Scarcity

The basic economic problem for all societies is that resources are scarce. Scarcity means that we do not and cannot have enough income or wealth to satisfy our every desire.

Economics studies the production and allocation of valuable goods and services and finds the most effective solutions to the scarcity of resources. Scar­city can be defined as any situation in which the demand for resources ex­ceeds the available supply. It is only because of scarcity that price exists. The price mechanism works to ration the use of scarce resources. When there are fixed resources, it is vital to use these as efficiently as possible to reduce the unit costs of production.

The problem of scarcity is graphically illustrated in environmental eco­nomics, e.g. food and water shortages, depletion of natural resources, destruc­tion of wildlife,

Environmental economics is the study of how to get the best solution to current environmental problems by creating incentives for producers and con­sumers to change their behaviour and attitude to resources.

Role-play

You are a group of experts asked to talk to anti-globalists. Get prepared for the meeting. Discuss the points each of you is going to raise. Try to come to a joint stand on all the aspects of globalisation which you support. Justify your stand, proving that the advan­tages will outweigh t.he disadvantages.

Unit7

I. The Social Profile and State Structure

Text A. The Social Profile

Grammar Presentation: Как читать цифры и числа (How to Read Figures and Numbers) (продолжение)

Tex: /?, The British State System Text C. Comparing the State Systems

Grammar Revision: Вспомогательные глаголы (Auxiliary Verbs)

Sadat English: Making Arrangements for Participation in an International

Conference Rule-play. Presentation at an International Student Conference

II. International Organisations

Text. International Organisations

Role-play: Do We Need International Organisations?

I.

The Social Profile and State Structure

Text A The Social Profile

One may think thai the population of a Western industrialised coun­try, like Britain, is stable. But this assumption is wrong. In Britain, for instance, there has been plenty of change in the population and the demographic situation in recent years.

In principle, the population is unevenly distributed across the land. Since the 1980s |he population has been drifting to the South, causing further changes in the population density and the employment.

In terms of age and composition the population has been changing substantially, too.

Unit 7

I. The Social Profile and State Structure

The " baby boom" of the 1950s and a very high birth rate of the 1960s aggravated the unemployment of the early 1980s, since there were 30 per cent more young people leaving school than, say, a decade be­fore. The 1970s-80s saw a sharp decline in the number of small chil­dren, that is why in the 1990s there were tew school-leavers to till the jobs left by retired people. The situation had an important implication. It caused a fuller employment of women and later retirement for the elderly people who wished to continue working. Now the level of un­employment is lower than in any major European Union country.

It should be stressed here that the British population is already one of the oldest in Europe, and it is slowly ageing.

Over the recent decades the nature of work has changed too. The number of people working in factories has declined dramatically. Now it's less than one-fifth of the population. Britain is no longer the " work­shop" of the world. It has become instead a nation of a service industry. Three-quarters work in the service sector.

These changes have been accompanied by changes in the pattern of consumption and work. People tend to work shorter hours.

Shorter working hours have had a big impact on an enormous rise in the holiday industry. Then there has been a big increase in the purchase of consumer durables — televisions, microwaves, washing machines.

Social and economic developments in the second half of the 20^th century have resulted in dramatic changes in the British household struc­ture felt nowadays.

Family planning and later marriages have led to a decline in family size.

With new social attitudes and behaviour changes there is a tenden­cy not to marry. The number of people living alone has risen signifi­cantly. Many women live alone preferring independence, which they fear they will lose by marriage.

The divorce rate in the UK is the highest in the European Union, the main reason for the climbing divorce rate being the wish of women to pursue a career. One inevitable consequence of the situation has been the rise of single-parent families.

Women now make up about 45 percent of the workforce.

The important disadvantage is that men continue to control the positions of power and wealth and are slow to share these with women.

profile n — 7d картина, состояние stable adj— стабильный assumption n - предположение

plenty n - обилие

demographic situation — демографиче­ская ситуация in principle - в принципе unevenly adj - неравномерно distribute г — распределять across prep - сквозь drift v — id. двигаться population density — плотность населе­ния

in terms of - с точки jpemm composition n — состав, структура substantially adv — существенно " baby boom" — бум рождаемости birth rate — темпы рождаемости aggravate v - ухудшать(ся) decline n — снижение, падение implication n - смысл, значение European Union — Европейский Союз nature of work - характер работы

decline v — снижат]> ся, сокращаться

workshop n - мастерская, tiex

dramatically adv — резко, сильно

accompany v - сопровождать

pattern of consumption — структура по­требления

consumer durables - потребительские товары длительного пользования

microwave n — микроволновая печь

result in v — приводить к

family planning - планирование семьи

fear v — бояться

divorce rate — уровень разводов

climbing adj - поднимающийся, воз­растающий

wish «- желание

inevitable consequence - неизбежное следствие

single-parent family — семья с одним родителем

make up v - составлять

disadvantage n — недостаток

Unit 7

I. The Social Profile and State Structure

• Then read the Grammar Presentation of " How to Read Figures and Numbers" («Как читать цифры и числа») and make sure that you read them correctly.