On Ethics and Economics Book Review

On Ethics and Economics Amartya Sen Blackwell Publishers, 1987, pp. 148, Rs. 271 ‘On Ethics and Economics’ by Amartya Sen centres on a particular phenomenon that the author considers unfortunate to the discipline. In this book, Amartya Sen talks about the continued and ever increasing distancing of economics from ethics. This book has three chapters and under each chapter, there are sub topics. That makes the book more structured and easy to understand even for a person who is not so competent in the study of Economics.Though the book was written in 1987, most of the arguments still apply in todays’ world. Amartya Sen starts off with an Edward Clerihaw Bentley verse about a major practitioner of political economics and this sets the tone for the rest of the book. The author basically tries to argue that ethics-related tradition of Economics dates back to the days of Aristotle and that Economics ultimately goes hand in hand with the study of Ethics and Politics. Am artya Sen certainly and in a very obvious manner, questions the disassociation of the study of Economics from that of ethics and political philosophy.Hence, this book is undoubtedly a very important reading for those who are interested in connecting the dots between economics and business ethics. Professor Sen, while agreeing that the ‘engineering’ approach to Economics has been often fruitful, criticises the same ‘engineering approach’ by saying that it has substantially impoverished the modern economics because it has created a distance between economics and ethics. He also goes on to explain that the ‘Positive Economics’ has led to ignoring complex ethical consideration which effect human behaviour.Professor Sen believes that the growing distances between Ethics and Economics has affected the former more. The author is extremely persuasive when he suggests enlarging the role of welfare economics in understanding the basis for policy decision s involving social achievements. Professor Sen truly believes that Economic advancement is going on at full steam without any moderation from the discipline of ‘ethics’ and that the role of ethics has been ignored by all the policy makers and modern economists. Hence, it is not surprising that ‘Business Ethics’ is regarded as an oxymoron in the business world.The author tries to relate between economic behaviour and rationality. He agrees with the assumption that ‘Humans think rationally. ’ Though the author says that the rational behaviour might not be the actual behaviour all the time, he also says that this particular assumption is better than assuming the humans think irrationally, which will lead to more mistakes than the assumption currently in use. The amount of space and importance given to the assumption by the author makes the reader think about how rationally an individual or the policy makers think today.It plays a huge role in the study of economics. Professor Sen then goes on to talk about the self -interest and rational behaviour. In the second chapter, Economic Judgement and Moral Philosophy, to bring more sanity into the discussion, Professor Sen has brought in the areas that have been neglected by scholars when dealing with the issues of social achievement. They consist of values, rights and freedom, welfare, self-interest and all those that cannot be reduced to a single denomination called utility.According to welfare’s notion of rationality, it is not unreasonable for a person to put his self-interest ahead and to choose the state which maximises his welfare regardless of the goals of others in the society. Professor Sen introduces something called as ‘Agency Role’ when he talks about the dual nature of a person. I completely agree with Professor Sen when he says that a person thinks like an agency when he recognises and acknowledges goals of other people in the society and that a p erson thinks in terms of a well-being, which too calls for his/her own attention.This can be applied to the Game Theory and the example of Prisoners Dilemma. The arguments put forth by Sen by promoting ethics to economics are very useful to current economic scenarios faced by the global community. For instance, the problem of pollution cannot be solved by providing incentives, but by developing a mind-set that is largely away from self-centredness. If one is unfamiliar with the problem of ethics other than utilitarian standard of analysis, then reading and comprehending this book could be a struggle or might find it difficult to read this book.Perhaps the terms ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ ought to be differentiated so that the choice of individuals will be dictated by ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’. If this perspective can be used to moderate on the usefulness of utilitarianism or welfarism, and is incorporated within the matrix of the discip line, then there is hope that ethics and economics can contribute to a balanced approach to solving problems of human existence, which is very much the need of the hour right now. -Book review by K Ravi Teja Reddy

China Currency Exchange Rate Essay

The currency regime adopted by China is neither fixed nor flexible exchange rate system. China has announced in 2005 the â€Å"end of its firm peg against the dollar, instead allowing it to trade within a narrow band against a basket of currencies.† China regime is managed floating system where the currency increases very slowly year by year and the China government prevent the currency from changing quickly in the short term. The reason why Chinese government intervene in the currency market is to lower exchange rate to increase employment, maintain a fixed rate to maintain stability and improve their current account deficit. China government manage its currency rate by buying foreign currencies to increase supply of China currency, therefore lowering its currency value. They also lower the value of its currency by lowering their interest rates. In the case of China, it is very difficult and challenging for them to adopt the fixed exchange rate system due to their disadvantages. Firstly, China government must always adjust its interest rate so maintain the exchange rate. Changing the interest rate frequently will cause fluctuations in investments and growth and also stable employment. There is also a possibility that the export rate may be set at the wrong level. For example, if it was set at a higher level, this could affect China export competitiveness and their domestic market will suffer. Question 4b Though China has been heavily criticised by some foreign countries like USA for their practice, there are some advantages to managed flow system. Firstly, the managed flow system will ensure stability in China compared to floating. This is because if China suddenly appreciate their currency, their exports production will suffer and there will be lots of unemployment as a result. However there are disadvantages to managed floating system as well. People will try to challenge the earn funds from the currency as this system is very prone to speculative attack. Experiences have shown that speculative attacks could decrease the growth of a country’s gross domestic product by 6 percent or more.

Violence against Women in War is an Extension of Domestic Violence Essay

Violence against Women in War is an Extension of Domestic Violence - Essay Example Before such acts of rape, assault and physical violence against women occur during wars and conflicts, the same must have happened domestically, way before. Female genital mutilation forced marriages, forced and selective abortion, abandonment, gender discrimination in property inheritance, forced sex, rape and a series of other domestic abuses happen to women of different faiths, from different economic backgrounds, in almost all countries in the world, taking either of these forms or the other. Therefore, while such abuses, violence, and acts of aggression finds themselves into war and conflicts zones, it is because they have been happening under the cover of the domestic veil, only that wars and conflicts have created a better opportunity to accelerate and repeatedly commit the acts of violence, with no fear of legal consequences. More so, statistics have indicated that the servicemen, especially the military, operatives and combat personalities who have been involved in a series of operations in different regions of the world are more likely to attack, abuse or assault their intimate partners or children, while raping and assaulting the victims of conflicts and wars during their combat duties. Such occurrences are mostly contributed to, by the stress and substance use related consequences of the wars that such service men and combatants have been exposed to. The fundamental behavioral principle that connects domestic violence and violence against women in war is one, namely the overwhelming display of superior force, applied towards controlling and cowing the victims and putting them in a situation where they cannot express any resistance.

How to increase productivity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How to increase productivity - Assignment Example ity include taking medical covers for the employees, enhancing communications within the firm and sponsoring advanced studies to sharpen the skills and expertise of specific employees in a firm. These are some of the actions that a management team can adopt to increase the productivity in a firm. Taking medical covers for the employees ensures that the workers are not worried of their health and whenever a health issue arises, it is quickly controlled and the person resumes to duty (Chowdhry et al). Communication is also important in regard to productivity because with proper communication all the challenges facing performance can be controlled. Managers should ensure that both up-ward and down-ward communications are effective and all departments are in harmony in their operations. In order to precise determine the factors that affect productivity and the measures that can be undertaken to increase productivity, it is important to conduct a research. The main objective of the research will be to confirm and ascertain whether the factors mentioned above contribute to the increase in productivity in organizations. The research should involve interviewing employees and the management teams of a least five top performing firms. The information required can be collected through interviews, questionnaires and surveys on their

Psalms Description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psalms Description - Essay Example Chapter 9 begins by saying a man will have many years added to his life who fears the Lord.   Proverbs four through seven teach about lessons or warnings against adultery, and lust. Chapter one begins with instruction not to follow the evil path. The Word says in verse twenty-three that we should guard our hearts because it is the wellspring of life. Then Chapter one continues the discussion about the lust of the eyes. Proverbs 1:24-27 says"Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Chapter five again has a warning against adultery. Proverbs 5:3-5, discusses adultery in the following words. "For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end, she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave." Proverbs in chapter six tell us to flee like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter. Proverbs in chapter fourteen through sixteen teaches us about wrath and anger. The fear of the Lord is mentioned throughout these three chapters. ... The Proverbs speak many times about the dangers of pride. If you boil all sin down the root of sin is pride. The fall of man can even be traced back to pride. The Word says "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:5 goes even further and says, "The Lord detests all the proud of heart." Furthermore, the Lord says humility comes before honor, and He will show grace to the humble. The Word speaks about gossip and how distractive this can be a friendship. This essay will discuss friendship and faithfulness related to Proverbs in chapter twenty-seven through thirty-one. Proverbs 27:6 tells us," Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." This proverb tells us that a true friend will speak the truth in love. Proverbs 31 describes a wife of noble character and reveals faithfulness in love and marriage in the following words, "A wife of noble character who can find She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." Proverbs 31:10-12. The Walvoord commentary gave a detailed exposition concerning the date and authorship of the Book. The introduction part of the commentary explained in detail the historical background and the literary style of Proverbs. The author of the commentary also pointed out that Solomon had written 3,000 proverbs as stated in 1 Kings. The exposition commentary went into detail about the themes of the Book of Proverbs.  

Critical Analysis of Lee Smith's All the Days of Our Lives Essay

Critical Analysis of Lee Smith's All the Days of Our Lives - Essay Example But the scene she sets is dreamy and romantic, full of color, yet devoid of emotion. The reader is made more aware that Helen lives life in a haze of Salem cigarette smoke, romantic daydreams and unrealistic perceptions. The picture she paints of her ex-husband Howard firmly places him in a tidy, orderly, realistic place, with a similar personality, her opposite, it emerges. She cries in bouts of self-pity throughout the story, but there is unconscious humor in the picture painted of a lonely, old lady cutting frozen dinners in two. And still we are in Helen's car, as she segues into the image of herself as a nurse, all in white. Her stream of consciousness has deftly moved the reader from the hot interior of an automobile to the cool, dark sea, and back again to the mundane reality of a divorced woman with too much on her mind, a vivid imagination and a way with words. The 'solid sun', coupled with the 'pest control man' lend an air of irritation and frustration, and her character begins to emerge as less empathetic when she refuses to respond to her apparently helpful neighbor. Within the setting of her home, her attitude to her children, her soap on TV, her lack of impetus, all serve to further dispel the idea of a woman with some spirit. Her 15 year old daughter, Denise, appears to have more common-sense, determination and grasp on reality than her mother. "In some funny way, she is not young at all" and "Denise will never have a ball in her life, and both of them know it." (Smith, p. 3) The reality of the toddler, the put-upon teenager and angry little boy, all gathered in a small, chaotic domesticity are not to her liking, but she can block them out with the imaginary drama, the luxury and wealth on the screen which she prefers to immerse herself in. The question arises as to whether Helen is selfish, weak, ineffectual or a victim of circumstances beyond her control. The answer may be that she is all of these. The atmosphere she soaks up from her TV serves to remove her from the reality of her life. She gives desultory attention to real people, avid interest to soap actors. It becomes more apparent when Judy, her childless sister arrives, that Helen is dependent on others. Judy faces life as it is and she acts as a catalyst to bring Helen down to earth for a time, reminding her of the eccentricities of Howard. She takes off Helen's 'rose-tinted spectacles', with honesty and humor and the result is that: "Even tragic Helen has to laugh." (Smith, p. 6) Their interaction has defined the differences in the sisters and the roles they play for each other. It has made Helen think about marriages, her sister's, her parent's and shows the reader that despite negative experience, Helen's perceptions remain detached from reality. "Helen had known all about marriage anyway, that it was like a beautiful pastel country out there, waiting for her to