Методические рекомендации для выполнения контрольной работы №2 и сборник текстов и упражнений по дисциплине «Английский язык» (для студентов всех специальностей заочной формы обучения) (стр. 3 )

2. В условиях  рыночной экономики изменения потребительского спроса играют заметную роль в формировании политики фирм.

3. Чем более модный товар, тем более высокую цену за него надо платить.

4. Рыночная экономика характеризуется частной собственностью на ресурсы и использованием системы рынков и цен для управления экономической деятельностью.

5. В такой системе каждая экономическая единица стремится получить наибольший возможный доход на основе индивидуального принятия решений.

Text 5

Command Economy

This is an economic system under which the government controls the factors of production. Land, labor and capital are under the control of the government and entrepreneurship is supplied by the government. As a result, all the economic decisions about production, distribution, consumption, and property ownership are made by the government. It decides what will be produced, who will produce it, how many units will be made, how much it will cost and who will receive pply, demand and competition have influence in this system. Central government planners make all the economic decisions about production and resource allocation.

A planned economy is simple to understand but not simple to operate. It does however, a number of advantages:

Everyone in society receives enough goods and services to enjoy a basic standard of living. Nations do not waste resources duplicating production. The state can use control of the economy to divert resources to wherever it wants.  The industries normally are under control of the government include mining, steel production, transportation, communication, health care, and auto-manufacturing. In Sweden, for example, the government owns the transportation network, communications, banks, mining, steel, and chemical industries.

Several disadvantages also exist. These disadvantages have led to many nations abandoning planned economies over recent years:

There is no incentive for individuals to work hard in planned economies. Any profits that are made are paid to the government. Citizens cannot start their own business and so new ideas rarely come forward/ As a result, industries in planned economies can be very inefficient as they tend to be slow when responding to changes in people’s tastes and fashions.

Learn new words:

Entrepreneurship - предпринимательство

Consumption - потребление

Distribution - сбыт

To decide - решать

To receive – получать

Profit – прибыль

Unattractive - непривлекательный

Old fashion – старомодный

EXERCISE 1

Answer the questions:

1. What are the main features of a planned economy?

2. What are the advantages of a planned economy?

3. What are the disadvantages of a planned economy?

4. What causes delays and queues for some products?

EXERCISE 2

Translate into Russian:

each factory is set a production target to meet to divert resources to wherever it wants new ideas rarely come forward tend to be slow when respondent to changes

EXERCISE 3

Translate into English:

Если хозяйство плановое, то работа промышленности подчиняется плану, в котором государство определяет производственные задачи и планирует развитие на 5 лет вперед. В плановой экономике покупатели лишены возможности влиять на производство товаров. Поскольку значительная доля полученной прибыли выплачивается государству, то в условиях плановой экономики стимулы работать эффективно невелики. Промышленность часто выпускает непривлекательные, старомодные товары, поскольку невозможно предсказать изменения моды на 5 лет вперед. Государство в условиях плановой экономики может гарантировать своим гражданам образование и медицинское обслуживание.

Text 6

Mixed Economy

  Command and market economies have significant faults. Partly because of this, an intermediate system has developed, known as mixed economy.

       A mixed economy contains elements of both market and command economies. Some resources are controlled by the government whilst others are used in response to the demands of consumers.

Technically, all the economies of the world are mixed. The government and the private sector interact in solving economic problems. In mixed economy the government has two economic tools: the power to tax and the power to taxing individuals and businesses it acquires funds to provide essential public programs: defense, education, transportation, and social services. In turn the money spent for these services creates more demand for the goods and services produced by businesses.

In addition, the government has become involved in the economic system through:

- Government-owned entities which provides power to rural communities;

- Government agencies that regulate the activities of some businesses, as when the Food and Drug Administration prevents a pharmaceutical company from selling a new medicine until tests are made;

-Government involvement in employer-employee relations, for example, setting a minimum wage and initiating programs to create jobs for the unemployed.

       The UK is a country with mixed economy. Some services are provided by the state (for example, health care and defense) whilst a range of privately owned businesses offer other goods and services. 

Learn new words:

Significant faults – значительные недостатки

Restriction - ограничение

To avoid disadvantages – избегать недостатков

To enjoy benefits – пользоваться преимуществами

Essential items – товары и услуги первой необходимости

EXERCISE 1

Answer the questions:

Do really pure examples of planned and market economies exist in the world? What is a mixed economy? What is its aim? What type of economy has the UK? What type of economy is in Russia now?

EXERCISE 2

Find English equivalents:

избегать недостатков частный сектор налогообложение без ограничений потребительский спрос

Text 7

The Law of Demand

Demand is a key concept in both macroeconomics and microeconomics. In the former, consumption  is mainly a function of income; whereas in the latter, consumption or demand is primarily, but not exclusively, a function of price. This analysis of demand relates to microeconomic theory.

The theory of demand was mostly implicit in the writings of classical economists before the late nineteenth century. Current theory rests on the foundations laid by Marshall (1890), Edgeworth (1881), and Pareto (1896). Marshall viewed demand in a cardinal context, in which utility could be quantified. Most contemporary economists hold the approach taken by Edge worth and Pareto, in which demand has only ordinal characteristics and in which indifference or preferences become central to the analysis.

Much economic analysis focuses on the relation between prices and quantities demanded, the other variables being provisionally held constant. At the various prices that could prevail in a market during some period of time, different quantities of a good or service would be bought. Demand, then, is considered as a list of prices and quantities, with one quantity for each possible price. With price on the vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal axis, the demand curve slopes downward from left to right, signifying that smaller quantities are bought at higher prices and larger quantities are bought at lower prices. The inverse relation between price and quantity is usually called the law of demand. The law rests on two foundations. One is the theory of the consumer, the logic of which shows that the consumer responds to lower prices by buying more. The other foundation is empirical, with innumerable studies of demand in actual markets having demonstrated the existence of downward-sloping demand curves.

Exceptions to the law of demand are the curiosa of theorists. The best-known exception is the Giffen effect - a consumer buys more, not less of a commodity at higher prices when a negative income effect dominates over the substitution effect.

Another is the Vehien effect - some commodities are theoretically wanted solely for their higher prices. The higher these prices are, the more the use of such commodities fulfills the requirements of conspicuous consumption, and thus the stronger the demand for them.

Learn new words:

In the former - в прошлом

Demand curve - кривая спроса

Implicit — подразумевающийся 

To slope down - спускаться

Hold the approach - придерживаться взглядов 

To signify - означать, выражать

Approach — подход 

Substitution effect – эффект замещения

Provisionally - временно 

List — список, перечень 

Conspicuous consumption – заметное потребление

EXERCISE 1

Answer the questions:

1. What is “demand”?

2. What is the current theory of demand based on?

3. How is it possible to show interrelation of price and quantities consumed?

4. What is Giffen effect?

5. What is Vehien effect?

EXERCISE 2

Translate into Russian:

key concept consumption empirical foundation curiosa of theorists strong demand quantities of goods ordinal characteristics conspicuous consumption

EXERCISE 3

Translate sentences into Russian:

Much economic analysis focuses on the relation between prices and quantities demanded. Consumption or demand is primarily, but not exclusively a function of price. A consumer buys more, not less of a commodity at higher prices when a negative income effect dominates over the substitution effect. Innumerable studies of demand in actual markets having demonstrated the existence of downward-sloping demand curves.

Text 8

The Law of Supply

Supply is a fundamental concept in both macro - and microeconomic analysis. In macroeconomic theory, aggregate supply is mainly a function of expected-sales to consumers, businesses, and governments. In microanalysis supply is mainly a function of prices and costs of production. A more complex view of the supply curve for a commodity is its relation between quantities forthcoming and the possible current prices of that commodity, its expected future prices, the prices of alternative goods and services, the costs of the producer, and time.