One of the most divisive and economically pressing questions in U.S. domestic policy over the last several decades has been healthcare. The United States spends twice as much in terms of Gross Domestic Product on healthcare as the next biggest spender in the advanced world, and yet our average lifespan is less than most of the countries on the list. The debate in the U.S. is over whether or not healthcare should be a part our larger commercial system, and hence accessed through private insurers giving the consumer more "choice," or whether healthcare access should be guaranteed to all through either a hybrid public/private system (like Obamacare) or a more robust public system in which healthcare is guaranteed to all residents through a government-run healthcare program, with a potential downside of having less "choice" in such a system. Public polling suggests that there is no bigger public policy issue that Americans care about as much as healthcare at this point in our nation's history. For the discussion, which of the various options listed above (or options that you have researched on your own) do you support as the way forward for the American healthcare system? Explain your answer, arguing for its superiority over the other options.

See under question "C" to see the context. Thank you! (Answer questions)

A) Write about whether or not you believe productivity would go up, down, or stay the same in an enterprise where the workers are owners versus a traditional workplace.

B) Write about whether or not a worker owned enterprise would need as many managers to monitor employees and what effect this would have on costs and competitiveness in the marketplace.

C) Write about some of the deleterious effects of modern corporations such as pollution, worker degradation, income inequality, etc., and analyze whether or not worker ownership would solve, worsen, or leave unchanged any of the problems that are associated with traditional workplaces.

Watch the following PBS Newshour video that details the New Belgium Brewery Company which is owned by its workers:

You have to watch a video. Due to Chegg's ToS, I cannot provide the link. It's here is the full transcript of the short video:

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  But, first, let's look at an unusual way of running a business, by having your employees own the company. One popular craft brewery has made a name for itself in part by going that route, with strong results so far.

  Economics correspondent Paul Solman has the story. It's part of our weekly series Making Sense, which airs every Thursday on the "NewsHour."

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  New Belgium Brewing, known for its quirky culture and Fat Tire, its Belgian brew. This is its notorious Tour de Fat, a beer-financed travel-fest pushing bicycles over cars.

  At company headquarters in Fort Collins, Colorado, co-founder Kim Jordan loves to show off the suds themselves.

• KIM JORDAN, Co-Founder, New Belgium Brewing:

  Should I show you how to do the perfect pour?

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  The perfect pour, yes.

• KIM JORDAN:

  OK.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  A little bit out. Whoops. Oh, I — no, no, I screwed it up already.

• KIM JORDAN:

  Yes. Yes.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Oh, this is a perfectly…

• KIM JORDAN:

  Yes. Well…

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  This is a perfectly horrible pour.

  But what drew us here wasn't the beer, though New Belgium now sells 4 percent of all U.S. craft beer, 1 percent of all the beer in America. New Belgium's distinction, however, as a business is that it is entirely owned by its workers.

  Ex-New Yorker Doug Miller has been at New Belgium for 20 years. Like most Americans, he had no stake in the firms he worked for in his early days back East.

• DOUG MILLER, Warehouse Technician, New Belgium Brewing:

  It's a job and you're just coming in and you're punching the clock and you're doing your job. Here, you just do it more because you're working for yourself. Like, I don't work for New Belgium. I am working for Doug Miller. I am working for people who work here. That's the difference.

• KIM JORDAN:

  Beer is malt, and hops, and yeast, and water.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  And why did co-founder and CEO Kim Jordan sell the company to her workers, as opposed to a well-heeled rival or a private financial firm?

• KIM JORDAN:

  One of things that we think is a big societal issue is this widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. And we realized that we had an opportunity to support people owning something that was increasing in value. Shared equity has been an incredibly powerful engine for us.

• CHRIS MACKIN, Partner, American Working Capital:

  New Belgium's a great example of using this structure to preserve a legacy.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Worker ownership consultant Chris Mackin, who's advised New Belgium.

• CHRIS MACKIN:

  For a company like that to be consumed by a multinational firm, and to lose its identity, to lose what's special about it in order to make a few extra bucks, that's not what Kim Jordan was going to do.

• KIM JORDAN:

  You will notice on your glass here, see this lacing? That's actually a sign of a well-made beer.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  So, the founder became a poster child for worker ownership, initiating an ESOP, an employee stock ownership plan, which began giving stock gradually to its workers and ended up in a 100 percent takeover.

• CHRIS MACKIN:

  What she's done has made it possible to reserve that independence and to be able to reward the people who made her a wealthy woman.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Reward them with shares they sell back to the company when they retire, a stock-based pension plan. ESOPs represent both ownership and retirement savings, which is why Congress made them the only pension plans allowed to borrow money for funding.

• KIM JORDAN:

  We were so excited to brew this beer that we decided to put it on tap today.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  New Belgium, with a host of varieties, is now the eighth largest brewery in America. Its fans flow through the building on tours all the day long.

• KIM JORDAN:

  How do you pour a beer? I will show you how. And then the taps are yours, OK?

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  The employees seem, well, pretty juiced themselves.

• CARRIE WEADY, Graphic Designer, New Belgium Brewing:

  I feel like I have a stake in what happens here and that I have a — play a part in making this awesome place successful, yes.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Tiffany Banfield works in the marketing department for New Belgium.

• CARRIE WEADY:

  So you liked it where it was?

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Carrie Weady is a graphic designer.

• CARRIE WEADY:

  The better I do, the better we do, and I personally take that to every day of my job, and it really does inspire us all to go above and beyond in a way that I haven't experienced at other employers.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  So, why doesn't everybody do it?

• WOMAN:

  Because they don't believe that it is a profitable model.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  But it is, Kim Jordan insists, if management puts in the effort and is willing to empower workers in a variety of ways.

• KIM JORDAN:

  We're more profitable than our industry standards. We have a 3 percent turnover rate. And more importantly to us is our feeling of our engagement with our co-workers.

• WOMAN:

  Each of those cities brought some pretty great incentives to the table.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  A key feature of New Belgium's worker engagement: open-book management, teaching every employee how to read the books.

• DOUG MILLER:

  And so they had classes for us to go to. Like, we're going to teach you how to read an income statement, how to read a balance sheet, how to understand cash flow, all those things.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  The upshot? The workers know exactly how the company is doing financially, and how they are doing as well.

• DOUG MILLER:

  So, I am making like the same money now that I was making 20 years ago, when I was working in the Bronx in New York City. But I have more money now. It's just because I can manage it better. That's the thing that blows me away, is that you can be making $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 a year and live in a $300,000 house if you manage your money well.

  Are you operating at a profit this month? You know, that's what you got to ask yourself.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  To Chris Mackin, who's been pushing worker ownership since the 1980s, ESOPs are a no-brainer, the main and obvious obstacle, workers don't have the money to buy their businesses.

• CHRIS MACKIN:

  For this idea to go to scale, you have to find some way in which working people who don't have assets can acquire companies that are worth value.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  So, Mackin has started an investment fund that will allow worker groups to compete with private equity firms and well-heeled competitors when an owner wants or needs to sell.

• KIM JORDAN:

  The other beer that we make is called Felix, and that's the one that we get to taste today.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Happily for its workers, New Belgium didn't need Mackin's money. A bank ponied up much of the cash to buy Kim Jordan's stock. She financed the rest by accepting IOUs from the company, to be paid off from future profits. The risk, that the company will flounder, meaning lower pensions for workers and iffy IOUs for lenders, which suggests that it might take an unusually committed owner to make worker ownership happen.

  So, why did Jordan take the chance?

• KIM JORDAN:

  One of the things that has been really fun about business is understanding that you can choose what you do with profits. You get this one life, right? And you get to think about, what am I going to do that makes me sort of joyful and sing? And this makes me joyful.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Fortunately for her, Kim Jordan's IOUs look like a pretty safe bet. New Belgium is slated to open a new operation in North Carolina in 2016. And since it's only in 38 states thus far, the beer may be coming soon to a state near you.

• KIM JORDAN:

  And push in now.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  And it will stop it right there. OK.

• KIM JORDAN:

  You are very close to a perfect pour there.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  For the PBS NewsHour, this is economics correspondent Paul Solman, long an enthusiast of worker ownership, but only recently of the perfect pour.

• KIM JORDAN:

  Cheers.

• PAUL SOLMAN:

  Cheers.

In the table below, exchange rate is defined as US dollars per Euro, E$/€. Given the information below, using UIP (in approximate form), fill in the blanks marked with letters. Round your answers to 3 decimals. Interest Rate on Dollar Deposit (annual) Interest Rate on Euro Deposit (annual) Spot Exchange Rate, E$/€ (today) Expected Future Exchange Rate, Ee$/€ (in one year) Expected Rate of Change in Exchange Rate (Ee$/€-E$/€)/E$/€ Expected Dollar Return on Euro Deposit (annual) Investors Prefer 0.025 (2.5%) 0.005 (0.5%) 1.10 1.326 0.205 (20.5%) 0.21 A 0.025 0.005 (0.5%) B 1.326 0.105 C D 0.025 0.005 E 1.326 F G Indifferent 0.025 0.005 1.4 1.326 H I J

Using data on a representative sample of college students, the following model was estimated: (standard errors are in parentheses) sat =1,028.1+19.3hsize − 2.2hsize2 − 45.1Female −169.8black + 62.3 female*black (6.29) (3.83) (0.53) (4.29) (12.7) (18.15) n = 4,137 and ? 2= 0.0858 The variable sat is the combined SAT score, hsize is size of the student’s high school graduating class, in hundreds, female is a gender dummy variable equal to one for females and zero otherwise, and black is a race dummy variable equal to one for blacks and zero otherwise.

3- Holding hsize fixed, what is the estimated difference in SAT score between nonblack females and nonblack males? How statistically significant is this estimated difference?

Suppose there is an individual with “well behaved preferences” who consumes bundles of two goods, (X,Y) and this individual is indifferent between bundle 1, (15,3) and bundle 2, (6,12). There is also bundle 3, (10.5, 7.5).

a) List and briefly define the 5 assumptions that define “Well behaved preferences”

b) Between bundles 1 and 3, does the consumer prefer one bundle over the other, or is he indifferent? What about between 2 and 3? Justify your answer mathematically.

• This week, Super-Save Supermarket lowered the price of apples from $1 to 90 cents per pound. The quantity of apples sold last week was 200 pounds. This week, the quantity sold was 250 pounds. Calculate the price elasticity of demand. Is it elastic, inelastic, or unitary elastic? What happens to total revenue?
• Using the information given in the previous question, assume that last week Super-Save Supermarket sold 150 pounds of bananas and this week it sold 120 pounds of bananas. Are bananas and apples complements or substitutes? What is the cross elasticity of demand?

My elasticity is equaling 2. I'm I correct or I'm missing something?

What is the significance of the concept of a reservation price in the supply and demand model?

How do Marx's theory of history and his analysis of capitalism relate to Darwin's notion of evolution?

2.    Consider that China (and to a somewhat lesser extent India) has moved from relative autarky to relative openness in a short period of time (30 years or so).  Suppose both countries are relatively abundant in labor, compared with the rest of the world. The rest of the world is relatively abundant in land. Let there be two tradeable goods: manufacturing, which is labor intensive, and food, which is land-intensive.

a. Use a relative supply - relative demand graph to demonstrate the effect of a movement by China and India from autarky to free trade on the rest of the world's terms of trade (manufacturing relative to food). (10 points)

b. Suppose that the world has two factors (labor and land). Using the Heckscher-Ohlin model, describe the consequences of China and India's entry for the wage paid to labor in the rest of the world. What does the model predict about the impact on wages in China and India? (10 points)

c. Suppose that a country like Mexico was an exporter of labor-intensive manufacturing before China and India began trading, and remained a labor-intensive exporter after China and India began trading. Use the standard trade model to represent the changes in Mexico's production and consumption outcomes as a result of the changes. (20 points).

Question 3: Why would your proposed solution improve Campbell’s chances of success? (Response length: 1 paragraph)

• Instructions: Identify, define, apply, and underline two (2) relevant concepts from chapters 1, 3, 4, and/or 8 in your response to question 3. Avoid vague generalizations. Be specific and stick to what the question is asking. Avoid irrelevant arguments. Be sure to analyze this issue from the viewpoint of international marketing strategy (segmentation, target market, product development, marketing research, etc.)

Articles:

Can M'm, M'm Good Translate?; Campbell Rethinks Soup as It Prepares to Enter Russia and China

Abstract (Summary)

In Russia and China, nearly all those bowls are homemade. In Russia recently, Mr. [Larry McWilliams] asked a

mother about soup and "her eyes lit up, she leaned across the table and for the next 30 minutes she told me what

soup she likes and how she makes it," he says. "You'd think I'd asked her about her kids."

Consumers in Moscow and China's Guangdong province, which Campbell will target with its early rollouts, are

becoming busier as those areas have grown more industrialized. And with a rising middle class in both China and

Russia, "you have improving consumer spending power, and as a result, the affordability factor is becoming more

favorable for Campbell," says Mitchell Pinheiro, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, who has a "buy"

rating on Campbell shares.

"Our research shows that Chinese consumers add MSG to food to lift the flavor, but they know it's not good for them and they're looking for an alternative," Mr. McWilliams says, adding that Campbell's soups won't contain any added MSG.

(c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or

distribution is prohibited without permission.

American food companies have succeeded in persuading consumers in China and Russia to chew gum, guzzle soda and munch cookies. Now Campbell Soup Co. wants to sell those soup-loving countries on its signature product.

It won't be easy. Wet soup in cans or boxes has yet to take significant market share in Russia and China, partly

because of cost and because soup-making is a source of pride for many there. Campbell finally gave up after trying to sell canned soups in China in the 1990s. Other Western companies have had some success in the two markets, but the niche remains largely untapped.

This time, the Camden, N.J., company is trying a different approach. For the past two years, cultural anthropologists employed by Campbell have visited the homes of Russian and Chinese consumers to watch how they prepare and eat soup and to ask about the role soup making has played in their lives.

Although the company has learned that ready-to-eat soups still aren't likely to sell well, increasingly busy Chinese and Russians seem more willing to use it as a convenient base for other cooking. So Campbell this fall plans to roll out "starter soups" and broths designed to help consumers save time while making soups with their own touches.

"The biggest soup company in the world should be developing the biggest soup markets in the world," says Larry

McWilliams, president of Campbell's international division.

If Campbell gets it right this time, the move could help drive the company's sales growth, which currently relies heavily on the U.S., with $5.1 billion of its $7.3 billion in 2006 revenue. Campbell recently has turned around its core U.S. soup business with the introduction of low-sodium soups, new supermarket soup dispensers and new varieties of broth. At some point, the momentum from those initiatives could slow and the company will need new sources of growth.

Campbell officials won't disclose sales projections or how much they are spending to enter Russia and China. But

they are planning a big marketing push, including television commercials, billboards, subway ads, Internet ads and

product samplings.

Chinese and Russians eat soup more than five times a week, on average, compared with Americans' once-a-week, Campbell says. In China, 320 billion bowls of soup are consumed each year, compared with 32 billion in Russia and just 14 billion in the U.S.

In Russia and China, nearly all those bowls are homemade. In Russia recently, Mr. McWilliams asked a mother about soup and "her eyes lit up, she leaned across the table and for the next 30 minutes she told me what soup she likes and how she makes it," he says. "You'd think I'd asked her about her kids."

But consumers in Moscow and China's Guangdong province, which Campbell will target with its early rollouts, are

becoming busier as those areas have grown more industrialized. And with a rising middle class in both China and

Russia, "you have improving consumer spending power, and as a result, the affordability factor is becoming more

favorable for Campbell," says Mitchell Pinheiro, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, who has a "buy"

rating on Campbell shares.

Other food companies have made inroads into China, notably Yum Brands Inc. with its KFC fried-chicken outlets.

McDonald's Corp.'s fast food has proved popular in Moscow. In most cases where Western companies have done

well in the East, they have tried to adapt their offerings to native tastes.

Campbell didn't do a lot of listening to consumers when it tried to enter China in the early 1990s. Rather than tailor

soups to Chinese tastes and cooking customs, the company simply exported its condensed soups. Consumers, some wondering why they should pay for something that could be easily made from scratch, shunned the soups. Campbell pulled out.

In China, the basic soup stock is often made by combining water and monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer

known as MSG that has been linked to headaches, nausea and other health problems, the company says. The

Chinese use that mixture as a base in rice and noodle dishes as well.

"Our research shows that Chinese consumers add MSG to food to lift the flavor, but they know it's not good for them and they're looking for an alternative," Mr. McWilliams says, adding that Campbell's soups won't contain any added MSG.

Campbell gave women in Shanghai recipes and samples of broths it plans to sell under its Swanson brand. One

woman told Mr. McWilliams she didn't use any of the recipes but suggested using the broth as a replacement for

water and oil in a stir-fry.

The company has reformulated the broth to have a stronger chicken flavor, which its research shows is preferred by the Chinese. A second broth to be sold there will be an even more flavorful, cloudier version containing chicken, pork and ham stock.

Campbell plans to set up booths in grocery stores in China for demonstrations of how to use broth to make soup and vegetable dishes. Because cellphones are so popular in China, Campbell will send text messages reminding people to pick up some Swanson broth. In both countries, products will be carried in the biggest supermarkets first and then, as brand awareness grows, in smaller mom-and-pop shops.

In Russia, Campbell researchers learned that "Russians consider themselves the foremost experts on soup in the

world, and they have words they only use for soup, which tells you how ingrained it is in the culture," Mr. McWilliams says.

Among those words is navaristy, which refers to a thick, heavy soup like the ones Campbell plans to sell in Russia: a beef broth with pieces of meat, onions and potatoes; a chicken broth with chicken, onions and potatoes; and a

mushroom soup with large pieces of mushrooms, onions and seasonings.

The dense soups will have to be diluted with water, and Campbell plans to encourage Russians to use them as a

base for soup, adding their own meat, vegetables and herbs.

Campbell also learned that mothers do the bulk of the soup preparation, with daughters helping out by cutting vegetables.

So the company decided to target newlywed women as they take on the role of household soup-maker.

Campbell plans to give out coupons and recipes at buildings where couples register their marriage.

Campbell Soup To Exit Russia

Jargon, Julie. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition [New York, N.Y] 29 June 2011: B.9.

Chinese and Russians eat soup more than five times a week, on average, compared with Americans' once-a-week habit, Campbell learned when it first studied the overseas markets.

Campbell Soup Co. said it is exiting Russia just four years after betting it would be a simmering new market.

On Tuesday, Campbell Chief Operating Officer and CEO-elect Denise Morrison said results in Russia fell below the company's expectations. "We believe that opportunities currently under exploration in other emerging markets, notably China, offer stronger prospects for driving profitable growth within an acceptable time frame," Ms. Morrison said.

The Camden, N.J., company knew when it entered Russia in September 2007 that it would be challenging to persuade a country of homemade soup eaters to adopt ready-made soups.

Chinese and Russians eat soup more than five times a week, on average, compared with Americans' once-a-week habit, Campbell learned when it first studied the overseas markets. In China, about 320 billion bowls of soup are consumed each year, compared with 32 billion in Russia and just 14 billion in the U.S.

It may be just as difficult to sell Chinese consumers on prepared soup. Campbell exported its condensed soups to China in the 1990s, but consumers didn't bite, and Campbell pulled out.

Campbell has since reformulated the broth it sells in China to have a stronger chicken flavor, which the company's research shows is preferred by the Chinese. It re-entered China at about the same time that it embarked on its Russia venture.

The soup maker employed cultural anthropologists to study the soup-making habits of customers in both Russia and China. The anthropologists spent two years watching consumers prepare and eat soup.

The company found that as consumers in Moscow and China's Guangdong province have become busier, they've grown more willing to use "starter soups" and broths as a base for their own soup and for other cooking. With a rising middle class in both countries, the company figured its products would be increasingly affordable.

But because sales in Russia didn't fare as well as the company hoped, it said it would close its Moscow office, eliminating about 50 positions, and wind down its business there. Campbell didn't say how much it invested in the market.

Campbell on Tuesday also announced other measures to cut costs, such as automating some packing operations. In total, the company plans to cut 770 jobs world-wide, including the positions in Russia.

All of the initiatives, including the exit of the Russian business, will result in pretax costs of approximately $75 million, most of which will occur in its fiscal fourth quarter ending July 31.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency maintains an online World Factbook that is a convenient source of a wide variety of geographic, social, and economic information. You may look up information by individual country (See drop down menu “Please select a country to view.” Or you may look up information by topic (See "Guide to Country Comparisons" (bottom of page). Directions: Find the following information. Note: You may submit your answers directly into Canvas or you may submit a file

GDP per capita is a relatively narrow measure of a country’s economic well-bring. It does not take into consideration such important factors as income distribution, life expectancy, poverty (and extreme poverty), education, or gender equality. The United Nations Development Program has developed an alternative measure which takes into consideration some of these factors. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure of: life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years or more, as well as Gross National Income per capita. List the HDI for the following 8 countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Russia, Iran, India, Afghanistan (See the 2019 ranking here). Country HDI

. List the HDI for the following 8 countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Russia, Iran, India, Afghanistan

In a live, web-based simulation (Links to an external site.), you'll play the role of a founder of a new startup company in the exciting and competitive clean tech sector. As part of the simulation, you'll set prices, determine how many engineers and sales people to hire, establish set compensation, including salary, stock, options, and profit sharing. As part of your experience, you'll explore how you can build your technology into a successful company. You may choose to pitch your firm to venture capitalists, or to bootstrap and remain 100% employee owned. You may win customers and become cash flow positive before you run out of funds. You succeed and take your firm public. There are many opportunities as the founder of the company. There are many opportunities to explore in this project! The purpose of this activity is to explore the challenges of a startup company in a demanding competitive environment, including financial, human resource, strategic and other decisions.

Step 1: Participate in a simulation environment called CleanStart: Simulating a Clean Energy Startup. (Links to an external site.) To start, watch the CleanStart Simulation Instructional Video (Links to an external site.) and then select Play Simulation.

Step 2: Submit a report or reports about your experience using the simulation.

1. List and briefly explain
   1. Four costs associated with expected inflation
   2. Suppose that Brazil is in a state of hyperinflation. If the goal of the Brazilian Central Bank is to stabilize the price level, explain carefully what path the money supply should follow. (Assume that money demand depends on the nominal interest rate). Assuming that the Central Bank’s policy is successful, show and briefly explain the path of the price level, the inflation rate, the nominal interest rate, the money supply, and the level of real balances both during and after the hyperinflation.

Some states and cities have or have plans to raise the minimum wages to $15/hour. In July, the House of Representatives passed legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. There also have been many protests (especially in the fast food industry) over the past 2 years about setting a $15 minimum wage. Amazon has raised its minimum wage to $15, Target plans to have a $15 starting wage by 2020, WalMart is working toward $15, and Senator Sanders (Vermont) has been pressuring companies to raise their minimum wages to $15/hour. Discuss and analyze the economic implications about this topic. How does the political aspect of the debate affect the economic analysis?