International Business

Production Patterns

As per Scottsdale Bullion & Coin (2015), the annual production of gold is estimated at 2500 metric tons while the global supply of gold stands at 165000 metric tons. This shows that the production is moderate compared to the overall global supply. Rising production costs will also affect gold costs will in turn rise as sellers look for higher prices for profitability.

Physical Supply vs. Demand Dynamics

As explained earlier the demand for gold would remain stable over the long run as it is considered to be a safe monetary reserve and valuable jewellery item that drives the high value it entails. The pricing patterns at large remain unaffected by political factors while fluctuations stem from factors like money supply, production costs, inflation and interest rates, bank policies and geopolitical stability. The demand for gold increases in times when the paper money is devalued and the interest rates are low including other favourable global economic conditions that motivate investors to buy gold.

Figure 3: Wages and the Gold Price (Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, 2015).

Question 2: Identify the negative externalities that may arise from the personal use of a car. What can governments do to try to influence the personal use of cars so that private drivers accommodate such negative externalities?

 An externality is an effect on the third party that stems from an economic decision made by two parties without regard to its influence on the third party. It can be described as a cost borne by the third person due to economic activity or transaction between two people the producer and the consumer. A negative externality is an external cost that third-party entities like organizations, individuals, resources and estate owners have to bear as a direct result of the transaction between the two concerned parties. As explained by Economics Online (2015), these externalities are also known as spillover effects.

While positive externalities tend to produce desired economic effects in terms of pricing and overall benefits to external entities, the negative externalities usually produce undesirable effects. An example of a negative externality is the emission of air pollutants from manufacturing industries or by automobiles in transportation networks. In the production process, the generation of waste is typically considered a negative externality as it tends to have pollutant effects on the environment affecting society and people indirectly. As explained by Economics Online (2015), Externalities are typically generated in scenarios that have loopholes in terms of clearly defined assets or resource rights such as ownership rights etc.

Where resource or land ownership is not certain such externalities are bound to occur (Mankiw et al., 2011). Similarly, if proper legislation or policies concerning the use of these assets is not well-defined, such as in the utility of privately owned vehicles and transportation systems then there is a risk of such unwanted externalities due to lack of accountability. This concept has been emphasized by the revered Peruvian Economist, Hernando de Soto, as stated by Economics Online (2015), which sheds light on the significance of establishing assets or property rights in economic markets to facilitate sustainability and development of global economies.

The negative externality can be explained in terms of the marginal social costs, MSC and marginal social benefits, MSB specifically in the scenario of personal use of a car, for example. An external cost, such as that of the air pollution caused by emissions of harmful substances in the air by the vehicle, will result in the (MSC), Marginal Social Cost being higher or greater than the MPC or Marginal Private Cost. In terms of socially effective or feasible output, where there is equality in both terms, that is;

MSC = MSB

Figure 4: Marginal Social Costs and Benefits (Economics Online, 2015).

Hence, for this situation, at Q the output is lower as compared to the social equilibrium condition described above and represented by Q1. (Economics Online, 2015)

Further externality as projected by the Transportation system is the undesired costs generated as a result of the manufacturing process. The waste and air pollution also entail risks associated with the health and welfare of the society at large including people who are directly using the vehicles. Taking care of these pollutants and waste also adds up to the administrative costs associated with the cleaning. The overall cost to the society in such a scenario would be more than that of the private cost as complete society cost or benefit is defined as the combined monetary value of total costs and benefits to all entities concerned. This leads to market inefficiencies since the prices of these vehicles or transportation products with externalities would then not reflect the complete social cost or benefit of their transaction.

In terms of externality related to the transportation system, there has been a keen interest in the social costs incurred as a result of the personal use of the vehicle. The various externalities related to the utility of vehicles is the personal use generated, air pollution, congestion or road traffic, crashes and health risk. The concern with retrospect to these externalities is to find out if most of these vehicles are subsidized due to the benefits or environmental effects generated as a result of their use and to what particular level does this influence decisions related to their extended use and increased investment. Are then the negative externalities and environmental influence, not a consideration when facilitating the funding of private cars and creating flexible policies for their use? The concern however for this study focuses on how these externalities are impacting society and what can the government do to mitigate the risks associated with these negative externalities.

Researchers have also emphasized the social costs associated with the externalities generated by the private use of cars. The emphasis is on the fact that the legislation and standards related to the use of these vehicles should address the negative externalities relevant to the utility of the car. A deeper study into the transportation system reveals that the vehicles are connected to the diverse and rapidly changing road network where the most important entities are automobiles, public transport, highways, traffic regulation system, and society and government entities. If these are the prime entities, then how about the energy system that drives the automobile network? Does this influence externalities and should it be part of the transport system analysis when considering and assessing the impact of externalities?

The further analysis raises questions like how much input regarding all related entities that would play a role in the externalities scenario is given to the mitigation process or remedial strategies by the government. DeLuchi (1991) in his study stressed the consideration of all such entities in the analysis of externalities and the transportation system life-cycle review. One such externality is the Noise generated by the vehicles on the road. The roads are diverse, open and prime to change offering a wide platform for numerous vehicles at a time that can lead to noise particularly due to engines and horns. This can cause considerable societal costs in terms of discomfort, environmental pollution related to noise and nuisance to people. The direct impact can be analyzed through the correlation between cause (transportation or vehicle) and effect ( externality or noise) if the relation is high. Further noise generated by the flow of traffic can cause property values to decline especially if they are located on the roadside.

Figure 5: Social Costs - Causes and Effects (extracted/processed by the author).

A largely significant externality is the emission of air pollutants like carbon monoxide and other substances as a result of the burning of fuel or combustion in vehicles. The societal costs of the environmental impact are larger than the private costs of vehicle production. The emission of air pollutants like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons tend to affect the environment by posing threats like smog, acid rain and ozone depletion. There are further issues like material and vegetation effects. Hence this externality also needs to be addressed. The consideration here is private costs vs. social costs. The private costs would not take into consideration the costs associated with the environmental impact or the society at large.

The exact reason for the difference in these costs and their assessment is to mitigate economic agents that play a key role in the incurring of costs on other entities in the market. When an individual will only consider the costs that they will incur for a decision without regard to the costs incurred by other parties then the externality will not allocate resources appropriately as the economic agents will not address the costs imposed by them. Strategies to address externalities should focus on fixing the actions of these economic agents' activities that result in improper resource allocation.

Another externality caused as a result of the private use of the cars is congestion that leads to traffic and road blockage. The costs associated with society as a result of traffic and congestion include the value of time and quality of the trip. The value and cost associated with business trips are relatively more than that related to personal trips. Lastly, the externality of crashes and accidents has high societal costs in terms of risks related to the health of drivers as well as pedestrians and other drivers. The two aspects to be considered when estimating the costs related to crashes are the value of life and the costs related to damages. The damages cost includes both direct costs and the value of the years lost to the crash. A comprehensive cost assessment must be done to analyze the effects of this externality and the societal costs in totality.

What measures can the government then take to encourage the use of personal cars and mitigate the risks and social costs associated with the negative externalities? Button (1994) has proposed a model that considers all related aspects and economic causes that spark externalities. Policymakers and government entities should take into consideration the complete impact of the costs incurred by the environmental effects and other externalities and based on the analysis devise remedial standards and pricing strategies. When estimating costs related to the impact of externalities for the use of private cars like congestion, pollution, noise and crash costs, all estimates should be considered like the value of health, time, safety, life and trip.

The prime solution is to define the property or ownership rights clearly so that externalities are limited due to the element of accountability. The Government should establish regulations, taxation and proper policies to minimize the risk of these externalities. Private car owners who are polluters should be taxed or penalized and standards are set for the optimal level of hydrocarbons and other pollutant emissions. The use of filters and gadgets in vehicles to minimize pollution should be ensured. Similarly, laws for noise through horns and engine maintenance should be established to minimize social costs associated with this externality.

Subsidies should be given to vehicle owners that ensure proper maintenance and antipollution practices when driving. Laws should be enforced to ensure that compensation is paid by owners of vehicles to those affected by externalities like noise, crashes or pollution. Increasing the awareness regarding the externalities on the society of vehicle owners with information on acceptable levels of emissions, noise generation and safe driving with compliance to traffic laws. By implementing regulations and pricing strategies, the government can minimize society costs relative to the negative externalities.

Reference List

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