Governments+and+Economies

Mariam Fayad : How can one major country's economy affect other economies?
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Razan Mal : What kind of regulations do governments not enforce with regards to trading?
There are thousands of regulations governments can choose to enforce on trade. The government is in complete control of it’s self which is a broad, mind-numbing idea. The regulations enforced all depend on the country and how it chooses to run itself. In a communist country such as North Korea the government may keep a very tight rein on the trades of their country. Here, the government will control almost all aspects of trade in both exports and imports. On the other hand a capitalist country such as America imposes very few trade regulations its self and supports free trade. Free Trade is a policy that essentially calls for no trade policies, or at least none that are enforced by the government. Academics and governments have pondered over the pros and cons of free trade. Most opposers believe in protectionism, an ideology that states that trade hurts the economy and they also point out that free trade may help already well developed economies but only hurt other, lesser-developed ones. People and governments who agree with free trade usually also believe in globalization and are strongly antipathetic to protectionism. This is proved in letter written by the The Freedom to Trade Coalition in 2009 that stated, “//Protectionism creates poverty, not prosperity. Protectionism doesn't even "protect" domestic jobs or industries; it destroy them, by harming export industries and industries that rely on imports to make their goods…Protectionism is a fool's game."1// The WTO (World Trade Organization) is an international organization that aims to liberate trade. They do this by lowering barriers such as taxes and tariffs. The WTO also maintains that trade should be fair between all countries and that there should be no discrimination. At the moment, 153 countries are members of the WTO and 29, three of whom are Iraq, Iran and Russia are negotiating their memberships. There is no strict set of rules a government does or does not impose on the trade of their country but there are many different organizations such as the WTO that try to regulate trade.

Razan Mal:Are people naturally inclined to exchange and create markets? Could we be referred to as homo economics?
A young child suggests to their friend that they exchange toys. The worth of this desire is greater than the worth of the toy to them and when the child realizes this it also realizes that their friend may feel the same. This is the first example of economic and logical thought in a child’s life. The question posed is whether the child truly perceived this itself or is merely copying what it has seen adults or older children doing. The true answer is not yet known. Many believe that humans are simply capable of logical thought while others believe that humans are truly naturally inclined to exchange. However, I strongly believe that rational thought is the spark of Economic thought and so my personal opinion is that, yes, humans are naturally inclined to logical thought and therefore naturally inclined to economic thought. So can we refer to man as a Homo economicus? Homo economicus now refers to model of the Homo sapiens where man has set goals and will achieve them by any means possible with the lowest cost on his part. In this model man is highly rational to an almost perfect extent and this is what most academics disagree on. However, Homo economicus didn’t start like that. John Stuart Mill is usually credited for starting the first model of the economic man although he didn’t use the actually term. In his 1836 essay “On the Definition of Political Economy; and on the Method of Investigation Proper to it.’, Mill introduced the four human interests: accumulation, leisure, luxury, and procreation. Mill’s abstraction steered clear of complex human motivation on grounds that it made economic analysis indeterminate and did not encompass human rationality which today is the main point that critics point out as false. Many critics believe that no human can correctly make decisions that will benefit them in the long term but this one point has somehow become part of Homo economicus. But the basic charectaristics of Homo Economicus reign true – a person who’s main goal is to benefit themselves.

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Fahad Almojel: What makes a country economically developed? =====

Saad Alshibani: What is the difference between micro and macro economics?

Harrison White: How does the economy affect me?