Supply Wrap Up

Supply Schedule and Curve

         $                                  #S

4	5
5	10
6	15
7	20
8	25

      

Inelastic Supply

Elastic Supply

Supply Schedule with Increase and Decrease

         $                      #S     +S -S

4	5	10	0
5	10	15	5
6	15	20	10
7	20	25	15
8	25	30	20

Demand Reflection

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1otJIEDmVRj

Central Question and Annotated Bibliography

What are some of the positive and negative effects of sweatshop use in third-world countries?

1) "International Labor Rights Forum." International Labor Rights Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://www.laborrights.org/>.

There are millions of children around the world who are working full-time to help support not only themselves but their families as well. It is estimated that there are 211 million children from the ages of 5 to 14 that are working. Of those, about 120 million are working full-time. Sweatshops and child labor or most predominant in places in the south but can even be found in the USA. Third- world countries are taken advantage of because larger corporations in the US can gain cheap labor by using other countries and can take advantage of a lack of worker protections. The children in third-world countries that work in sweatshops are unable to go to school and the wages are very low so it is very hard to support themselves and their families. The use of sweatshops in third-world countries is made possible because of the lack of labor law enforcement in these places.

The information found in this source can easily be used to to demonstrate the negative effects of the sweatshop model and the use of children for cheap, forced labor. It advocates standing up to make a change and shows donation sites and ways to help. The International Labor Rights Forum gives the names and links to campaigns that raise awareness about sweatshop use and it tells of specific companies and corporations that partake in using them. This source will help see the negative side of forced labor and the use of sweatshops and it helps explain the ways that people can help and end the problem. The information from this website will be used to explain the negative aspects of using sweatshops and child labor.

2) "Analysis: Are 'sweatshops' an economic necessity?" CNN Wire 6 Feb. 2012. Student Edition. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA279144911&v=2.1&u=ttsd&it=r&p=STOM&sw=w>

Some people don’t think sweatshops are completely horrible and should be shut down. The term sweatshop generally aligns with the definition of “factories or workshops characterized by low wages, long hours, underage workers and unsafe conditions.” However, there are some liberal economic workers that say that sweatshops a necessity in order to help some of the world’s poorer economies like third-world countries. Some people in third-world countries have no other alternatives for work and find that a sweatshop is the only way for them to have any income at all to support their families and themselves. Many people find that they are willing to work for almost nothing because it beats the alternative of literally making nothing at all. In China alone, 600 million people were able to escape poverty with the help of sweatshops. Even though the working conditions are not phenomenal, people still stood in line for a job in the new Foxconn plant.  

The information in this article is helpful because it explains sweatshops from the other side of things opposed to in a negative view like the International Labor Rights Forum. Since my central question asks about both the positive and negatives of sweatshop use, it is beneficial to use because it talks about how they are not very desirable but they are an important thing for many people to be a part of. It is hard to imagine how or why people would want to work in a plant or sweatshop but this article rationalizes the reasons and the effects of them. It gives me good points to bring up to discuss other opinions. It also will help to rationalize the use of sweatshops in different and unexpected ways.

3)  Norberg, Johan. "The Noble Feat of Nike." JohanNorberg.net. N.p., 7 June 2003. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.johannorberg.net/?page=articles&articleid=53>.

Nike is a company that sells their shoes for 100 times more than wages of their workers in third-world countries. There are many protesters in the US that refuse to purchase goods from Nike because of this reason. However, in places such as Vietnam, the workers don’t view their lower wages opposed to the US as demeaning or a problem at all. Nike has four times as many workers in Vietnam than in the US and many of them are grateful for their jobs. One one makes an average of $54 per month which is three times for than the minimum wage for state-owned enterprises. People are grateful for their jobs working for Nike because it keeps them out of the harsh weather where they would be working on farms for 10-14 hours a day. Many employees in Vietnam have access to free subsidised meals, medical care, training and education which are other benefits of working for the company. Many people feel lucky because when working for an American Multinational Company opposed to a domestic company in a low-income country because on average, they are making eight times the average income.

This article explains the positives of sweatshop use which I will need in order to answer part of my central question. It explains things in a positive manner which makes the use of sweatshops in third-world countries seem more desirable even with the low wages and poor conditions. The information is specific enough for me to use to explain that the use of sweatshops is not always as monstrous as it sounds. It is a good source due to the fact that it is an opposing view to what most other articles about sweatshops consist of. It is easy to understand and has good numbers and statistics that make the information more believable and accurate. It doesn’t deny that they are bad in some places but it shows the greater side of things as well.

Demand Wrap-Up

PART 1:

1. UTILITY
- The usefulness that a good or service provides
-A car provides transportation for people to get to work, school, etc.

2. COMPLEMENTARY DEMAND
-If the demand of an object increases, then the demand of an item that is usually bought with it will increase as well.
-If people start buying more cereal, they will start buying more milk.


3. SUBSTITUTE DEMAND
-If an item can easily replace a product that is more expensive, the cheaper product will show an increase in demand.
-If apple juice becomes way to expensive, people may buy more orange juice.

4. ELASTIC DEMAND
-When the price of a product increases and the demand for it decreases due to the price change.
-If chocolate milk were 20 dollars per jug, people would stop buying it.


5. INELASTIC DEMAND
-If the price increases, the demand for a product stays the same because it is irreplaceable.
-Even if cell phones became much more expensive, people would still buy them because they need to communicate with others.


PART 2:
A.

B.

PART 3:
A.

B.

"Changes in the Demand Environment"

Task #1: Consumer Income (Increase)

When consumers find that they have an increase in income, they tend to have more spending money and will therefore cause the demand of some objects to increase. More specifically  it will cause the demand of objects to increase if they were too expensive and too much of a luxury when consumer income was low. An example of a product with this kind of demand is Starbucks Coffee. If consumers don't have money, they will make their own coffee at home. However, when their income increases, they will be able to purchase more expensive coffees from places like Starbucks.

Task #2: Consumer Tastes

When consumer tastes change for a certain product, the demand will change as well. For example, at the moment, gluten-free bread and other products are very popular and there is a high demand for them. If gluten-free bread were to suddenly become unpopular or something new were to replace it, then consumer tastes would change and we would see a decrease in demand for the product. Whatever product made the gluten-free products unfavorable would then see an increase in demand and gluten-free products would lose profit.