Adam Smith's (positive economic) view of slavery Essay

Adam Smith's (positive economic) view of slavery - Essay Example He supports this conclusion by observing that the "late resolution of the Quakers in Pennsylvania to set at liberty all their Negro slaves, may satisfy us that their number cannot be very great. Had they made any considerable part of their property, such a resolution could never have been agreeing to." This quotation reveals the weight which Adam Smith assigns to benevolence. Freeing the slaves was certainly a benevolent action but hardly one likely to be undertaken if the price was personal ruin.If the western European succession argued in support of the dominance of wage labor, the overturn seemed to have been the case transversely the ocean. In the plantations, slavery had outdated earlier forms of labor from Brazil to Carolina. Above a decade before writing Wealth of Nations, Smith had himself concluded that repression was the established form of labor in the world, and he estimated that slavery was improbable to disappear for ages to come. Smith did not recur this prophecy in th e end of eighteenth century. In its place he offered motives for the apparently general ubiquitous partiality for slaves, regardless of their relative inadequacy while compared with freemen. The first was a common psychological human trait, the contentment resultant from dictating another person. This steady, certainly, could not alone elucidate the changeable modes of labor in the Atlantic world. Even as a feature of Europeans in particular, it was not very practical in showing why the same western European employers of labor had gone in contradictory directions, choosing one form of labor in Europe and another in the lowlands of the Americas. Smith also integrated the dread of general insurrection and the trepidation of a great loss of property as motives for not freeing slaves. In political terms, manumissions might deprive a chieftain of some of his subjects and his substance (Soderlund, Jean R. 1985). Indeed, on neither side of the Atlantic did Smith assume that the contentment of power had taken priority over the avid impulse. He explicated the planters' preference of labor in the Caribbean in terms of profit, does not pride or prejudice. Sugar was so precious a product in Europe that the planter could pay for the service of slaves. Certainly, sugar's profitability, slavery integrated, was assumed to be better than that presented by any other agricultural business in the Atlantic world. In Wealth of Nations never directly recommended that West Indian planters would in fact raises their higher profit margins still more by liberating their labor force. Smith had a number of prospects to make this proclamation in discussing both profits and methods in the sugar colonies and took benefit of none of them (Wealth of Nations, 173, 389, 586). He simply noted that in all European colonies cane was refined by slaves. There were opportunities for technological and managerial development when slaves could "approach the condition of a free servant" within the condition of slavery (p. 587). Company's of bound labor did disburse a price for their preference. Smiths assert, proprietors who used servile labor were subject to considerable incompetence on the administrative side of their operations. With their standing encouraged habits of noticeable consumption and their fulsome

Productivity Growth and Real Wages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Productivity Growth and Real Wages - Essay Example The common man is actually not getting the benefits from the productivity growth 1. An appreciable rise in both productivity and wage structure was witnessed through the 1950s and 1960s, which slowed down in the 70s and 80s 5. However, the 1990’s saw a good and steady rise in productivity and therefore the benefits of the growth were seen by the increase in the wages 1. In the US, the real wage growth was weak in the early 1990s, but it rose from 1994, in response to the accelerating productivity, up to 2004 after which it showed a downward trend mainly attributed to increasing energy costs 3. The recession witnessed in the early 2000s resulted in a downward trend with respect to wages, even though the productivity was high 1. According to a report the median real wages for all workers increased by 1.4% per year between 1995 and 2003, which was less than half the rate of productivity growth 2. Another news article published in a website quotes a 2% decline in the median hourly wages for American workers since 2003, despite the steady rise in productivity 5.This inequality in wage distribution can be attributed chiefly to the bargaining power of workers in case of high productivity. Employee unions play a vital role this bargain. However, the workers ability to bargain has considerable diminished, thus preventing them from enjoying the fruits of the ir own labor 1. Some reasons cited for this reduced bargaining power include global trade, immigration, layoffs and technology 5. Inflation shares an inverse relationship with wage distribution and so does fringe benefits such as health care 1, 5. Education status and working skills of workers also plays a vital role in determining the wages 4. Another point made is that only the top 10% enjoyed the real benefits of productivity growth leaving the rest of the 90% with very less growth in terms of wages 3, 4.According to the Baumols Law, mobility in labor will result in an increase in wages so

Overcoming Barriers to Credit Availability for SMEs Dissertation

Overcoming Barriers to Credit Availability for SMEs - Dissertation Example Introduction and Relation to Previous Research Availability of finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been a topic of research among academicians since it impacts the economy of a nation (Beck and Demirguc-Kunt,2006; OECD,2004). One of the perennial problems faced by SMEs is the access to capital (Scholz,2007).There has been extensive research on why SMEs find it difficult to obtain funding, why transparent SMEs stand better chance of finance availability than opaque SMEs, how financing differs from traditional SMEs to innovative SMEs and what SMEs can do to improve their chances of obtaining finances, given that they function in a regulated environment. This topic is of interest since access to financing has been identified in many business surveys as one of the most significant obstacles to the survival and growth of SMEs (OECD,2004).It will be of value to understand what are the barriers that exist in financing of SMEs and what can be done both by financial Institutions and SMEs to overcome the same. Barriers to SME Financing According to OECD (2006) reasons identified for SMEs inability to procure finances especially in comparison with larger firms usually include: ï‚ § Incomplete range of financial products and services ï‚ § Regulatory rigidities or gaps in the legal framework ï‚ § Lack of information on both the bank’s and the SME’s side. Banks may avoid providing financing to certain types of SMEs, in particular, start ups and very young firms that typically lack sufficient collateral.

French Revolution And Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

French Revolution And Women - Essay Example Previously, the Constitution safeguarded the interest of man and never made mention of men implying that their rights were inconsiderate. Men, therefore, showed no regard for the rights of women and most of them treated women as domestic animals. However, this began to change as women started pushing for equal consideration. They drafted a declaration of the rights of woman and the female citizen, which included the rights and freedoms of the girl child. In this document, women pushed for a number of considerations key among which was equality.In the quest for equality, women did not just consider equality among one another but also equality with men and therefore deserving of freedom just as those bestowed on man. Through this, women sought to break the subordinating hold that men had on them over the years. More importantly, women voiced the need for representation in positions of authority such as the national assembly. This was the only sure way of safeguarding their rights and t his implied that women would eventually join active politics as some had previously desired. Women paid taxes just as men did if not more owing to the fact that most of them worked more in the fields. The French revolution exposed the administrative lapses in the regimes of the time; women, therefore, demanded accountability from any other government just as the men did. This would give women financial authority just as it did men thereby epitomizing equality in the French society and later assumed by countries in Europe.

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Macroeconomics - Essay Example hen the economy falls into recession or deflation, Fed normally cuts the interest rates and takes suitable policies to maintain the low interest rates. The intention is to give incentive to people and businesses to borrow and spend more and thus to sustain the economy. But when the economy shows the signs of inflation and fast economic growth, Fed will raise the interest rates and keep high interest rates. This will cause the borrowing become costlier and lead to slow spending and economic growth. Here the situation needs special attention of policy makers as the economy shows the signs of deflation in some districts and inflationary trends in other districts. The states of New York and San Francisco districts shows the trends of price deflation while all other districts believe that inflation may be at hand. The groups of policy makers as well as media who fear the future outbreak of inflation believe that the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates near zero and pump the economy with credits will lead to the spread of inflation in the near future. But among the policy makers of Fed, a substantial wing believes that the already low rate of inflation will again be slow due to the unsolved real estate problems in majority of the districts. It can be pointed out that dwindling rate of inflation is an evidence of the excess capacity and need to sustain the economy with lower interest rates. The inflation is always danger, but deflation is more danger. Hence, Fed’s decision whether to keep the lower interest rate so as to widen the spending or to increase the interest rate in order to tighten the economy, is a crucial question at this stage. Though there are some trends of inflation Fed will decide to keep the lower interest and loosen the monetary policy. Hence in this present situation it is better to keep the lower interest rate and raise the short-term interest rate whenever the situation arises. At present inflation cannot be seen as an immediate

National Security Strategy Bill Clinton vs. George Bush Essay

National Security Strategy Bill Clinton vs. George Bush - Essay Example In contrast, President Bush provides the policy of national power maximization and international cooperation against terrorism as a major threat of contemporary world order and peace. His national policy reflects the events and the threats America now faces (terrorism). In general, Bush's policy is more radical in comparison with American foreign policy tradition. In contrast to Clinton, Bush supports pre-emptive military action against hostile states and terrorist groups seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. As well as Clinton, Bush calls for engagement, but in the way of cooperation especially marked that the USA "will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary" (2002) to defend national interests and security. The major difference is that Bush reject the single-minded approach, adopted by Clinton, of multilateralism for its own sake. The similarity of both strategies is that they calls for spreading democracy and human rights in other countries, but Bush underlined that this is especially important for Muslim countries today. Both of them are aimed to protect American nation creating strong foreign security policy, but Clinton and Bush employ different doctrines to support their foreign policies. Also, the similarity is that Clinton and Bush view U.S.

Corporate Reporting and Balance Sheet Financing Essay

Corporate Reporting and Balance Sheet Financing - Essay Example However there is truth in saying that no one has all relevant information and facts about Enron's failure and hence it cannot be said the OBSF is the lone factor responsible for the Enron debacle. Financial analysts are of the opinion that OBSF may be viewed as a scalpel in a surgeon's hands, which can be put to an effective use if handled properly. This paper presents a discussion on the ways of achieving OBSF. While the paper analyses the effect of the international standards for leasing and financial instruments as avenues of OBSF, it also reflects some views on the regulatory provisions on impairment of the non-current assets of listed companies and the inadequacies of the financial ratios in bringing out the correct financial strength of the companies adopting techniques of OBSF.According to Shiva and Lynda (2003) Off-balance sheet financing (OBSF) is a mode of organizing a financing transaction in such a way that it is not recognized easily as the entity's own liability. There are many distinct advantages of using OBSF under different circumstances. They are: Arranging for cheaper outside borrowings which are secured by debt contracts that are not backed by collateral securities The debt-to capitalization ratio can be maintained at such level as may be desired by the firm Helps in maintaining the credit ratings in the market and thereby enhance the future borrowing capacity and Providing finance for those projects which could not be approved due to non-availability of own funds. Although it can be argued that allowing the companies use OBSF method will materially alter the true and fair view of the financial status of the firm as represented by its balance sheet, still the companies may take a chance to use OBSF to look for raising additional funds for rather a risky capital project which is not otherwise available as its own funds. The individual company may attempt a safe play between BSF and OBSF in such a way that it presents useful information for valuing the firm's stock prices and derive the advantage. 2.1 Effective Ways of Using Off Balance Sheet Financing: While the items like loan, debt and equity appear in the financial statements of a company, the off balance sheet items do not find a place in the balance sheet. Creation of off balance sheet entities, joint ventures, research and development partnerships and operating leases are some of the ways in which the off balance sheet financing method can be employed by a firm. Creation of off balance sheet entities is one of the usual ways of using the OBSF for the advantage of the firm. These separate legal entities were permissible under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and tax laws. According to Rick Wayman 2002 'off-balance-sheet' refers to separate legal entities comprising of separate or subsidiary companies where the parent company holds the majority of the shares. It also covers the contingent liabilities of the firm represented by the letters of credit or loans to separate legal entities which are guaranteed by the parent company. While these items are allowed to be excluded from the financial statements of the parent company, GAAP requires them to be shown by way of foot notes attached to the balance sheet and other financial statements. This way the parent company could fianc the new venture without diluting the existing shareholders equity or adding to the external borrowings