerating rates of scientific and technological development, (2) an increasing availability of leisure time and greater mobility on a very