Friday, January 31, 2020
Investigating the resistance of a wire Essay Example for Free
Investigating the resistance of a wire Essay The experiment is safe because the voltage from the multimeter will do no harm to you and you should not use it near water. Method I am investigating the resistance of a wire and testing what happens to the current if I use different lengths of wires. First I will use 10cm of wire and connect the multimeter up properly like the picture below also I would measure the wire exactly then I would place the crocodile clips on the ends of the wire and do that for every 10cms up to 200cms and record the resistance. I would use all of the same equipment again and do the experiment another 2 times to workout the average. Diagram I will make the experiment accurate by doing all of the below and do the same test three times to work out an averageà 1. Using the same equipmentà 2. Measure the wire.à 3. Connecting everything together properly 4. Once set up do not disturb the experimentà 5. Make sure the multimeter is set to Ohmsà 6. Using the setting on the multimeter. If I wanted to get very precise results I could do the experiment another few times This is how I kept it a fair test:à If you change the length you must keep.à The wire the same width.à The same material. The same temperature. Prediction I predict the longer the wire the more power will be resisted. That is because in a longer piece of wire the electrons collide with the atoms. Obtaining Results Table Observations Analysing Graphs Evaluation Errors Possible Improvements.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
The Existence Of External Forces :: essays research papers
The Existence of External Forces à à à à à To determine whether a particular action was decided upon by an individual or whether the action was predetermined one must study its cause. In studying cause one finds that there are two types of causes those that are typified by natural laws, such as a dropped book falling to the ground, and those typified by the moral considerations of men. This distinction is important because it shows both that no man can control his environment contrary to the laws of natural or scientific laws, but neither are his actions completely out of his control. à à à à à The first type of cause we can consider as accepted facts, these would be the natural and scientific laws that all objects must obey. It is obviously false to assume that a man may walk through a tree or fly like a bird, but these things can be factors in the set of causes leading to an action. à à à à à The second type of cause is more difficult to define. It is made up of the past experience and perceptions of men, but more importantly it is the way in which men use these things. This type of cause is arrived at differently in everyone, and it cannot be measured, predicted, or understood as well as the other type. In fact it is often unable to be seen at all, but it must exist simply because the entire world or even the simple workings of one man's brain cannot be described completely using only the laws of nature. A complex moral decision is created in the mind of men by more that just a random or predictable set of electrical impulses, but by the not completely understood spiritual and psychological make-up of men. This type is the ââ¬Å"trueâ⬠cause of an action. à à à à à When one sees this combination of causes he must accept the idea of dualism. Dualism is the idea that there are two hemispheres of the universe, the physical, ordered and understood by science, and the spiritual, abstract and not understood. The spiritual hemisphere is the force that guides actions that cannot be explained solely by physical causes. While the moralistic cause may have more weight in the type of action, it cannot ever defy natural laws. For this reason both radical determinism and free will seem impossible. With this description given, to determine the amount of free will that a thing has, it is only necessary to see how that thing uses or is affected by the two types of causes. à à à à à Let us first consider man. Man is obviously the creature for which this
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Comparison Of Smes Between China And German Economics Essay
Nowadays the universe economic system has entered the epoch of planetary competition. Economic competition is far more intense than any old historical period, and its strength is turning really fast, so many SMEs face a crisis and a bad state of affairs. The Nobel Laureate in economic sciences, Stiglitz ( cite? ) pointed out that the current globalisation procedure is driven by the involvement of international companies, and it has exacerbated the inequality in the universe. When foreign endeavors enter one state, they frequently destroy local rivals and crush down the aspirations of local SMEs to develop their national industry. Chinese SMEs have 95 % of the entire figure of the national endeavors, and over 3/4 of the urban employed population working in SMEs. Statisticss besides show that SMEs in China are the most dynamic portion of its economic, involve about 65 % of the patented engineering, and more than 75 % of the engineering invention. 80 % of new merchandises are developed by SMEs. Big concern besides comes from the development of SMEs. There is no uncertainty the hereafter of China ââ¬Ës economic system to a greater extent dependant on the development of SMEs. Stiglitz besides pointed out that unemployment is more harmful than waste of resources, it is likely to destruct the full market economic system ( mention! ) , while the engine of making new occupations is SMEs. So, how can SMEs to cover with the challenges of globalisation? Possibly the German companies can supply us with the best illustration. The German professor of direction, Herman Simon started to analyze the German endeavors because he was asked such a hard job when he sing Harvard Business School: Germany ââ¬Ës top 500 endeavors, in the universe ranking public presentation, are non outstanding, so how can Germany go the universe top exporter for such a long clip, and how did Germany go a universe economic heavyweight. The ten old ages of research findings surprised him.The original German exporters every bit good as the pillar of the economic system is non those familiar companies like Siemens, Bayer, Mercedes-Benz, and so on, but some unknown SMEs such as Brita, Hauni, and Xilabulan. They focus on a peculiar industry, but far more in front in the international market than any other concern, such as production of Brita H2O filters which now have 85 % of the universe market. Most of these SMEs are non familiar to media and public, but they are the true title-holder exporters. There are 100s of those stealth title-holder companies in Germany. Do non believe that they are now little size concerns. For illustration, in the production of tropical fish provender, the Tetra company owns 60 % of the planetary market portion, .Although this is a niche merchandise, it has a turnover of 6 billion USD, and Tetra have wholly-owned subordinates in more than 100 states in the universe. The ground why these SMEs in Germany are little-known to people, is that they are largely non able and non willing to pass 1000000s in self-promotion, or they even intentionally avoid contact with the media in order to avoid excessively many trouble because it might increase the figure of rivals and impersonators. In drumhead, for the developing Chinese SMEs, by comparing the endeavors criterion, direction public presentation, fiscal intermediation and societal services, we should be able to sum up the differences between the two states and seek to derive experience for China.Methodology:Will utilize the methodological analysis of comparative surveies, statistic analyzing, inductive logic.Research inquiry:Differences of endeavors standard, direction public presentation, fiscal intermediation and societal services between China and German.aâ⬠¦ . Enterprises standard comparative survey between China and Germany.Standard of the Germans SMEs At present, the popular criterions for SMEs in Germany are the new commissariats for SMEs criterion introduced by the SME Research Center in Bonn and the European Union in 2003. The consequence of Standard Research from SME Research Center in Bonn is shown in Table 1 Table 1 The SME criterion of Germany and the European Unionaââ¬Ë? Firm size Employees ( No. of individual ) Gross saless per twelvemonth ( 10,000 of EURO ) Firm size Employees ( No. of individual ) Gross saless per twelvemonth ( 10,000 of EURO ) Assetss ( 10,000 of EURO ) Micro & lt ; 9 & lt ; 200 & lt ; 200 Small aâ⬠°Ã ¤9 & lt ; 100 Small 10~49 & lt ; 1000 & lt ; 1000 Medium 100~499 100~5000 Medium 50~249 & lt ; 5000 & lt ; 4300 Large aâ⬠°?500 aâ⬠°?5000 SMEs aâ⬠°Ã ¤250 aâ⬠°Ã ¤5000 aâ⬠°Ã ¤4300 Standard of the Chinese SMEsaââ¬Ëà µ Chinese SME criterion is introduced by the National Development and Reform Commission Ministry of Finance, National Bureau of Statistics survey in 2003 formulated the ââ¬Å" Probationary Regulations on Standards for SMEs â⬠, such as shown in table 2. Table 2 The SME criterion of chinaaââ¬Ëà µ Industries Firm size Employees ( No. of individual ) Gross saless per twelvemonth ( 10,000 of RMB/EURO ) Assetss ( 10,000 of RMB/EURO ) Industry Small & lt ; 300 & lt ; 3000/290 & lt ; 4000/387 Medium 300~2000 3000~30000/290~2900 4000~40000/387~3868 Construction Small & lt ; 600 & lt ; 3000/290 & lt ; 4000/387 Medium 600~3000 3000~30000/290~2900 Wholesaling Small & lt ; 100 & lt ; 3000/290 Medium 100~200 3000~30000/290~2900 Retail trade Small & lt ; 100 & lt ; 1000/97 Medium 100~500 1000~15000/97~1451 Transportation system Small & lt ; 500 & lt ; 3000/290 Medium 500~3000 3000~30000/290~2900 Postal services Small & lt ; 400 & lt ; 3000/290 Medium 400~1000 3000~30000/290~2900 Hotel & A ; providing Small & lt ; 400 & lt ; 3000/290 Medium 400~800 3000~15000/290~1541 3. Decision In drumhead, by comparing of the SMEs criterion between China and German can pull the undermentioned decisions: First, the SMEs criterion of China is different from Germany, except the criterion of figure of employees, with entire assets and gross revenues of three commonly are utilizing international indexs, industry indexs as standards for categorization of endeavors with Chinese features. In the standard demands of the seven industries, the primary industry and third industry is non included. The major difference between different industries is the figure of employees.aâ⬠¦? . Business direction public presentation comparing between China and Germany1. Business public presentation of Germany SMEs At the terminal of 2005, the figure of SMEs is 99.7 % aââ¬Ëà ¶of entire figure of endeavors in Germany has reached 33.8 million of gross revenues, in the terminal of 2004 micro-enterprises ( less than nine workers and gross revenues in 2 million euros or less ) ocuppy 81 % of SMEs, making 18.2 % of entire employment. By the terminal of 2005 the gross revenues of German SMEs achieved 39.1 % of entire, supplying 70.9 % of employment ; by the terminal 2004 the added value created 46.7 % , 51.5 % of investings, exports of 66.4 % .The development of SMEs in Germany has a clear difference between parts and industries. There is a rapid develop of west Germany SMEs. German SMEs has an absolute advantage in the agribusiness, forestry and piscaries, building, adjustment and catering industry. Among them, little and average endeavors occupy 94 % of all agricultural endeavors, 85 % of all building endeavors, adjustment and catering industry, 89 % , services 60 % .aââ¬Ëà ¶ 2. Business public presentation of Chinese SMEs Since 1997, SMEs have been turning quickly in China after authorities declared that the private sector is an of import portion for the state ââ¬Ës economic development. The figure of Small and medium endeavors in late 2006 range 42 million, busying more than 99 % of the entire figure of enterprisesaââ¬Ëà · . At the terminal of 2002 the figure of Micro-enterprises ( less than nine workers ) reached 23.5 million, busying 56 % of the full little and average endeavors. Among them, micro-enterprises create 26.8 % of employment for entire registered laboraââ¬Ë? . During the tenth five-years plan period, little and average industrial endeavors reached about 28 % mean one-year growing rate of value-added, created 60 % of concluding goods and services and about 50 % of taxaââ¬Ëà · . SMEs have become the chief channel for spread outing employment, supplying more than 75 % of urban occupations, and more than 80 % of discharged workers were re-employed in little and average endeavo rs, the bulk of migratory workers are working in little and average endeavors. A group of powerful SMEs explore the international market really actively. The information from the Ministry of Commerce shown that by the terminal of 2005, there is 88 % of endeavors investing is SMES in Africa aââ¬Ë? . Chinese SME occupied 68 % of exports in late 2005 aââ¬Ë? . The development of SMEs in China is besides evidently differences differences between parts and industries. SMEs are located in the eastern part, particularly the southeasterly coastal countries of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shandong, Shanghai and Beijing aââ¬Ë? . Harmonizing to information provided by ââ¬Å" China ââ¬Ës Economic Development Index for SMEs â⬠, the fastest improving industry is the power, gas and H2O production and supply sectors and the index of bettering is 66.76 % ; The second is the building industry, for 66.09 % ; and 3rd is information transmittal, computing machine services and package industry, which is 65.92 % ; and the last is the fabrication sector with 63.22 % . In 1993, the norm registered capital of little and average endeavors is RMB 286,000, in 1995 is RMB 40 million, in 2002 it grow to RMB 2.5 million aââ¬Ëà » . Because the deficiency of statistical informations for Chinese SMEs bankruptcy rate, there is a unsmooth estimation, bankruptcy rate of Chinese SMEs after the constitution in 3 to 5 old ages is every bit high as 50 % aââ¬Ëà » . Because deficiency of statistical informations of Chinese SMEs bankruptcy rate. A unsmooth estimation, bankruptcy rate of Chinese SMEs after the constitution in 3 to 5 old ages is every bit high as 50 % aââ¬Ëà » . 3. Decision In drumhead, through the comparative of little and average endeavors runing public presentation survey between China and Germany, the undermentioned decisions can be drawn. First, whether in the underdeveloped China, or in the developed Germany, little and average endeavors played a prima function in economic development, with the addition exports and make the new occupations. It stabilizes and be the hardcore for economic development and societal development. However, due to the particular background of China ââ¬Ës passage economic system, the SME absorb a big figure of discharged workers and excess rural labour force who fired by the state-owned endeavors. Regional is the 2nd ground for the differences between the development of SMEs in both states. The chief difference in Germany is because it divided into East and West. In China, it is because of the coastal countries and inland countries. Therefore, the development of little and average endeavors and regional degrees of economic development are closely linked. Third, due to the lower capital ratio, Chinese and German SMEs both have a high rate of bankruptcy.aâ⬠¦? . A Comparative Study of Chinese and German SME fiscal intermediation1. German SME funding The chief resource for SMEs loaning is from sedimentation Bankss, which is about 44.8 % within the entire loans, 20.3 % from the co-operative Bankss, 20.2 % from the private Bankss ( Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank and Postbank ) . This proportion of loaning does non alter much in the market portion for a long clip already. There is a direct relationship for the application of bank loans between the successful and the direction of the house. If the gross revenues are less than 100 1000000s euro, the rejection rate for the application of loans reaches 34.7 % . However, if the gross revenues are over 5000 million euro, the rejection rate is merely about 6.6 % .aââ¬Ë? Harmonizing to the study for the rejection of bank loans, 49.3 % of houses are unable to supply warrants or collateral, 46.8 % is because of the deficiency of free capital and there is 36 % for the alterations in banking policy.With the development of the capital market and the banking system in Germany, there are some alterations for funding within SMEs: ( 1 ) . the standardisation of first balcony funding reduces the cost and the proportion is increasing in the funding market. The German first balcony financing market becomes the 2nd largest market and the first is United Kingdom. With the addition of the first balcony funding, the houses are able to increase their ain capital ratios, thereby increasing the sum of external finance to broaden the beginnings of funding. ( 2 ) . the plus securitization and private capital investing has became the chief resources for the funding in German through the rise in capital market. CLOs: Collateralized Loan Obligations is issued by the bank for the plus securitization in SME. The German Reconstruction bank, KfW Bankengruppe, has developed PROMISE for comprehensive merchandise trading. This market in Germany developed quickly and the trading sum reached 20 billion euro for the first 6 months in 2006. The SME loan securitization market development will take the connexion between the traditional and modern banking establishment. This helps the SME ââ¬Ës funding and greatly heighten the liquidness, security of dealing and profitabiliy for Bankss. 2. Chinese SMEs Financing In the World Bank study about China ââ¬Ës investing environment, they compared with other Asiatic states and shown China ââ¬Ës SMEs are confronting a more serious recognition restraint. In 2000, single and private endeavors received short-run loans merely, by all fiscal establishments to 1 % . The proprietor of the portion of ain capital funding will be reduced as the graduated table of concern rise. Large-scale endeavors ( with figure of employees from 100 to 500 people ) funding from the proprietor ââ¬Ës ain financess accounted for 22 % ; but in less than 50 individuals is 45 % . If the proprietor ââ¬Ës ain financess and retained net incomes are added as a beginning of funding within the figure of employees is less than 52 little concerns and 67 % of the financess is from the endogenous funding ; in more than 100 big endeavors, the per centum is 57 % . In add-on, the successful rate of obtaining bank loans for the large-scale endeavors is clearly more than the little endeavors. If the bank loans and financess received from the rural recognition co-ops as a amount of intermediation of financess from fiscal establishments, there is merely 8 % for the little concerns get financing while big endeavors are 27 % .. aââ¬Ë? Professor Lin Hanchuan ( 2003 ) aââ¬Ë?conducted two studies for the current state of affairs of SMEs in 1998. The first study showed that 75 % of surveyed venture capital funding comes chiefly from self-financing ; acquire bank loans, finance companies accounted for 53.5 % of them state-owned endeavors accounted for 94 % . Bank loans from state-owned banking establishments in the bulk, there are a little figure of corporate endeavors received loans from rural recognition co-ops. And 25 % of private SMEs funding is from non-formal funding channels. The 2nd canvass for the first clip similar consequences, 55 % of the surveyed endeavors to capital derived from the ego, 24 % of the surveyed companies 50 % of the working capital come from self-financing, merely 9 % of endeavors to capital come from bank loans. China Industrial and Commercial Federation and the China Private Economy Research Committee make five probes in 1993,1995,1997,2000 and 2002. Self-financing is the chief signifier of capital funding for SMEs, accounting for 65.5 % , bank loan funding is 21 % aââ¬Ë? . In the 2002 study, 3258 was merely 23.4 % of SMEs surveyed by the funding Bankss and rural recognition co-ops. Obtaining bank loans to finance companies, 30 % of the endeavors get bank loans for less than RBM 10 million, 73.4 % of endeavors less than RBM 100 million. 53.8 % of the companies with ââ¬Å" trouble in obtaining loans â⬠are the obstruction to enterprise development, one of the most of import factor aââ¬â¢Ãâ . Chinese SMEs using for bank loans, faced with three ââ¬Å" favoritism â⬠: the ownership of favoritism, size of favoritism and favoritism in the part. Harmonizing to the standard corporate ownership for the types of endeavors, taking to the Bankss of the differential intervention of different ownership endeavors. With the increasing degrees of economic openness and regional favoritism, favoritism in ownership bit by bit replaced. In more developed countries, non-state-owned endeavors are more readily available for bank loans. Guangdong, for illustration, in 1999 for non-state economic system, portion of bank loans has exceeded the province economic system, accounting for 56 % in 2002 lifting to 65 % . Because of the size of SMEs is self-limited with the deficiency of applications for bank loans warrants and collateral, hence, the smaller the size of the endeavor are more hard for bank loans from Bankss and other formal fiscal establishments, fiscal intermediation, which resulted in the graduated table of favoritism in bank loans. Table 3 Loans for SMEs gained from bank when established Loan sum Sample proportion Sample endeavors Loan sum Sample proportion Sample endeavors & lt ; 0.5 3.66 35 30~50 11.84 113 0.5~1 2.41 23 50~100 11.74 113 1~5 13.42 128 100~200 4.51 43 5~10 11.74 112 200~500 15.51 148 10~15 3.04 29 500~1000 3.14 30 15~20 9.01 86 & gt ; 1000 3.46 33 20~30 6.05 62 Entire 100 954 SME loans among banking establishments in different and uneven development. For illustration, Sichuan Province, as of the terminal of 2007, three big state-owned commercial Bankss accounted for the state ââ¬Ës little concern loans little concern loans to 50.31 per centum, but merely the bank ââ¬Ës loans to 11.42 % ; while metropolis commercial Bankss and recognition bureau issued little concern loans accounted for 23.84 % , but it is the bank ââ¬Ës loan balance of 48.48 % aââ¬â¢? . Large state-owned commercial Bankss are merely developing micro-credit operations from the central office with the particular demands and more restrictive conditions, so the enthusiasm is non high. 3. Decision ( 1 ) there is widespread trouble in obtaining loans for SMEs, non merely is a passage economic system like China, that is, the economically developed in Germany every bit good. Endogenous funding is the chief beginning of SME funding, bank funding accounted for 26.3 % in Germany, but in China, this proportion is much smaller. ( 2 ) SMEs using for bank loans to the trouble is due chiefly to the deficiency of security or collateral, equity capital is unequal. However, in Germany, the banking sector SME loaning alterations are hard for particular grounds ; in China it is the ownership restraints. ( 3 ) funding merchandises offered by fiscal establishments in a individual, hard to run into the funding demands of SMEs in specific variegation. In China, fiscal establishments, the chief funding merchandises offered by bank loans. However, in Germany, in add-on to the traditional bank loan funding outside the capital, first balcony funding and securitization funding portion on the rise. ( 4 ) Germany there is a clear division of labour between Bankss, organizing the major banking establishments for SMEs, sedimentation Bankss and concerted Bankss. Local operation of these Bankss are specialised Bankss, has carried out the comparative advantages of SMEs. In China, about all of the banking establishments have developed little and average endeavors financing concern, nevertheless, big state-owned commercial Bankss and deficiency of motive. Fourth, China and Germany Comparative Study of the societal service system for SMEs SME development requires non merely fiscal intermediation of fiscal services, but besides a assortment of security, evaluations, advice, information and engineering, societal services. Social service system, the building and flawlessness is a requirement for rapid development of SMEs.aâ⬠¦? . Comparison of societal service between Chinese and Germany SMEs1. Germany ââ¬Ës societal service system for SMEs Germany ââ¬Ës societal service system for SMEs is comparatively healthy. Auditing organic structures, accounting houses and banking establishments provide SMEs with the chief information services. In Germany, the chief bank for SMEs, non merely in corporate finance has played a prima function, but besides provide SMEs with a assortment of confer withing, information, and assist them explicate a development program and other intermediary services besides play an unreplaceable function. German SME recognition warrant system for the development of early, early in 1954 set up its first guaranteed Bankss. Presently, in Germany, each province guaranteed at least one bank. After more than 50 old ages of development, Garanti Bank has established a sound recognition evaluation system, a major consideration factors such as corporate fiscal factors ( fiscal place, net incomes, etc. ) on their ain qualities ( director ââ¬Ës direction ability, concern history ) , enterprise development stat e of affairs ( merchandises, markets, etc. ) , and historical records ( recognition and non-compliance records, etc. ) . Garanti Bank secured rates at 1.75 % ~ 2.5 % , rate accommodations are chiefly based on the industry in which companies, merchandises and markets, risk-related. Germany guarantees bank loans to bank-specific recognition risk-sharing ratio of 8:2. Occurs when the secured bank loan losingss, the Government has to bear the loss of 65 % , the loaning bank to take hazards to 7 % , the security establishments to presume the hazard of 28 % . In add-on, the Garanti Bank asked to command the loss rate of 4 % or less, the excess by increasing the guaranteed rate, loss ratio or the Government to increase investing write-down, owned, etc.. At nowadays, single warrants Bankss mean loss rate of about 1 % . SMEs have to cut down costs borne by the administrative scrutiny and blessing. In 2003 the German authorities, harmonizing to a study undertaken in the endeavor 460 sorts of administrative scrutiny and blessing costs, borne by SMEs accounted for 80 % . SMEs in order to cut down the costs borne by the administrative scrutiny and blessing, the German authorities promulgated the ââ¬Å" cut down the load on SMEs jurisprudence â⬠. Among them, a really of import step is the criterion Quasi-oriented little and average endeavors to set up, alteration, confer withing services, systems and procedures and processs, to better and heighten services at a velocity and quality. In add-on, when the constitution of little and average endeavors by simplifying administrative scrutiny and blessing processs, set up an electronic enrollment processs to enable endeavors to put up every bit long as on-line enrollment can be completed within a few yearss. 2. China ââ¬Ës development of a societal service system for SMEs ( 1 ) Government better the societal service system for SMEs, the steps the Chinese authorities attaches great importance to the development of SMEs, the determination in the ââ¬Å" Eleventh Five-Year â⬠during the execution of the ââ¬Å" SME development undertakings. â⬠This is China ââ¬Ës SME development plan of action, including bettering the societal service system for SMEs and improves relevant Torahs and ordinances, heighten the ability of scientific discipline and engineering invention of SMEs in nine steps aââ¬Ë? . Laws and ordinances in the edifice of little and average endeavors, the Chinese authorities has promulgated the ââ¬Å" SME Promotion Law of The People ââ¬Ës Republic of China â⬠ââ¬Å" the State Council on Encouraging, Supporting and steering the person and private and other non-public economic development in a figure of sentiments â⬠, and formed a ââ¬Å" SME Promotion Law â⬠as the nucleus, the relevant supporting paperss to back up the publicity of SMEs and non-public economic development of Torahs, ordinances and policy model system to supply SMEs with a sound external environment for puting the foundation for the jurisprudence. The security system, China has started the pattern of SMEs recognition warrant in 1992, by 2006, the National SME recognition warrant establishments more than 1,000, a sum of 28.7 billion fund-raising, the cumulative sum of loan warrant 120 billion kwais, the cumulative security companies 5 10000.aââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬Å¡ In the proficient sup port for SMEs, the Chinese authorities chose Qingdao, Hefei and other metropoliss, combined with technological systems, established a city-backed, engineering invention services for SMEs, regional, professional engineering centre, while set uping and assorted types of technological invention and improved services. ( 2 ) the societal service system for SMEs, although the Chinese SMEs in the development of the societal service system has experienced from abrasion, from little to big rapid development, but still necessitate to foster better and hone. The chief jobs are: Servicess, higher costs. Banking Bureau in Sichuan SME study, the high cost of societal services is to forestall the funding of SMEs, a really of import ground. Small concerns in the procedure of using for bank loans may hold to pay, including audits, indirect appraisals, mortgage enrollment, security, notary, insurance, legal advice, recognition evaluation, concern enquiries, and other disbursals more than 10 points, its amalgamate disbursal ratio may be up to 10 % . Assessment and mortgage enrollment fees occupy a big proportion in bank loan. Mortgage registered in the duplicate of the enrollment, rating and fees, and charges required by the Government has non purely enforced and others are caused by extra direct cause of the high cost aââ¬â¢? . System is non perfect. Management of bank loans because of the high cost of a deficiency of societal recognition direction system, banking, industry and commercialism, revenue enhancement and other societal service bureaus have non yet set up a unified recognition direction system. Government in SME recognition warrant system to step in excessively much in the outgrowth of capital, operational construction and direction of many jobs. For illustration, many local authoritiess funded the constitution of fiscal security bureaus, on the one manus a erstwhile injection of financess, deficiency of compensation mechanism, warrant financess to little ; the other manus, the deficiency of commercial operation, can non fulfill the diversified demands of SMEs. Even in the U.S. , Japan and other large-scale government-funded national, policy loans guaranteed no more than 10 % of SME loans. Therefore, the SME policy entirely can non vouch security, but besides to play a private capital and commercial security function. 3. Decision ( 1 ) Germany ââ¬Ës societal system is sound and SME services, including accounting, confer withing, scrutinizing, information and other societal service bureaus. Banks non merely provide fiscal services to SMEs, but besides includes other information and consulting services. Chinese SMEs in the service of societal system, the building and betterment, the biggest job is how to better the warrant system for little and average endeavors. ( 2 ) The German authorities attaches great importance to the development of SMEs, but how the Government will play a back uping SME development, the two states have important differences. The German authorities wage attending to utilize of indirect, economic and legal agencies, such as revenue enhancement policy, through the national policy Bankss indirect fiscal support, to set up a incorporate information system, standardisation of the Government ââ¬Ës assorted administrative scrutiny and blessing systems and processs. In add-on, the German authorities by supplying more instruction and preparation chances and better the capacity of endeavor directors to accomplish long-run and sustainable development of SMEs. The Chinese authorities in advancing the development of SMEs in the greater usage of the direct administrative steps and intercessions. For illustration, fiscal investors to set up a recognition warrant system for little and average endeavors, direct operation and directio n of recognition warrant establishments, direct fiscal subsidies. ( 3 ) The German Government has set up export-oriented SMEs in specific administrative and societal service system. By the China Enterprise Evaluation Association in the ââ¬Å" export-oriented SMEs in the survey â⬠points out that China ââ¬Ës deficiency of specialised concern services for export-oriented societal system. In the surveyed endeavors, 51 % of export endeavors need to finance and consultative servicesaââ¬â¢? .aâ⬠¦Ã ¤ . Enlightenment1. Chinese SMEs are little, but employed more workers, this is the alone consequence of the development phases and conditions. Due to the passage of Economic and societal system, China ââ¬Ës SMEs faces an more particular development environment. To work out the specific jobs of SMEs development in China, we ââ¬Ëd break larning from international experience of other advanced, but besides need to considerate with the particular conditions of China. 2. Chinese SMEs criterions require timely updates and uninterrupted polish. 3. Chinese SMEs faced with the general trouble in obtaining loans, which are an of import beginning of funding. 4. Chinese SMEs warrants system for the commercial operations need imperative development. Guarantee bureaus need to set up a sound capital injection mechanism, modulate the investing of authorities financess and compensation mechanisms to accomplish the variegation of support beginnings. Learn from the successful experience of Germany, the debut of risk-sharing warrant establishments and compensation mechanisms. 5. The constitution of SMEs exporting to China ââ¬Ës societal system of professional services. With the uninterrupted development of China ââ¬Ës export-oriented economic system, export portion of gross national merchandise is lifting, it should better the export-oriented SMEs, including finance, and consulting, international operations required a assortment of particular services. The Government should put up specifically for the export-oriented SMEs, service platforms, and simplification of administrative scrutiny and blessing processs, hastening the blessing procedure. 6. Rationally specify the authorities ââ¬Ës function in SME development. International experience tells us that the Government should utilize economic and legal and other indirect means to cut down the direct administrative intercession and capital subsidy, thereby heightening the effectivity of policy execution to advance sustainable growing of SMEs.
Monday, January 6, 2020
Learn More About How Communication Media Has Evolved
Smart newspapermen of the time paid attention when the telegraph was invented. The New York Herald, the Sun and the Tribune had been founded recently. The proprietors of these newspapers saw that the telegraph was bound to affect all newspapers profoundly. How were the newspapers to cope with the situation and make use of the news that was coming in and would be coming in more and faster over the wires? Improved Newspaper Presses For one thing, the newspapers now needed better printing machinery. Steam-powered printing in America had begun. New printing presses were introduced in the United States by Robert Hoe at the same time as Samuel Morse was struggling to perfect the telegraph. Before steam power, newspapers printed in the United States used presses operated by hand. The New York Sun, the pioneer of cheap modern newspapers, was printed by hand in 1833, and four hundred papers an hour was the highest speed of one press. Robert Hoes double-cylinder, steam-driven printing press was an improvement, however, it was Hoes son that invented the modern newspaper press. In 1845, Richard March Hoe invented the revolving or rotary press letting newspapers print at rates of a hundred thousand copies an hour. Newspaper publishers now had the fast Hoe presses, cheap paper, could type cast by machinery, had stereotyping and the new process of making pictures by photoengraving replacing engraving on wood. However, the newspapers of 1885, still set up their type by the same method that Benjamin Franklin used to set up the type for The Pennsylvania Gazette. The compositor stood or sat at his case, with his copy before him, and picked the type up letter by letter until he had filled and correctly spaced a line. Then he would set another line, and so on, all with his hands. After the job was completed, the type had to be distributed again, letter by letter. Typesetting was slow and expensive. Linotype and Monotype This labor of manual typesetting was done away with by the invention of two intricate and ingenious machines. The linotype, invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler of Baltimore, and the monotype of Tolbert Lanston, a native of Ohio. However, the linotype became the favorite composing machine for newspapers. The Invention of the Typewriter Whileà newà technology for printing newspapers was being developed, another instrument for journalists was coming into existence, theà typewriter. Early Typewriters Alfred Ely Beach madeà a sort of typewriterà as early as 1847, but he neglected it for other things. His typewriter had many of the features of the modern typewriter, however, it lacked a satisfactory method ofà inkingà the types. In 1857, S. W. Francis of New York inventedà a typewriterà with a ribbon that was saturated with ink. Neither of these typewritersà wereà a commercial success. They were regarded merely as the toys of ingenious men. Christopher Latham Sholes The accredited father of the typewriter was Wisconsin newspaperman, Christopher Latham Sholes. After his printers went on strike, Sholes made a few unsuccessful attempts to invent a typesettingà machine. He then, in collaboration with another printer, Samuel Soule, invented a numberingà machine. A friend, Carlos Glidden saw this ingenious device and suggested that they should try to inventà a machineà that print letters. The three men, Sholes, Soule, and Glidden agreed to try to invent suchà a machine. None of them had studied the efforts of previous experimenters, and they made many errors which might have been avoided. Gradually, however, the invention took form and the inventors were granted patents in June and July of 1868. However, their typewriter was easily broken and made mistakes. Investor, James Densmore bought a share in the machine buying out Soule and Glidden. Densmore furnished the funds to build about thirty models in succession, each a little better than the preceding. The improved machine was patented in 1871, and the partners felt that they were ready to begin manufacturing. Sholes Offers the Typewriter to Remington In 1873, James Densmore and Christopher Sholes offered their machine to Eliphalet Remington and Sons, manufacturers of firearms and sewing machines. In Remingtons well-equipped machineà shopsà the typewriter was tested, strengthened, and improved. The Remingtons believed there would be a demand for the typewriter and offered to buy the patents, paying either a lumpà sum,à or a royalty. Sholes preferred the ready cash and received twelve thousand dollars, while Densmore chose the royalty and received a million and a half. The Invention of the Phonograph The telegraph, the press, and the typewriter were agents of communication for the written word. The telephone was an agent for the spoken word. Another instrument for recording sound and reproducing it was the phonograph (record player). In 1877,à Thomas Alva Edisonà completed his firstà phonograph. The phonograph worked by translating the air vibrations created by the human voice into minute indentations on a sheet of tinfoil placed over a metallic cylinder, and the machine could then reproduce the sounds which had caused the indentations. The record wore out after a few reproductions, however, and Edison was too busy to develop his idea further until later. Other did. Phonograph machinesà were invented under a variety of different names, however, all reproduced with wonderful fidelity the human voice, in speech or song, and the tones of either a single instrument or a whole orchestra. Through these machines, good music was brought to those who could hear it in no other way. The Camera and Photography The last half century of the 1800s saw great advances in photography and photoengraving. While the first experiments in photography happened in Europe,à Samuel Morse, introduced photography to America, in particular to his friend John Draper. Draper had a part in the perfection of theà dry plateà (the first negatives) and was one of theà first photographers toà doà portrait photography. George Eastman A great inventor inà photographicà technology wasà George Eastmanà from Rochester, New York. In 1888,à George Eastmanà introduced aà new camera, which he called Kodak, and with it the sales slogan: You press the button, we do the rest. Theà first Kodakà camera was pre-loaded with a roll of sensitized paper (film) that could take a hundred pictures.à A film rollà that could be sent away for developing and printing (at first the entire camera was sent). Eastman had been an amateur photographer when the hobby was both expensive and tedious. After inventing a method of making dry plates, he began to manufacture them as early as 1880 before inventedà roll film. After the first Kodak, there came other cameras filled with rolls of sensitized nitro-cellulose film. The invention of cellulose film (that replaced the glass dry plate) revolutionized photography. Both Reverend Hannibal Goodwin and George Eastman patented nitro-cellulose film, however, after a court battle Goodwins patent was upheld as being first. Theà Eastman Kodak Companyà introduced the first film cartridge which could be inserted or removed without the need of a dark room, that created a boom in the market for amateur photographers. The Birth of Motion Pictures In the development ofà Thomas Alva Edisonà played a large part. Edison had seen a crude system made of Henry Heyl of Philadelphia. Heyl used glass plates fixed to the circumference of a wheel, each plate rotated in front of a lens. This method of pictures in motions was slow and expensive. Edison after seeing the Heyl show, and after experimenting with other methods decided that a continuous tape-like strip of film needed to be used. He invented the first practical motion picture camera and with the cooperation ofà George Eastmanà started producing the new tape-like film, giving birth to the modern motion picture industry.à The motion picture projectorà was invented to show what the new camera and film captured. Other inventors, such as Paul in England andà Lumiereà in France, produced other types of projecting machines, which differed in some mechanical details. Public Reaction to Motion Pictures Whenà the motion pictureà was shown in the United States, the audiences were amazed. Popular actors moved from stage into the movies. In the small town, early movie theaters were often converted storeroom, and in the cities, some of the largest and most attractive theaters converted into movie theaters, and new theaters were specially built. The Eastman Company soon manufactured about ten thousand miles of film every month. Besides offering amusement, the new moving pictures were used for important news events, historical events could now be visually preserved for posterity.
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Crime Trends And The Consumption Of Crime - 1799 Words
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of crimeâ⬠related commodities such as security alarms, crime related television programs, and general merchandise. This essay will explore the commodification of crime by critically examining rising crime rates, increasing sales of crimeâ⬠associated and targeted products during the period when crime increases only slightly are explained as capitalism s ability to form commodities from both social problems and deviance. Using secondary data, this essay will describe these crime trends and the consumption of crime commodities . Although the media quite clearly contribute to increasing concerns about victimization while crime was stable, the process of commodity exchange for crime goods is far from simply a mediaâ⬠induced phenomenon . This essay uses a critical approach to analyse these conflicting developments and will attempt to show the commodification of crime is exploited by capitalism with particula r focus on the commodification of sex crimes. Commodification refers to the transformation of relationships into commercial relationships, relationships of buying and selling. Commodification expresses a concept that is central to Marxââ¬â¢s understanding of how capitalism develops. Marx defines commodification as ââ¬Å"an extension of the market into spheres of life previously not organized by market relationsâ⬠.Research shows the mass media; the music industry and many retailers generate huge profits from theShow MoreRelatedSocial Norms Determine What We Think About The Behaviors Of People981 Words à |à 4 Pagesglamorized by the constant trend of the use of alcohol. Music videos, television shows, movies, and commercial promote that joy of being rich and famous is the leisure of drinking alcohol. More music artist has promoted their preferred brand of alcohol and even made their own alcohol. Popular shows the fun it is to be drunk and this is brain washing to our youth. The popular kids drink these popular brand o f alcohol. Alcohol is legal and cannot be monitored for consumption. It is the responsibilityRead MoreThe Illegal Drug Business1361 Words à |à 5 Pagesin the types of drugs that were available on the open market for the general public. With an increase in the consumption of alcohol and drugs such as opium became so much visible that it had began to affect the social norms of the American culture, the government of the United States of America established that it was the duty of the state to bring into a limit or control the consumption of such drugs. At the turn of the twentieth century, a few years before the World War One began, an InternationalRead MoreIndustrial Revolution and the Crime Conundrum Essay1616 Words à |à 7 PagesIndustrial Revolution and the Crime Conundrum The Industrial Revolution was a period of great change; all through out the world people were flocking in hundreds upon thousands out of the villages and into the city. In Britain the population shot up from ââ¬Å"10 million in 1750 to 42 million in 1900â⬠(Crime and Punishment, par 1). Life in these cities was not only new, but also down right difficult to adjust to, people lived in overcrowded housing, disease was everywhere, and working conditions wereRead MoreCrime And The Criminal Justice System1561 Words à |à 7 Pages Introduction: Over the past 30 years, crime has become a major issue of public concern, of political discussion and action, often intemperate and not likely to reduce crime, and of major public expenditure. Despite its salience in public arena, very little is known about the factors driving the crime trend, and the knowledge base is too limited to support intelligent forecasts of the direction in which crime rates are moving, especially when changing direction. DevelopingRead MoreThe Media And The Criminal Justice System Essay1260 Words à |à 6 PagesThe media plays the role as entertaining and a source of information to its viewers, however, with the current crime trends, most viewers have the perceptions that our criminal justice system is lacking in areas of proper sentencing and protecting the viewers. All this is based upon what we see in the media is the information reliable or not? I say this because of hearing about news personality lying about their experience only to booster the netwo rks rating. When the criminal justice system hasRead MoreInternational Criminal Justice Trends1122 Words à |à 5 Pages Introduction Crime has continually evolved thus becoming more complicated especially due to technological developments. The other factors that have contributed to crime complexity includes demographic changes for males below 30 years of age which is a crime-prone age limit; and macro-economic scales that include the unemployment rate, consumers spending power and economic stability of the region. These factors revolve aroundRead MoreCesare Beccaria, An Italian Scholar Born997 Words à |à 4 Pagesproportionality between crime and punishment. To make punishment more legitimate, he argued that the punishment given to the criminal should match the crime to deter criminals rather than using punishment that sought revenge (McLaughlin Muncie 2013, p. 6). Proportionate punishment meant that the punishment should fit the crime and could be explained in a logical and ethical manner. In Medieval periods prior to Beccaria, punishments were disproportionate, arbitrary, random and did not fit a crime but servedRead MoreDifficulties Involved in Defining and Measuring Crime and Deviance1049 Words à |à 5 Pagesthe problems between crime and deviance, what counts as crime and deviance and how it varies with place and time. It will include the difference and similarities and give examples of defining crime and deviance. Finally the essay moves on to looking at how to identify why official statistics do not reflect in todayââ¬â¢s society and may not be totally accurate. Crime is usually looked upon as an infringement of criminal law where as deviance has a vast and wider approach to crime and is consequentlyRead MoreCausal Essay904 Words à |à 4 PagesProhibition of drugs and alcohol causes crime. Ostrowski a political analyst from the Cato institute, states that drug laws greatly increase the price of illegal drugs, often forcing users to steal to get the money to obtain them. Although difficult to estimate the black market prices of heroin and cocaine, these drugs appear to be many times greater than their pharmaceutical prices. For example, a hospital-dispensed dose of morphine (a drug from which heroin is relatively easily derived) costsRead MoreDo not Lower the Legal Drinking Age825 Words à |à 3 Pagesquestion about the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Through the years of Prohibition halting the sale, shipping, and ingestion of alcohol and the constitutional acts delegating who is accurately fit to drink. Todayââ¬â¢s controversy is a lot less infringing on personal rights. Itââ¬â¢s regarding whether the legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. This has been a huge controversy geared exclusively towards college students due to the fact that alcohol consumption at universities
Saturday, December 21, 2019
A Book Report On The Death Of Jesus Christ - 708 Words
Chyna Copeland Mr. Martin New Testament Book Report 30 January 2017 ââ¬Å"There is no one who does not sinâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Christianity 85). Man has gone astray and turned to our own ways. Sin can be described as trespassing over a boundary or failing to keep the law. One terrible result of sin is that it corrupts our relationship with God. ââ¬Å" the wages of sin is deathâ⬠. (Christianity 98). This is talking about the spiritual death of not going to heaven; the eternal separation from God. God promised those who followed and believed his word and action they would be given a reward. The reward was the pathway to heaven. If we deliberately reject Jesus Christ, we will have no other option but eternal death. In Jesus we have eternal life. Sin alienates andâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦And this incredible inward transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who isnââ¬â¢t born new cannot see the kingdom of God. It is also very vital that we accept the Lord into our hearts so that not only He may cleanse us, but to use us in a way to glorify His Holy name. When we commit ourselves to Him, God sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts in order to make our bodies a temple. This gets us closer to Him building a personal relationship rather than just a church membership. God wants us to engage spiritually and be fruitful unto others. ââ¬Å"Lord, Let me be a channel for YOUR peace, a window for Your light to shine through to everyone I meet. Lord, touch me where I need the touch the most. Let more people experience the REAL YOU, Who You really are. God, Use my little life as a focus for YOUR infinite possibilities.â⬠(Shared by craig with gratitude to John Stott). In conclusion, Godââ¬â¢s unconditional mercy and love saved us from being condemned to a spiritual death. He sent His son to earth to live as a man and die on a cross for our sins. Jesus was resurrected and we were washed free of our sins. His blood brings us out of exile and reconciles us to God. God shows his initiation in the fact that he takes ac tion before we can even think of it. Since the beginning of time God has been seeking us. Our relationship with God is more than just being a consistent church member. It is a personal relationship that isShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of The Symbol System Of The Msm Liturgy On Holy Friday1574 Words à |à 7 Pages1.0 Introduction Ritual can be defined as a religious or solemn ceremony which is made up of a sequence of actions performed in order to achieve a particular outcome. The purpose of this ethnographic report is to examine the effectiveness of the symbol system of the MSM liturgy in terms of the ritual purpose and the extent of the reflection on Christian stories and beliefs of the Easter Triduum. This case study aims to analyse the level of engagement and understanding in the community of the symbolRead MoreThe Master Plan of Evangelism Essay1635 Words à |à 7 PagesLiberty Baptist Theological Seminary Book Review: The Master Plan of Evangelism Submitted to: Dr. Ebele Adioye In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course: Intercultural Communication and Engagement GLST 650 By: Anthony Ashoori ID # 86803 Date: July 6, 2014 Table of Contents Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Summary-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Read MoreThe Resurrection Of Jesus Christ1168 Words à |à 5 PagesThe resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most debated issues throughout history. Christians place their trust in a resurrected Christ for salvation and a promise of eternal life. If the resurrection never happened, Christianity is a lie and people have been mislead for generations. On the other hand if the resurrection is true, Christianity is true also. This issue is of extreme importance because oneââ¬â¢s soul is at stake. If all the claims that Christians make for the resurrection are trueRead MoreHolocaust : The Dead Bodies Of Jews1584 Words à |à 7 Pagescommunity in that Region. This social norm has all started when Adolph Hitler came into power he started to mass murder the Jews and several other races until the he died. According to Holocast.com, six million Jews were killed in concentration camps and death camps constructed by Nazi Germany regime to persecute the Jews, Slavs, and other races. Sources ââ¬Å"Holocaustâ⬠say that ââ¬Å"To the anti-Semitic Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Jews were an inferior race, an alien threat to German racial purity and communityâ⬠Read MoreThe Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance700 Words à |à 3 PagesThe Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts sheds light on the ministry gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. When reading the Book of Acts many of the readers will be enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul. TheRead MoreThe Resurrection Of The Christ1325 Words à |à 6 Pagesrelates of how Christ appeared to his poignant, wistful, and bewildered disciples and followers and convinced them o f his Resurrection. Every account agrees that the risen Lord was no phantom or hallucination. He was real to his disciples as they were to each other. The Jesus of Nazareth who died on the Cross was in truth the Christ who rose again. In going through these accounts, we learn of three imperatives that spring from the Resurrection of the Christ. Firstly, Jesus Christ assured his disciplesRead MoreThe Gospel Of Judas, Tell Judas1167 Words à |à 5 PagesA Gospel is a religious document that describes Jesusââ¬â¢ life from when he was born, until death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus, himself, had 12 disciples, whom advised him and later grew to the name, ââ¬ËThe 12 Apostlesââ¬â¢. Those of whom Jesusââ¬â¢ call his Apostles (Students) were: Simon (Named Peter), Andrew (ââ¬ËPetersââ¬â¢ brother), James (Son of Zamebee), John (Jamesââ¬â¢ brother), Phillip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (The Tax Collector), James (Son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (The Canan ean) andRead MoreThe Gospels Of The New Testament1272 Words à |à 6 Pagesaspects of Jesusââ¬â¢ earthly mission. The Gospel of Matthew Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the Son of David In addition, the Fourth Gospel introduce a greater degree of testimonies ââ¬Å"that Jesus is the divine Son of God and prophesied Messiah.â⬠The Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke consist of many parallel material whereas 90 percent of Johnââ¬â¢s gospel is unique. The Gospel of Mark The two major themes in the Gospel of Mark are Jesus, the Son of God and Jesus, the King. The book of MarkRead MoreExegesis : The Martyrdom Of Stephen1744 Words à |à 7 Pages1 Exegesis The Martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:3) The death of Stephen in Acts chapters seven and eight is an interesting passage that can leave readers quite perplexed ââ¬â so much takes place in such a short narrative. Stephenââ¬â¢s martyrdom bears an uncanny similarity to the death of Christ in Luke chapter twenty-three; it seems as if the Greek-speaking Jews that condemned Stephen are the same as those who were in favor of executing Christ. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this passage thoughRead MoreThe Resurrection Of Jesus : Focal Point Of Christianity1301 Words à |à 6 PagesTHE RESURRECTION OF JESUS: FOCAL POINT OF CHRISTIANITY CONTENTS I. Introduction â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦...3 II. A Historic Event â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦........................4 A. As a Symbol or Figure of Speech â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦.......5 B. The Empty Tomb â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦.6 III. New Testament Accounts â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦..8 A. Jesus Died by Crucifixion â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦........................8 B. The Disciples of Christ were Convinced that He Resurrected â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦
Friday, December 13, 2019
Employment and Unemployment in the 1930s Free Essays
string(32) " unemployment on wage rigidity\." The Great Depression is to economics what the Big Bang is to physics. As an event, the Depression is largely synonymous with the birth of modern macroeconomics, and it continues to haunt successive generations of economists. With respect to labor and labor markets, these facts evidently include wage rigidity, persistently high unemployment rates, and long-term joblessness. We will write a custom essay sample on Employment and Unemployment in the 1930s or any similar topic only for you Order Now Traditionally, aggregate time series have provided the econometric grist for distinguishing explanations of the Great Depression. Recent research on labor markets in the 1930s, however, has shifted attention from aggregate to disaggregate time series and towards microeconomic evidence. This shift in focus is motivated by two factors. First, disaggregated data provide many more degrees of freedom than the decade or so of annual observations associated with the depression, and thus may prove helpful in distinguishing macroeconomic explanations. Second, disaggregation has revealed aspects of economic behavior hidden in the time series but which may be essential to their proper interpretation and, in any case, are worthy of study in their own right. Although the substantive findings of recent research are too new to judge their permanent significance, I believe that the shift towards disaggregated analysis is an important contribution. The paper begins by reviewing the conventional statistics of the United States labor market during the Great Depression and the paradigms to explain them. It then turns to recent studies of employment and unemployment using disaggregated data of various types. The paper concludes with discussions of research on other aspects of labor markets in the 1930s and on a promising source of microdata for future work. My analysis is confined to research on the United States; those interested in an international perspective on labor markets might begin with Eichengreen and Hattonââ¬â¢s chapter in their edited volume, Interwar Unemployment in International Perspective, and the various country studies in that volume. I begin by reviewing two standard series of unemployment rates, Stanley Lebergottââ¬â¢s and Michael Darbyââ¬â¢s, and an index of real hourly earnings in manufacturing compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The difference between Lebergottââ¬â¢s and Darbyââ¬â¢s series, which is examined later in the paper, concerns the treatment of persons with so-called ââ¬Å"work reliefâ⬠jobs. For Lebergott, persons on work relief are unemployed, while Darby counts them as employed. Between 1929 and 1933 the unemployment rate increased by over 20 percentage points, according to the Lebergott series, or by 17 percentage points, according to Darbyââ¬â¢s series. For the remainder of the decade, the unemployment rate stayed in, or hovered around, double digits. On the eve of Americaââ¬â¢s entry into World War Two, between 9. and 14. 6 percent of the labor force was out of work, depending on how unemployment is measured. In addition to high levels of unemployment, the 1930s witnessed the emergence of widespread and persistent long-term unemployment (unemployment durations longer than one year) as a serious policy problem. According to a Massachusetts state census taken in 1934, fully 63 percent of unemployed persons had been unemployed for a year or more. Similar amounts of long-term unemployment were observed in Philadelphia in 1936 and 1937. Given these patterns of unemployment, the behavior of real wages has proven most puzzling. Between 1929 and 1940 annual changes in real wages and unemployment were positively correlated. Real wages rose by 16 percent between 1929 and 1932, while the unemployment rate ballooned from 3 to 23 percent. Real wages remained high throughout the rest of the decade, although unemployment never dipped below 9 percent, no matter how it is measured. From this information, the central questions appear to be: Why did unemployment remain persistently high throughout the decade? How can unemployment rates in excess of 10 to 20 percent be reconciled with the behavior of real wages, which were stable or increasing? One way of answering these questions is to devise aggregative models consistent with the time series, and I briefly review these attempts later in the paper. Before doing so, however, it is important to stress that the aggregate statistics are far from perfect. No government agency in the 1930s routinely collected labor force information analogous to that provided by todayââ¬â¢s Current Population Survey. The unemployment rates just discussed are constructs, the differences between intercensal estimates of labor force participation rates and employment-to-population ratios. Because unemployment is measured as a residual, relatively small changes in the labor force or employment counts can markedly affect the estimated unemployment rate. The dispute between Darby and his critics over the labor force classification of persons on work relief is a manifestation of this problem. Although some progress has been made on measurement issues, there is little doubt that further refinements to the aggregate unemployment eries would be beneficial. Stanley Lebergott has critically examined the reliability of BLS wage series from the 1930s. The BLS series drew upon a fixed group of manufacturing establishments reporting for at least two successive months. Lebergott notes several biases arising from this sampling method. Workers who were laid off, he claims, were less productive and had lower wages t han average. Firms that went out of business were smaller, on average, than firms that survived, and tended to have lower average wages. In addition, the BLS oversampled large firms, and Lebergott suspects that large firms were more adept at selectively laying off lower- productivity labor; more willing to deskill, that is, reassign able employees to less-skilled jobs; and more likely to give able employees longer work periods. A rough calculation suggests that accounting for these biases would produce an aggregate decline in nominal wages between 1929 and 1932 as much as 48 percent larger than that measured by the BLS series. Although the details of Lebergottââ¬â¢s calculation are open to scrutiny, the research discussed elsewhere in the paper suggests that he is correct about the existence of biases in the BLS wage series. For much of the period since World War Two, most economists blamed persistent unemployment on wage rigidity. You read "Employment and Unemployment in the 1930s" in category "Papers" The demand for labor was a downward sloping function of the real wage but since nominal wages were insufficiently flexible downward, the labor market in the 1930s was persistently in disequilibrium. Labor supply exceeded labor demand, with mass unemployment the unfortunate consequence. Had wages been more flexible, this viewpoint holds, employment would have been restored and Depression averted. The frontal attack on the conventional wisdom was Robert E. Lucas and Leonard Rapping. The original Lucas-Rapping set-up continued to view current labor demand as a negative function of the current real wage. Current labor supply was a positive function of the real wage and the expected real interest rate, but a negative function of the expected future wage. If workers expect higher real wages in the future or a lower real interest rate, current labor supply would be depressed, employment would fall, unemployment rise, and real wages increase. Lucas and Rapping offer an unemployment equation, relating the unemployment rate to actual versus anticipated nominal wages, and actual versus anticipated price levels. Al Rees argued that the Lucas-Rapping model was unable to account for the persistence of high unemployment coincident with stable or rising real wages. Lucas and Rapping conceded defeat for the period 1933 to 1941, but claimed victory for 1929 to 1933. As Ben Bernanke pointed out, however, their victory rests largely on the belief that expected real interest rates fell between 1929 and 1933, while ââ¬Å"ex post, real interest rates in 1930-33 were the highest of the centuryâ⬠. Because nominal interest rates fell sharply between 1929 and 1933, whether expected real rates fell hinges on whether deflation ââ¬â which turned out to be considerable ââ¬â was unanticipated. Recent research by Steven Cecchetti suggests that the deflation was, at least in part, anticipated, which appears to undercut Lucas and Rappingââ¬â¢s reply. In a controversial paper aimed at rehabilitating the Lucas-Rapping model, Michael Darby redefined the unemployment rate to exclude persons who held work relief jobs with the Works Progress and Work Projects Administrations (the WPA) or other federal and state agencies. The convention of the era, followed by Lebergott, was to count persons on work relief as unemployed. According to Darby, however, persons with work relief jobs were ââ¬Å"employedâ⬠by the government: ââ¬Å"From the Keynesian viewpoint, labor voluntarily employed on contracyclical â⬠¦ government projects should certainly be counted as employed. On the search approach to unemployment, a person who accepts a job and withdraws voluntarily from the activity of search is clearly employed. â⬠The exclusion of persons on work relief drastically lowers the aggregate unemployment rate after 1935. In addition to modifying the definition of unemployment, Darby also redefined the real wage to be the average annual earnings of full-time employees in all industries. With these changes, the fit of the Lucas-Rapping unemployment equation is improved, even for 1934 to 1941. However, Jonathan Kesselman and N. E. Savin later showed that the improved fit was largely the consequence of Darbyââ¬â¢s modified real wage series, not the revised unemployment rate. Thus, for the purpose of empirically testing the Lucas-Rapping model, the classification of WPA workers as employed or unemployed is not crucial. Returning to the questions posed above, New Deal legislation has frequently been blamed for the persistence of high unemployment and the perverse behavior of real wages. In this regard, perhaps the most important piece of legislation was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of 1933. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), created by the NIRA, established guidelines that raised nominal wages and prices, and encouraged higher levels of employment through reductions in the length of the workweek (worksharing). An influential study by Michael Weinstein econometrically analyzed the impact of the NIRA on wages. Using aggregate monthly data on hourly earnings in manufacturing, Weinstein showed that the NIRA raised nominal wages directly through its wage codes and indirectly by raising prices. The total impact was such that ââ¬Å"[i]n the absence of the NIRA, average hourly earnings in manufacturing would have been less than thirty-five cents by May 1935 instead of its actual level of almost sixty cents (assuming unemployment to have been unaltered)â⬠. It is questionable, however, whether the NIRA really this large an impact on wages. Weinstein measured the direct effect of the codes by comparing monthly wage changes during the NIRA period (1933-35) with wage changes during the recovery phase (1921-23) of the post-World War One recession (1920-21), holding constant the level of unemployment and changes in wholesale prices. Data from the intervening years (1924-1932) or after the NIRA period were excluded from his regression analysis (p. 52). In addition, Weinsteinââ¬â¢s regression specification precludes the possibility that reductions in weekly hours (worksharing), some of which occurred independently of the NIRA, had a positive effect on hourly earnings. A recent paper using data from the full sample period and allowing for the effect of worksharing found a positive but much smaller impact of the NIRA on wages (see the discussion of Bernankeââ¬â¢s work later in the paper). Various developments in neo-Keynesian macroeconomics have recently filtered into the discussion. Martin Baily emphasizes the role of implicit contracts in the context of various legal and institutional changes during the 1930s. Firms did not aggressively cut wages when unemployment was high early in the 1930s because such a policy would hurt worker morale and the firmââ¬â¢s reputation, incentives that were later reinforced by New Deal legislation. Efficiency wages have been invoked in a provocative article by Richard Jensen. Beginning sometime after the turn of the century large firms slowly began to adopt bureaucratic methods of labor relations. Policies were ââ¬Å"designed to identify and keep the more efficient workers, and to encourage other workers to emulate them. â⬠Efficiency wages were one such device, which presumably contributed to stickiness in wages. The trend towards bureaucratic methods accelerated in the 1930s. According to Jensen, firms surviving the initial downturn used the opportunity to lay off their least productive workers but a portion of the initial decline in employment occurred among firms that went out of business. Thus, when expansion occurred, firms had their pick of workers who had been laid off. Personnel departments used past wage histories as a signal, and higher-wage workers were a better risk. Those with few occupational skills, the elderly (who were expensive to retrain) and the poorly educated faced enormous difficulties in finding work. After 1935 the ââ¬Å"reserve armyâ⬠of long-term unemployed did not exert much downward pressure on nominal wages because employers simply did not view the long-term unemployed as substitutes for the employed at virtually any wage. A novel feature of Jensenââ¬â¢s argument is its integration of microeconomic evidence on the characteristics of the unemployed with macroeconomic evidence on wage rigidity. Other circumstantial evidence is in its favor, too. Productivity growth was surprisingly strong after 1932, despite severe weakness in capital investment and a slowdown in innovative activity. The rhetoric of the era, that ââ¬Å"higher wages and better treatment of labor would improve labor productivityâ⬠, may be the correct explanation. If the reserve army hypothesis were true, the wages of unskilled workers, who were disproportionately unemployed, should have fallen relative to the wages of skilled and educated workers, but there is no indication that wage differentials were wider overall in the 1930s than in the 1920s. It remains an open question, however, whether the use of efficiency wages was as widespread as Jensen alleges, and whether efficiency wages can account empirically for the evolution of productivity growth in the 1930s. In brief, the macro studies have not settled the debate over the proper interpretation of the aggregate statistics. This state of affairs has much to do with the (supreme) difficulty of building a consensus macro model of the depression economy. But it is also a consequence of the level of aggregation at which empirical work has been conducted. The problem is partly one of sample size, and partly a reflection of the inadequacies of discussing these issues using the paradigm of a representative agent. This being, the case I turn next to disaggregated studies of employment and unemployment. In a conventional short-run aggregate production function, the labor input is defined to be total person-hours. For the postwar period, temporal variation in person-hours is overwhelmingly due to fluctuations in employment. However, for the interwar period, variations in the length of the workweek account for nearly half of the monthly variance in the labor input. Declines in weekly hours were deep, prolonged, and widespread in the 1930s. The behavior of real hourly earnings, however, may have not have been independent of changes in weekly hours. This insight motivates Ben Bernankeââ¬â¢s analysis of employment, hours, and earnings in eight pre-World War Two manufacturing industries. The (industry- specific) supply of labor is described by an earnings function, which gives the minimum weekly earnings required for a worker to supply a given number of hours per week. In Bernankeââ¬â¢s formulation, the earnings function is convex in hours and also discontinuous at zero hours (the discontinuity reflects fixed costs of working or switching industries). Production depends separately on the number of workers and weekly hours, and on nonlabor inputs. Firms are not indifferent ââ¬Å"between receiving one hour of work from eight different workers and receiving eight hours from one worker. A reduction in product demand causes the firm to cut back employment and hours per week. The reduction in hours means more leisure for workers, but less pay per week. Eventually, as weekly hours are reduced beyond a certain point, hourly earnings rise. Further reductions in hours cannot be matched one for one by reductions in weekly earnings. But, when hourly earnings increase, the re al wage then appears to be countercyclical. To test the model, Bernanke uses monthly, industry-level data compiled by the National Industrial Conference Board covering the period 1923 to 1939. The specification of the earnings function (describing the supply of labor) incorporates a partial adjustment of wages to prices, while the labor demand equation incorporates partial adjustment of current demand to desired demand. Except in one industry (leather), the industry demand for workers falls as real product wages rise; industry demands for weekly hours fall as the marginal cost to the firm of varying weekly hours rises; and industry labor supply is a positive function of weekly earnings and weekly hours. The model is used to argue that the NIRA lowered weekly hours and raised weekly earnings and employment, although the effects were modest. In six of the industries (the exceptions were shoes and lumber), increased union influence after 1935 (measured with a proxy variable of days idled by strikes) raised weekly earnings by 10 percent or more. Simulations revealed that allowing for full adjustment of nominal wages to prices resulted in a poor description of the behavior of real wages, but no deterioration in the modelââ¬â¢s ability to explain employment and hours variation. Whatever the importance of sticky nominal wages in explaining real wage behavior, the phenomenon ââ¬Å"may not have had great allocative significanceâ⬠for employment. In a related paper, Bernanke and Martin Parkinson use an expanded version of the NICB data set to explore the possibility that ââ¬Å"short-run increasing returns to laborâ⬠or procyclical labor productivity, characterized co-movements in output and employment in the 1930s. Using their expanded data set, Bernanke and Parkinson estimate regressions of the change in output on the change in labor input, now defined to be total person-hours. The coefficient of the change in the labor input is the key parameter; if it exceeds unity, then short-run increasing returns to labor are present. Bernanke and Parkinson find that short-run increasing returns to labor characterized all but two of the industries under study (petroleum and leather). The estimates of the labor coefficient are essentially unchanged if the sample is restricted to just the 1930s. Further, a high degree of correlation (r = 0. 9) appears between interwar and postwar estimates of short-run increasing returns to labor for a matched sample of industries. Thus, the procyclical nature of labor productivity appears to be an accepted fact for both the interwar and postwar periods. One explanation of procyclical productivity, favored by real business cycle theorists, emphasizes technology shocks. Booms are periods in which technological change is unusually brisk, and labor supply increases to take advantage of the higher wages induced by temporary gains in productivity (caused by the outward shift in production functions). In Bernanke and Parkinsonââ¬â¢s view, however, the high correlation between the pre- and post-war estimates of short-run increasing returns to labor poses a serious problem for the technological shocks explanation. The high correlation implies that the ââ¬Å"real shocks hitting individual industrial production functions in the interwar period accounted for about the same percentage of employment variation in each industry as genuine technological shocks hitting industrial production functions in the post-war periodâ⬠. However, technological change per se during the Depression was concentrated in a few industries and was modest overall. Further, while real shocks (for example, bank failures, the New Deal, international political instability) occurred, their effects on employment were felt through shifts in aggregate demand, not through shifts in industry production functions. Other leading explanations of procyclical productivity are true increasing returns or, popular among Keynesians, the theory of labor hoarding during economic downturns. Having ruled out technology shocks, Bernanke and Parkinson attempt to distinguish between true increasing returns and labor hoarding. They devise two tests, both of which involve restrictions on excluding proxies for labor utilization from their regressions of industry output. If true increasing returns were present, the observed labor input captures all the relevant information about variations in output over the cycle. But if labor hoarding were occurring, the rate of labor utilization, holding employment constant, should account for output variation. Their results are mixed, but are mildly in favor of labor hoarding. Although Bernankeââ¬â¢s modeling effort is of independent interest, the substantive value of his and Parkinsonââ¬â¢s research is enhanced considerably by disaggregation to the industry level. It is obvious from their work that industries in the 1930s did not respond identically to decreases in output demand. However, further disaggregation to the firm level can produce additional insights. Bernanke and Parkinson assume that movements in industry aggregates reflect the behavior of a representative firm. But, according to Lebergott (1989), much of the initial decline in output and employment occurred among firms that exited. Firms that left, and new entrants, however, were not identical to firms that survived. These points are well-illustrated in Timothy Bresnahan and Daniel Raffââ¬â¢s study of the American motor vehicle industry. Their database consists of manuscript census returns of motor vehicle plants in 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935. By linking the manuscript returns from year to year, Bresnahan and Raff have created a panel dataset, capable of identifying plants the exited, surviving plants, and new plants. Plants that exited between 1929 and 1933 had lower wages and lower labor productivity than plants that survived. Between 1933 and 1935 average wages at exiting plants and new plants were slightly higher than at surviving plants. Output per worker was still relatively greater at surviving plants than new entrants, but the gap was smaller than between 1929 and 1933. Roughly a third of the decline in the industryââ¬â¢s employment between 1929 and the trough in 1933 occurred in plant closures. The vast majority of these plant closures were permanent. The shakeout of inefficient firms after 1929 ameliorated the decline in average labor productivity in the industry. Although industry productivity did decline, productivity in 1933 would have been still lower if all plants had continued to operate. During the initial recovery phase (1933-35) about 40 percent of the increase in employment occurred in new plants. Surviving plants were more likely to use mass-production techniques; the same was true of new entrants. Mass production plants differed sharply from their predecessors (custom production plants) in the skill mix of their workforces and in labor relations. In the motor vehicle industry, the early years of the Depression were an ââ¬Å"evolutionary eventâ⬠, permanently altering the technology of the representative firm. While the representative firm paradigm apparently fails for motor vehicles, it may not for other industries. Some preliminary work by Amy Bertin, Bresnahan, and Raff, on another industry, blast furnaces, is revealing on this point. Blast furnaces were subject to increasing returns and the market for the product (molten iron) was highly localized. For this industry, reductions in output during a cyclical trough are reasonably described by a representative firm, since ââ¬Å"localized competition prevented efficient reallocation of output across plantsâ⬠and therefore the compositional effects occurring in the auto industry did not happen. These analyses of firm-level data have two important implications for studies of employment in the 1930s. First, aggregate demand shocks could very well have changed average technological practice through the process of exit and entry at the firm level. Thus Bernanke and Parkinsonââ¬â¢s rejection of the technological shocks explanation of short-run increasing returns, which is based in part on their belief that aggregate demand shocks did not alter industry production functions, may be premature. Second, the empirical adequacy of the representative firm paradigm is apparently industry-specific, depending on industry structure, the nature of product demand, and initial (that is, pre-Depression) heterogeneity in firm sizes and costs. Such ââ¬Å"phenomena are invisible in industry data,â⬠and can only be recovered from firm-level records, such as the census manuscripts. Analyses of industry and firm-level data are one way to explore heterogeneity in labor utilization. Geography is another. A focus on national or even industry aggregates obscures the substantial spatial variation in bust and recovery that characterized the 1930s. Two recent studies show how spatial variation suggests new puzzles about the persistence of the Depression as well as provide additional degrees of freedom for discriminating between macroeconomic models. State-level variation in employment is the subject of an important article by John Wallis. Using data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wallis has constructed annual indices of manufacturing and nonmanufacturing employment for states from 1930 to 1940. Wallisââ¬â¢ indices reveal that declines in employment between 1930 and 1933 were steepest in the East North Central and Mountain states; employment actually rose in the South Atlantic states, however, once an adjustment is made for industry mix. The South also did comparatively well during the recovery phase of the Depression (1933-1940). Wallis tests whether the southern advantage during the recovery phase might reflect lower levels of unionization and a lower proportion of employment affected by the passage of the Social Security Act (1935), but controlling for percent unionized and percent in covered employment in a regression of employment growth does not eliminate the regional gap. What comes through clearly,â⬠according to Wallis ââ¬Å"is that the [employment] effects of the Depression varied considerably throughout the nationâ⬠and that a convincing explanation of the South-nonSouth difference remains an open question. Curtis Simon and Clark Nardinelli exploit variation across cities to put forth a particular interpretation of economic downturn in the early 1930s. Specifically, they study the empirical relationship between ââ¬Å"industrial diversityâ⬠and city- level unemployment rates before and afte r World War Two. Industrial diversity is measured by a city-specific Herfindahl index of industry employment shares. The higher the value of the index, the greater is the concentration of employment in a small number of industries. Using data from the 1930 federal census and the 1931 Special Census of Unemployment, Simon and Nardinelli show that unemployment rates and the industrial diversity index were positively correlated across cities at the beginning of the Depression. Analysis of similar census data for the post-World War Two, period, reveals a negative correlation between city unemployment rates and industrial diversity. Simon and Nardinelli explain this finding as the outcome of two competing effects. In normal economic circumstances, a city with a more diverse range of industries should have a lower unemployment rate (the ââ¬Å"portfolioâ⬠effect), because industry-specific demand shocks will not be perfectly correlated across industries and some laid-off workers will find ready employment in expanding industries. The portfolio effect may fail, however, during a large aggregate demand shock (the early 1930s) if firms and workers are poorly informed, misperceiving the shock to be industry-specific, rather than a general reduction in demand. Firms in industrially diverse cities announce selective layoffs rather than reduce wages, because they believe that across-the-board wage cuts would cause too many workers to quit (workers in industrial diverse cities think they can easily find a job in another industry elsewhere in the same city), thus hurting production. Firms in industrially specialized cities, however, are more likely to cut wages than employment because they believe lower wages ââ¬Å"would induce relatively fewer quitsâ⬠than in industrially diverse cities. Thus, Simon and Nardinelli conclude, wages in the early 1930s were more rigid in industrially-diverse cities, producing the positive correlation between industrial diversity and unemployment. Improvements in the quantity, quality, and timeliness of economic information, they conjecture, have caused the portfolio effect to dominate after World War Two, producing the postwar negative correlation. Although one can question the historical relevance of Simon and Nardinelliââ¬â¢s model, and the specifics of their empirical analysis, their paper is successful in demonstrating the potential value of spatial data in unraveling the sources of economic downturn early in the Depression. Postwar macroeconomics has tended to proceed as aggregate unemployment rates applied to a representative worker, with a certain percentage of that workerââ¬â¢s time not being used. As a result, disaggregated evidence on unemployment has been slighted. Such evidence, however, can provide a richer picture of who was unemployed in the 1930s, a better understanding of the relationship between unemployment and work relief, and further insights into macroeconomic explanations of unemployment. To date, the source that has received the most attention is the public use tape of the 1940 census, a large, random sample of the population in 1940. The 1940 census is a remarkable historical document. It was the first American census to inquire about educational attainment, wage and salary income and weeks worked in the previous year; nd the first to use the ââ¬Å"labor force weekâ⬠concept in soliciting information about labor force status. Eight labor force categories are reported, including whether persons held work relief jobs during the census week (March 24-30, 1940). For persons who were unemployed or who held a work relief job at the time of the census, the number of weeks of unemployment since the person last held a private or none mergency government job of one month or longer was recorded. The questions on weeks worked and earnings in 1939 did not treat work relief jobs differently from other jobs. That is, earnings from, and time spent on, work relief are included in the totals. I have used the 1940 census sample to study the characteristics of unemployed workers and of persons on work relief, and the relationship between work relief and various aspects of unemployment. It is clear from the census tape that unemployed persons who were not on work relief were far from a random sample of the labor force. For example, the unemployed were typically younger, or older, than the average employed worker (unemployment followed a U-shape pattern with respect to age); the unemployed were more often nonwhite; and they were less educated and had fewer skills than employed persons, as measured by occupation. Such differences tended to be starkest for the long-term unemployed (those with unemployment durations longer than year); thus, for example, the long-term unemployed had even less schooling that the average unemployed worker. Although the WPA drew its workers from the ranks of the unemployed, the characteristics of WPA workers did not merely replicate those of other unemployed persons. For example, single men, the foreign-born, high school graduates, urban residents, and persons living in the Northeast were underrepresented among WPA workers, compared with the rest of the unemployed. Perhaps the most salient difference, however, concerns the duration of unemployment. Among those on work relief in 1940, roughly twice as many had been without a non-relief job for a year or longer as had unemployed persons not on work relief. The fact that the long-term unemployed were concentrated disproportionately on work relief raises an obvious question. Did the long-term unemployed find work relief jobs after being unemployed for a long time, or did they remain with the WPA for a long time? The answer appears to be mostly the latter. Among nonfarm males ages 14 to 64 on work relief in March 1940 and reporting 65 weeks of unemployment (that is, the first quarter of 1940 and all of 1939), close to half worked 39 weeks or more in 1939. Given the census conventions, they had to have been working more or less full time, for the WPA. For reasons that are not fully clear, the incentives were such that a significant fraction of persons who got on work relief, stayed on. One possible explanation is that some persons on work relief preferred the WPA, given prevailing wages, perhaps because their relief jobs were more stable than the non-relief jobs (if any) available to them. Or, as one WPA worker put it: ââ¬Å"Why do we want to hold onto these [relief] jobs? â⬠¦ [W]e know all the time about persons â⬠¦ just managing to scrape along â⬠¦ My advice, Buddy, is better not take too much of a chance. Know a good thing when you got it. Alternatively, working for the WPA may have stigmatized individuals, making them less desirable to non-relief employers the longer they stayed on work relief. Whatever the explanation, the continuous nature of WPA employment makes it difficult to believe that the WPA did not reduce, in the aggregate, the amount of job search by the unemployed in the late 1930s. In addition to the duration of unemployment experienced by individuals, the availability of work relief may have dampened the increase in labor supply of secondary workers in households in which the household head was unemployed, the so- called ââ¬Å"added workerâ⬠effect. Specifically, wives of unemployed men not on work relief were much more likely to participate in the labor force than wives of men who were employed at non-relief jobs. But wives of men who worked for the WPA were far less likely to participate in the labor force than wives of otherwise employed men. The relative impacts were such that, in the aggregate, no added worker effect can be observed as long as persons on work relief are counted among the unemployed. Although my primary goal in analyzing the 1940 census sample was to illuminate features of unemployment obscured by the aggregate time series, the results bear on several macroeconomic issues. First, the heterogenous nature of unemployment implies that a representative agent view of aggregate unemployment cannot be maintained for the late 1930s. Whether the view can be maintained for the earlier part of the Depression is not certain, but the evidence presented in Jensen and myself suggests that it cannot. Because the evolution of the characteristics of the unemployed over the 1930s bears on the plausibility of various macroeconomic explanations of unemployment (Jensenââ¬â¢s use of efficiency wage theory, for example), further research is clearly desirable. Second, the heterogenous nature of unemployment is consistent with Lebergottââ¬â¢s claim that aggregate BLS wage series for the 1930s are contaminated by selection bias, because the characteristics that affected the likelihood of being employed (for example, education) also affected a personââ¬â¢s wage. Again, a clearer understanding of the magnitude and direction of bias requires further work on how the characteristics of the employed and unemployed changed as the Depression progressed. Third, macroeconomic analyses of the persistence of high unemployment should not ignore the effects of the WPA ââ¬â and, more generally, those of other federal relief policies ââ¬â on the economic behavior of the unemployed. In particular, if work relief was preferred to job search by some unemployed workers, the WPA may have displaced some growth in private sector employment that would have occurred in its absence. An estimate of the size of this displacement effect can be inferred from a recent paper by John Wallis and Daniel Benjamin. Wallis and Benjamin estimate a model of labor supply, labor demand, and per capita relief budgets using panel data for states from 1933 to 1939. Their coefficients imply that elimination of the WPA starting in 1937 would have increased private sector employment by 2. 9 percent by 1940, which corresponds to about 49 percent of persons on work relief in that year. Displacement was not one-for-one, but may not have been negligible. My discussion thus far has emphasized the value of disaggregated evidence in understanding certain key features of labor markets in the 1930s ââ¬â the behavior of wages, employment and unemployment ââ¬â because these are of greatest general interest to economists today. I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention other aspects of labor markets examined in recent work. What follows is a brief, personal selection from a much larger literature. The Great Depression left its mark on racial and gender differences. From 1890 to 1930 the incomes of black men increased slightly relative to the incomes of white men, but the trend in relative incomes reversed direction in the 1930s. Migration to the North, a major avenue of economic advancement for Southern blacks, slowed appreciably. There is little doubt that, if the Depression had not happened, the relative economic status of blacks would have been higher on the eve of World War Two. Labor force participation by married women was hampered by ââ¬Å"marriage barsâ⬠, implicit or explicit regulations which allowed firms to dismiss single women upon arriage or which prohibited the hiring of married women. Although marriage bars existed before the 1930s, their use spread during the Depression, possibly because social norms dictated that married men were more deserving of scarce jobs than married women. Although they have not received as much attention from economists, some of the more interesting effects of the Depression were demographic or lif e-cycle in nature. Marriage rates fell sharply in the early 1930s, and fertility rates remained low throughout the decade. An influential study by the sociologist Glen Elder, Jr. traced the subsequent work and life histories of a sample of individuals growing up in Oakland, California in the 1930s. Children from working class households whose parents suffered from prolonged unemployment during the Depression had lower educational attainment and less occupational mobility than their peers who were not so deprived. Similar findings were reported by Stephan Thernstrom in his study of occupational mobility of Boston men. The Great Depression was the premier macroeconomic event of the twentieth century, and I am not suggesting we abandon macroeconomic analysis of it. I am suggesting, however, that an exclusive focus on aggregate labor statistics runs two risks: the facts derived may be artifacts, and much of what may be interesting about labor market behavior in the 1930s is rendered invisible. The people and firms whose experiences make up the aggregates deserve to be studied in their diversity, not as representative agents. I have mentioned census microdata, such as the public use sample of the 1940 census or the manufacturing census manuscripts collected by Bresnahan and Raff, in this survey. In closing, I would like highlight another source that could be examined in future work. The source is the ââ¬Å"Study of Consumer Purchases in the United Statesâ⬠conducted by the BLS in 1935-36. Approximately 300,000 households, chosen from a larger random sample of 700,000, supplied basic survey data on income and housing, with 20 percent furnishing additional information. The detail is staggering: labor supply and income of all family members, from all sources (on a quarterly basis); personal characteristics (for example, occupation, age, race); family composition; housing characteristics; and a long list of durable and non-durable consumption expenditures (the 20 percent sample). Because the purpose of the study was to provide budget weights to update the CPI, only families in ââ¬Å"normalâ⬠economic circumstances were included (this is the basis for the reduction in sample size from 700,000 to 300,000). Thus, for example, persons whose wages were very low or who experienced persistent unemployment are unlikely to be included in 1935-36 study. A pilot sample, drawn from the original survey forms (stored at the National Archives) and containing the responses of 6,000 urban households, is available in machine-readable format from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan (ICPSR Study 8908). Robert A. Margo Vanderbilt University How to cite Employment and Unemployment in the 1930s, Papers
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