Factors of Production: Capital and Labour 4 страница

2) указательным местоимением со значением «это».

Например: It is the best auto fuel. – Это лучшее автомобильное топливо.

3) формальным подлежащим в безличных предложениях; на русский язык не переводится. Например: a) It is cold. – Холодно. b) It is necessary to research this market. – Необходимо исследовать этот рынок. c) It is desirable that the technology be improved. – Желательно, чтобы технология была усовершенствована.

4) частью усилительной конструкции it is ... that, перевод которой начинается словом именно. Например: It is this method of analysis that yielded best results. – Именно этот метод анализа дал наилучшие результаты.

 

Задание 2. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык, учитывая особенности перевода слова it:

  1. Firms can either save their income or pay it out to their owners.
  2. In comparing the national incomes it is not important which members of the population earn this income.
  3. It is economical to buy large quantities of a product rather that small quantities.
  4. Early economists said that that the value of product depended upon the amount of labour needed to produce it.
  5. The company is not large and it cannot invest much in production.
  6. It is the law of demand and supply that influences the retail price.
  7. It was our director who spoke about the losses of the company.
  8. It is essential that they keep accurate records of every transaction.
  9. It was the issued stocks that allowed our company to accumulate the necessary money for the new project.
  10. It is one of the three leading elements of production.

 

III. Если предложение начинается с инфинитива, за которым следует глагол-сказуемое, то этот инфинитив является подлежащим и перево­дится на русский язык глаголом в неопределенной форме или существительным. Например:

То employ workers with little human capital is one of the ways of minimizing labour costs. – 1) Нанимать рабочих с незначительным человеческим капиталом – это один из способов снизить затраты на рабочую силу. 2) Наем рабочих с незначительным человеческим капиталом — это один из способов снизить затраты на рабочую силу.

Инфинитив (или инфинитивная группа – т.е. инфинитив с уточняющими его словами), находясь в начале предложения, может выполнять функцию обстоятельства цели. Такой инфинитив часто вводится союзом in order (чтобы, для того чтобы). Например:

In order to lower juvenile delinquenсу governments have to create jobs for young people. – Чтобы снизить уровень преступности среди молодежи, правительство должно создавать рабочие места для молодых людей.

Однако союз in order часто опускается, и тогда предложение начинается с инфинитива (или инфинитивной группы). При переводе на русский язык перед таким инфинитивом следует добавить союз чтобы. Например:

То lower juvenile delinquency governments have to create jobs for young people. – Чтобы снизить уровень преступности среди молодежи, правительство должно создавать рабочие места для молодых людей.

Инфинитив в предложении выполняет также функцию обстоятельства следствия и переводится неопределенной формой русского глагола с союзом чтобы (для того чтобы) после слов enough (достаточно) и too (слишком). Например:

The average wage in this industry is high enough to attract workers from other industries. – Средняя заработная плата в этой отрасли достаточно высока для того, чтобы привлечь рабочих из других отраслей.

The wage in this enterprise is too low to attract qualified workers. Заработная плата на этом предприятии слишком низкая, чтобы привлечь квалифицированных рабочих.

Оборот «for + существительное (личное местоимение в объектном падеже) + инфинитив» может употребляться либо самостоятельно, либо после слов it is necessary / important/ possible и т.п., либо после слов too (слишком), enough (достаточ­но). Во всех случаях инфинитивный оборот соответствует русскому придаточному предложению с союзом чтобы, а инфинитив в таком придаточном предложении переводится сказуемым. Например:

For advanced technology to be introduced, the owner invested his profit in new equipment. – Для того чтобы была внедрена новая технология, собственник вложил свою прибыль в новое оборудование.

It is necessary for society to allocate resources sparingly. – Необходимо, чтобы общество размещало ресурсы экономно.

The production costs in the enterprise are too high for it to work profitably. – Производственные издержки на этом предприятии слишком высоки, чтобы оно работало рентабельно.

 

Задание 3. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык, учитывая особенности функционирования инфинитива в роли подлежащего либо обстоятельства:

  1. To run a business is to plan its activities.
  2. To manufacture this model of equipment is profitable for producers.
  3. To earn more profit the firm has to vary its technology.
  4. The firm should change its production cycle to lower costs.
  5. Governments borrow money from firms and individuals to finance their spending.
  6. Labour markets should be effective enough for workers not to stay unemployed long.
  7. For research to be carried out, the governments have to invest enough resources in their research institutes.
  8. The unemployment is growing too rapidly for labour markets to be in equilibrium.
  9. For the business to be efficient, all production costs have to be minimized.
  10. To know the contribution of every industry to the national economy is very important for the government.
  11. The government ought to take steps to reduce the unemployment rate.
  12. To build atomic power stations near rivers is common practice.
  13. A business needs some financial capital to start the business before the corresponding revenue is earned.

 

IV. Основываясь на содержании текстов «Demand and Supply» и «Theory of Supply», составьте тему «Теория предложения».

 

Примерный вариант рассказа о теории предложения:

The theory of supply is the theory of how much output firms choose to produce. The principal assumption of the supply theory is that the producer will maintain the level of output at which he maximizes his profit. Profit is the revenue from selling the output minus the costs of inputs used.

Aiming to get higher profits, firms obtain each output level as cheaply as possible. Profits are the highest at the output level at which marginal cost is equal to marginal revenue, that is, to the market price of the output.

When prices are high the supplied quantity is high as well. At low prices the supplied quantity is low. The optimal supply quantity depends on the output prices, the input costs, technology, degree of government regulation, environment, etc.

Market supply is the quantity of a commodity that all firms in a particular market offer as the price varies. Market supply is important for making economic forecasts.

 

Практическое занятие № 9.

 

План

I. Чтение и перевод текста «Factors of Production: Capital and Labour».

II. Презентация темы «Theory of Supply».

I. Прочитайте и переведите следующий текст на русский язык, учитывая особенности перевода слов one и it, инфинитива в функции подлежащего либо обстоятельства, оборота «for + существительное / местоимение + инфинитив»:

Factors of Production: Capital and Labour

Factors of production are resources used by firms as inputs for a good or service to be produced. Factors of production are as follows: capital, labour, and natural resources.

In economic theory, the term "capital" refers to goods and money used to produce more goods and money. Classifications of capital vary with the purpose of the classification. The most general distinction is the one made between physical, financial, and human capital.

Physical capital is land, buildings, equipment, raw materials. Bonds, stocks, available bank balances are included in the financial capital. They both make a great contribution to production.

To group capital into fixed capital and circulating capital is common practice1. The former refers to means of production such as land, buildings, machinery and various equipment. They are durable, that is, they participate in the production process over several years. Circulating capital includes both non-renewable goods, such as raw materials and fuel, and the funds required to pay wages and other claims against2 the enterprise. Non-renewable goods are used up in one production cycle and their value is fully transferred to the final product.

Human capital is knowledge that contributes "know-how" to production. It is increased by research and disseminated through education. Investment in human capital results in new, technically improved, products and production processes which improve economic efficiency. Like physical capital, human capital is important enough to be an indicator of economic development of a nation.

It is common, in economics, to understand labour as an effort needed to satisfy human needs. It is one of the three leading elements of production. Labour has a variety of functions: production of raw materials, manufacturing of final products, transferring things from one place to another, management of production, and services like the ones rendered by physicians and teachers.

One can classify labour into productive and unproductive. The former produces physical objects having utility. The latter is useful but does not produce material wealth. Labour of the musician is an example.

Unlike other factors of production, for example capital, when workers are employed, their efficiency can vary greatly with organization of work and their motivation.

Demand for labour is influenced by the demand for goods produced by workers, the proportion of wages in total production costs, etc. The supply of labour depends upon the size of population, geographic mobility, skills, education level (human capital), etc. Workers supply labour either individually or through trade unions. If demand for and supply of labour are not in equilibrium, there is unemployment. The rate of unemployment is a percentage of the total labour force without a job. It is desirable for an economy to have the lowest possible unemployment rate and to achieve higher employment as neither full use of resources nor maximum level of output can be achieved in an economy having unemployment.

Factors of production are combined together in different proportions in order to produce output. It is assumed in economics that one should choose the combination of factors which minimizes the cost of production and increases profits.

The third factor of production, natural resources, poses too many economic problems3 to be discussed here. We will analyze them in the following unit.

 

1 is common practice – зд. общепринято

2 claims against – требования; претензии на что-л., права на что-л.

3 to pose problems – ставить проблемы

 

II. Студентам предоставляется возможность раскрыть тему «Теория предложения» в устном рассказе.

ВОПРОСЫ К ЗАЧЕТУ

  1. Особенности перевода слова one.
  2. Особенности перевода слова it.
  3. Грамматическая конструкция «инфинитив в функции подлежащего, обстоятельства цели и следствия». Инфинитивный оборот «for + существительное / местоимение + инфинитив».

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА №2

 

Предлагаемаяконтрольная работасодержит 10 вариантов. Номер варианта определяется в соответствии с порядковым номером студента в журнале. Каждый вариант контрольной работы предполагает выполнение следующих семи заданий:

1. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

2. Выпишите из текста предложения, содержащие номинативную цепочку. Объясните особенности ее перевода.

3. Подчеркните в тексте все сказуемые и определите их видовременные формы.

4. Выпишите из текста сложносоставные предложения, содержащие определительные придаточные предложения, присоединенные к главному предложению бессоюзным способом. Объясните особенности перевода подобных предложений.

5. Выпишите из текста предложения, содержащие инфинитив в функции подлежащего или обстоятельства. Объясните особенности перевода подобных предложений.

6. Выпишите из текста предложения со словом one, объясните особенности его перевода в каждом случае.

7. Выпишите из текста предложения со словом it, объясните особенности его перевода в каждом случае.

Вариант 1

 

There are a large number of statistics produced regularly on the operation of the world's major economies. The UK's economy is no exception in this respect. You will probably have noticed that often the headlines in newspapers or important items on television news programmes relate to economic data and the implications for individuals and businesses. A prime example of this occurs when interest rates are increased: the media responds by highlighting the adverse effects on businesses with debts and householders with mortgages.

Data is provided on a wide range of aspects of the economy's operation. Statistics are available to show:

v the level of unemployment

v the level of inflation

v a country's trade balance with the rest of the world

v production volumes in key industries and the economy as a whole

v the level of wages

v raw material prices, and so forth.

The main statistics illustrating the economy's behaviour relate to the level of activity in the economy. That is, they tell us whether the economy is working at fall " capacity using all or nearly all, available resources of labour, machinery and other factors of production or whether these resources are being under-utilized.

The unemployment figures for the economy give an indicator of the level of activity. As the economy moves towards a recession and a lower level of prosperity it is likely that unemployment figures will rise. An alternative measure of the level of activity is national income statistics, which show the value of a nation's output during a year. Economists use the term Gross National Product to describe this data. Changes in the level or trends of such key data have great significance for businesses, as we shall see later.

There are numerous sources of data on the economy of which we can make use. The government publishes much through the Treasury, Department of Trade and Industry, the Bank of England and the Department of Employment. The Central Statistical Office, which was established during the Second World War, publishes about half of the government's economic data.

Much of this is contained in its annual publication, "The Annual Abstract of Statistics". It also publishes the equally valuable "Social Trends" annually. Additionally, private organizations, such as the banks, building societies and universities, publish figures on various aspects of the economy's performance.

Economic statistics are presented in many forms, the most common being graphs and tables. Although these statistics can be valuable in assisting managers, they should be treated with some caution when predicting the future trend of the economy and thus helping the business to take effective decisions.

 

Вариант 2

 

Economics is the study of how people choose to allocate scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. The main problem in economics is the question of allocating scarce resources between competing uses. In this section three economic issues are discussed to show how society allocates its scarce resources between competing uses. In this connection the question what, how and for whom to produce is of great significance.

People usually respond to prices in this or that way. When the price of some commodity increases, consumers will try to use less of it but producers will want to sell more of it. These responses, guided by prices, are part of the process by which most Western societies determine what, how and for whom to produce.

Consider first how the economy produces goods and services. When, as in the 1970s, the price of oil increases six-fold, every firm will try to reduce its use of oil-based products. Chemical firms will develop artificial substitutes for petroleum inputs to their production processes; airlines will look for more fuel-efficient aircraft; electricity will be produced from more coal-fired generators. In general, higher oil prices make the economy produce in a way that uses less oil.

How does the oil price increase affect what is being produced? Firms and households reduce their use of oil-intensive products, which are now more expensive. Households switch to gas-fired central heating and buy smaller cars. Commuters form car-pools or move closer to the city. High prices not only choke off the demand for oil-related commodities; they also encourage consumers to purchase substitute commodities. Higher demand for these commodities bids up their price and encourages their production. Designers produce smaller cars, architects contemplate solar energy, and research laboratories develop alternatives to petroleum in chemical production. Throughout the economy, what is being produced reflects a shift away from expensive oil-using products towards less oil-intensive substitutes.

The «for whom» question in this example has a clear answer. OPEC revenues from oil sales increased from $35 billion in 1973 to nearly $300 billion in 1980. Much of this increased revenue was spent on goods produced in the industrialized Western nations. In contrast, oil-importing nations had to give up more of their own production in exchange for the oil imports that they required. In terms of goods as a whole, the rise in oil prices raised the buying power of OPEC and reduced the buying power of oil-importing countries such as Germany and Japan.

The world economy was producing more for OPEC and less for Germany and Japan. Although it is the most important single answer to the ‘for whom' question, the economy is an intricate, interconnected system and a disturbance anywhere ripples throughout the entire economy.

In answering the «what» and «how» questions, we have seen that some activities expanded and others contracted following the oil price shocks. Expanding industries may have to pay higher wages to attract the extra labour that they require. For example, in the British economy coal miners were able to use the renewed demand for coal to secure large wage increases. The opposite effects may have been expected if the 1986 oil price slump had persisted.

 

Вариант 3

 

Let's turn to the most important tool for an economist - the production possibility frontier. This frontier shows the maximum combinations of output that the economy can produce, if it uses all its available scarce resources.

The easiest way to explain it is to complete a figure. First, the vertical axis or line, is labelled «food output». The units of food output run from nought at the bottom to 25 at the top, entering the units of food output in fives: 0, 5, 10, etc. Along the horizontal axis (or the bottom line) we have units of film output. Let's enter in the units of film output in fives again, this time up to 30.

Suppose we have an economy with only food and film industries. Now, if we put all the workers into producing food, we shall produce 25 units of food, but no units of film. We can mark this on the diagram with point A - no film, 25 units of food. It means point A comes on the vertical line at the number 25. Now, at the other extreme, if the economy puts all its workers into producing film, it will produce 30 units, but it will not produce any food. So, the next point is on the bottom, horizontal line, at 30 units. Let's label it as point E.

These two points, A and E, are the two extreme points of the production possibility frontier. Let's put in three more points. Point В is where the economy is producing 22 units of food and 9 units of film. Point С is where the economy is producing 17 points of both film and food. And, finally, point D is where we have 10 units of food and 24 units of film. Now draw a line joining all these points together, from A to E. The line drawn is not a straight line, it's a concave curve. It is this concave curve that is called the production possibility frontier.

The production possibility frontier represents a trade-off. More of one commodity, food of film, means less of the other, and this is because of the law of diminishing returns. It states that if, in the production of a commodity, one factor of production is increased by stages while the other factors are kept unchanged, the stage will sooner or later be reached where each farther addition 1 to the increasing factor will produce a smaller and smaller increase in output.

 

Вариант 4

 

Normative economics is based on subjective value judgements, not on the search for any objective truth. The following statement combines positive and normative economics: "The elderly have very high medical expenses compared with the rest of the population, and the government should subsidize health bills of the aged." The first part of the proposition – the claim that the aged have relatively high medical bills – is a statement in positive economics, it is a statement about how the world works, and we can imagine a research programme that could determine whether or not it is correct. Broadly speaking, this assertion happens to be correct.

The second part of the proposition – the recommendation about what the government should do – could never be "proved" to be correct or false by any scientific research investigation. It is simply a subjective value judgement based on the feelings of the person making the statement. Many people might happen to share this subjective judgement, for example those people who believe that all '• citizens alive today should be able to purchase roughly equal amounts of luxury and recreational goods after paying for the necessities of life. But other people might reasonably disagree. You might believe that it is more important to devote society's scarce resources to improving the environment.

There is no way that economics can be used to show that one of these normative judgements is correct and the other is wrong. It all depends on the preferences or priorities of the individual or the society that has to make this choice. But that does not mean that economics can threw no light on normative issues. We can use positive economics to spell out the detailed implications of making the choice one way or the other. For example, we might be able to show that failure to subsidize the medical bills of the elderly leads middle-aged people to seek a lot of unnecessary medical check-ups in an attempt to detect diseases before their treatment becomes expensive. Society might have to devote a great deal of resources to providing check-up facilities, leaving less resources available than had been supposed to devote to improving the environment. Positive economics can be used to clarify the menu of options from which society must eventually make its normative choice.

 

Вариант 5

 

DIFFERENT KINDS OF MONEY

In prisoner-of-war camps, cigarettes served as money. In the 19th century money was mainly gold and silver coins. These are examples of commodity money, ordinary goods with industrial uses (gold) and consumption uses (cigarettes), which also serve as a medium of exchange. To use a commodity money, society must either cut back on other uses of that commodity or devote scarce resources to producing additional quantities of the commodity. But there are less expensive ways for society to produce money.

A token money is a means of payment whose value or purchasing power as money greatly exceeds its cost of production or value in uses other than as money.

A $10 note is worth far more as money than as a 3x6 inch piece of high-quality paper. Similarly, the monetary value of most coins exceeds the amount you would get by melting them down and selling off the metals they contain. By collectively agreeing to use token money, society economizes on the scarce resources required to produce money as a medium of exchange. Since the manufacturing rastoare tiny, why doesn't everyone make $10 notes?

The essential condition for the survival of token money is the restriction of the right to supply it. Private production is illegal.

Society enforces the use of token money by making it legal tender. The law says it must be accepted as a means of payment.

MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Although the crucial feature of money is its acceptance as the means of payment or medium of exchange, money has other functions. It serves as a standard of value, a unit of account, a store of value and as a standard of deferred payment. We discuss each of the functions of money in turn.

 

Вариант 6

OTHER FUNCTIONS OF MONEY

Money can also serve as a standard of value. Society considers it convenient to use a monetary unit to determine relative costs of different goods and services. In this function money appears as the unit of account, is the unit in which prices are quoted and accounts are kept.

In Russia prices are quoted in roubles; in Britain, in pounds sterling; in the USA, in US dollars; in France, in French francs. It is usually convenient to use the units in which the medium of exchange is measured as the unit of account as well. However there are exceptions. During the rapid German inflation of 1922-1923 when prices in marks were changing very quickly, German shopkeepers found it more convenient to use dollars as the unit of account. Prices were quoted in dollars even though payment was made in marks, the German medium of exchange.

The situation in Russia nowadays reminds of that in Germany.

Money is a store of value because it can be used to make purchases in the future.

To be accepted in exchange, money has to be a store of value. Nobody would accept money as payment for goods supplied today if the money was going to be worthless when they tried to buy goods with it tomorrow. But money is neither the only nor necessarily the best store of value. Houses, stamp collections, and interest-bearing bank accounts all serve as stores of value. Since money pays no interest and its real purchasing power is eroded by inflation, there are almost certainly better ways to store value.

Finally, money serves as a standard of deferred payment or a unit of account over time. When you borrow, the amount to be repaid next year is measured in pounds sterling or in some other hard currency. Although convenient, this is not an essential function of money. UK citizens can get bank loans specifying in dollars the amount that must be repaid next year. Thus the key feature of money is its use as a medium of exchange. For this, it must act as a store of value as well. And it is usually, though not invariably, convenient to make money the unit of account and standard of deferred payment as well.

 

Вариант 7

 

A commercial bank borrows money from the public, crediting them with a deposit. The deposit is a liability of the bank. It is money owed to depositors. In turn the bank lends money to firms, households or governments wishing to borrow.

Banks are not the only financial intermediaries. Insurance companies, pension funds, and building societies also take in money in order to relend it. The crucial feature of banks is that some of their liabilities are used as a means of payment, and are therefore part of the money stock.

Commercial banks are financial intermediaries with a government license to make loans and issue deposits, including deposits against, which cheques can be written.

Let's start by looking at the present-day UK banking system. Although the details vary from country to country, the general principle is much the same everywhere.

In the UK, the commercial banking system comprises about 600 registered banks, the National Girobank operating through post offices, and a dozen trustee saving banks. Much the most important single group is the London clearing banks. The clearing banks are so named because they have a central clearing house for handling payments by cheque.

A clearing system is a set of arrangements in which debts between banks are settled by adding up all the transactions in a given period and paying only the net amounts needed to balance inter-bank accounts.