microeconomic essay

Discuss three policies to reduce the level of cigarette smoking amongst under 21s.

Smoking is an example of a negative externality (a negative effect on a third party) as it leads to health problems, lower life expectancy and pollution, which therefore affect the whole society (even non-smokers, for example, through passive smoking). Social cost of smoking exceeds private cost (social cost is estimated to be around $200 for a pack of cigarettes, while a pack costs $8), so we can conclude that smoking is an example of market failure. Thus, it may be corrected by government intervention.

In this essay I am going to talk about policies to reduce youth smoking (35% of 16-21-year-olds) particularly.
I would say that there are two types of policies to reduce the level of youth smoking: providing incentives not to smoke and banning/increasing the private cost of smoking. These policies, however, can be used together.

First of all, government may increase cigarette tax and the expected effect of this is shown on the diagram below:


Price goes up from P1 to P2, quantity reduces from Q1 to Q2, over-consumption seems to be reduced.


The problem with this policy is the fact that the demand for tobacco products is price inelastic: estimated elasticity is -0.5.
( source: 'The Demand for Tobacco Products in the UK by Paul Cullum' )

That means that people will continue the over-consumption of tobacco products in spite of tax burden (which accounts for 90% of the price of cigarettes in the UK).

Moreover, putting tax on cigarettes is not sufficient: in order to be effective in correcting market failure arising from tobacco consumption government should tax all tobacco products.

This tax will also produce inequality: low income people will be taxed for larger percentage of their income comparing to middle and high income people. - - -> government failure

Too high tax may also produce black market for cigarettes - -- > government failure

The last problem with this policy I can think of is the fact that it is difficult to calculate the right amount of tax: if tax is too high, government tax revenue can actually decrease as few people will continue to consume cigarettes for that price. - - -> government failure.

Second policy is correcting information failure: providing young people with right information about tobacco products, advertising.
This method seems to be effective as it shifts the demand for cigarettes to the right, but in order to reduce assymetric information, tobacco companies' advertising should be banned.

And the third policy to reduce youth smoking is subsidising tobacco substitutes such as anti-smoking patches, anti-smoking gum or electronic cigarettes (safety of these cigarettes is argueable though).


Subsidy decreases the price for safe tobacco substitutes from P1 to P2 and inreases the quantity sold, which means less tobacco products are consumed.

However, this policy is going to be effective only in combination with the second one as young people are unlikely to consider any products as substitutes for tobacco, because of the information failure.


Eventually, the last problem which arises from all of these policies is tobacco companies losses: if policies are effective, people will stop the consumption of tobacco and tobacco companies will have to decrease their output. Demand for labour is a derived demand for product, therefore as the demand for cigarettes falls, unemployment may rise. - - - > government failure.

sources:
http://www.the-tma.org.uk/tobacco-smuggling.aspx
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/smokingeng2006/Smoking%20bulletin%202006%20-%20Finalv3.pdf

sociology researchers on education

A list of researchers with different views on education.

Functionalists:
Emile Durkheim.
-The main function of education is to develop social solidarity ( social unity based on 'essential similarities' between members of the society), which is necessary for the survival of the society
-Specialised division of labour in industrial countries relies on the educational system.

Talcott Parsons.
-Educational system is the main agency of secondary socialisation.
-Education develops value consensus.
-One of the main functions of education is role allocation - evaluating young people in terms of their talents and abilities and preparing for future roles in wider society.

Marxists:

Karl Marx.
-Economic system shapes the rest of the society.
-Two classes: ruling and working, the former exploits the latter.

Althusser.
-Educational system is the main agency for ideological control, which at the same time is fundamental to social control.

Bowles and Gintis.
-Close correspondence between social relationships in a classroom and those in a workplace.
-Rewards in education and occupation based not on individual's ability but on a social background.
-Found that high-grade students are obedient, conforming, hard-working and dependable rather than creative, original and independent.

Wills.
-'Lads' (working class young men) rejected the school and created counter-school culture.

Mac an Ghaill.
- 'Macho lads' rejected teachers' authority and values of the school. However, working class jobs were disappearing, so their behaviour was outdated.

Rikowski.
- There is a beginning of a 'business takeover of schools', schools will be run for profit.

Feminists:

Stanworth.
-Provided the evidence that teachers gave boys more encouragement than girls to go to university. (1983)


Social-democratic:

-Stated that everyone should have an equal chance to succeed in the educational system.
-Argued that there is a link between education and economic growth.


Halsey.
-Social class has a significant effect on educational attainment.
-Educational system is not providing equa opportunity for all young people.
-Educational system reflects the requirement of the economic system.

Collins.
-Education makes little difference to the economic growth with the achievement of mass literacy. Companies provide their own training.

Brown.
-Economic and technological growths requires flexible workforce with a good general education rather than special vocational training (education which aims to provide specific workplace skills).


...to be continued....

BoP revision mind map

IB vs. A-levels

Is the IB Diploma Programme a realistic alternative to A levels?

To answer this question let's first find out what are these two programmes.

1. A-levels (The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education) is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and by a small minority of institutions, typically private, in Scotland...<....>.....A-Levels are usually studied over a two year period and are widely recognised around the world. (wiki)

2. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is a challenging two-year curriculum, primarily aimed at students aged 16 to 19. It leads to a qualification that is widely recognized by the world’s leading universities. (source)

So we can see that both programmes are primarily designed for people aged 16-19 years old and are accepted worldwide.

However, after investigating some websites, I came to the conclusion that International Baccalaureate appears to be more respected, than A-levels programme : 'Under the tariff, a common IB score of 30 gives a candidate 419 Ucas tariff points against just 360 for three As at A-level.' (source)


Why does this happen and what are the main differencies between these two programmes?

A-levels programme offers a wide range of subjects (more than 100) from which you should pick at least 3 to be able to enter a university. However, there is no limit of how many A-levels can be studied.

IB Diploma Programme offers around 100 languages and 29 other subjects. Each student should choose one subject from each of the categories:
1. Language A1
2. Second Language
3. Individuals and societies (Life Sciences)
4. Experimental sciences
5. Mathematics and computer science
6. The arts

So, it is clear that A-levels is a much more specific programme and more flexible, which allows students to concentrate on the subject area they prefer and choose any subject they like. There is almost no subject that is not covered by A-levels programme (except for languages).

International Baccalaureate is more broad, but it allows students to develop their abilities in all subject areas. IB Dimploma programme also requires to have 150 hours CAS (Creativity, Action, Service), write an extended essay of 4000 words and undertake a theory of knowledge course, all of which is a great preparation for university success. However, A-levels are thought to be less stressful.

International Baccalaureate is more internationally oriented, as it is offered in 126 countries and a great number of its subjects are different languages.

Average IB pass rate is much lower (78%) than this of A-levels (around 98%). Some argue that this happens due to relatively low standarts of A-levels or due to the fact that too many pupils taking 'easy' subjects.

However the research shows that A-levels programme requires learning subjects in more depth, and 'the kind of performance meriting an E was similar to that required for 4 points and that that needed for an A was comparable to that needed for 7 points' (source).
Remember, that A-levels are graded from A to E, and IB subjects are graded from 1 to 7. So the knowledge required to pass an IB subject is not sufficient to pass this on A-levels programme.

Eventually, what is the final answer to the question posed? When I started to write this blog entry my opinion on IB programme was rather negative, because I thought that it has too many restrictions on the subjects chosen.

But having analysed advantages and drawbacks of both programmes, I've come to the conclusion that IB allows students to try themselves and gain at least basic knowledge in all subject areas and develop necessary skills for university success. So, the answer to the question whether the IB Diploma Programme a realistic alternative to A levels is definitely yes.