INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND THE FOCUS ON

ECONOMY - 1

TEXT:

The people and the institutions that combine together to convert

resources into finished products collectively form the economic
system or economy. The nature of the modern economy is fairly
complex and no two economies are exactly similar. Nevertheless, it is
useful to identify three different kinds of economic system: the
market economy, the centralized or command economy and the
mixed economy. In general terms, a market is any means of bringing
people together to buy and sell goods.

Two conditions are necessary for goods or services to be produced in

this economy. First there must be a demand for the goods - there must
be people willing and able to buy them at prevailing princes. Second,
producers must be able to sell their goods at a profit. In the market
economy, the combination of consumers seeking the best value for
money and producers seeking efficient production determines the use
of resources. Some systems do not trust the market mechanisms, and
in extreme cases they abandon them altogether. Although the motive
for this may be mainly political, there are clear economic
implications. Instead of the market determining what is produced,
decisions are taken by the Government. This is because a Government
is likely to have priorities different from those of individuals. This
kind of economy does have the important disadvantages of needing a
large number of administrators to make decisions. What has happened
in practice is that most economies have developed as a mixture
between the market economy and the centralized economy.

The balance between the market economy and the Government's

control of the economy will vary from country to country, the degree
of Government involvement depending on the political objectives of
the Government itself.

VOCABULARY: EXPRESSIONS

 to make a profit on smth - a obţine un profit de pe urma unui lucru;

 to pick up with smb - a face cunoştinţă/a stabili relaţii cu cineva
(de obicei din întâmplare);
 to strive for an end - a se strădui să atingă un ţel;
 to take account of smth/to take smth into account - a ţine seama de
ceva, a lua în considerare ceva;
 to take a chance - a risca, a nu-şi încerca norocul;
 to stop short/to stop dead - a se opri brusc;
 to strain the law - a forţa legea/interpreta legea în mod părtinitor;
 to stay the course - a rezista până la capăt;
 to state the case - a proceda la expunerea faptelor (în tribunal);
 to set a trap for smb - a întinde o cursă cuiva;
 to score an advantage/to score a success - a înregistra un success.

DEBATE SECTION:

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND THE FOCUS ON

ECONOMY - 2
Economics is concerned with the ways in which various scarce
economic resources are converted into goods and services required
within the community. There are several ways in which economists
might deal with the processes that are within an economy. For
example, they might simply observe what is going on and record it.

When investigating the operation of a economy, the economist is

dealing with people and they are not only different, they are
unpredictable; they cannot gather them together in a laboratory,
eliminate friction, gravity as idiosyncrasy, make assertions about the
effects of the various economic policies. What they can do is to
examine society as it is, study its reactions to past experiments in
economic policies, and on this basis, try to forecast its response to new
policy initiatives.

They may be assisted by the construction of economic models,

designed to highlight certain aspects of economic life. An economic
model is really a mathematical representation of an economy (or part
of an economy) which enables the relationship between certain causes
and effects to be examined. It is important to be clear about what use
the models have. They do not tell us what should be done; their
purpose is to predict the consequences of certain courses of action. For
example, the Government might wish to reduce tax revenue by a
billion pounds. This might be achieved in a number of ways; a
reduction in the basic rate of income tax, a reduction in the higher rate
of income tax, a decrease in value added tax or excise duties or a
combination of these. The Treasure has a model of the economy and
each of these projected changes can be into it so that the likely
consequences of each can be assessed. It is then a political decision as
to which course of action is taken; it is not a matter of a unique answer
to a problem.

The economist can point out the likely effects; the politician must
balance advantages against disadvantages before deciding on which
course of action to take.

GRAMMAR SECTION:

Language Exercise: Do or does? - Match the items on the right

with the items on the left.

DO and DOES both refer to a verb which infers that a task or an

action is accomplished by a person or being. These are mainly two
forms of the same verb Do. While Do is the first person simple tense
form does is used for second and third person.

To understand the difference between the two it is best to use an

illustration or an example.
First person - Singular
I do the task regularly.
Second Person - Singular
You do the task regularly.
Third Person - Singular
He does the task regularly.
DOES is used when you are referring to a third person. It is used in
the present tense and with a singular form. When referring to group of
people or more than one entity then we use "Do" while talking about a
single person or a thing even in third person form "Does" is used. E.g.
She does the cooking nicely. However when referring to more than
one entity in third person we use "Do". For e.g. they do the cooking
nicely.

DO and DOES are also used frequently in formation of interrogative

sentences. Questions are formulated using these verb forms often
however there is a slight difference in the usage of two. For example
let us see the following sentence "Do you know the basic difference
between what she does and what I Do?" As used in simple sentences,
the basic rule for usage of do and does is same. For first person and
second person questions are formed using Do. However when you are
talking about a noun in third person you simple use "DOES". So the
same sentence discussed above becomes "Does she understand the
basic difference between what you do and what I do?"

People often get confused while using the two verbs in the sentences.
There are a lot or errors seen in the writing of even the people who are
adept users of English language. It is true that the two verb forms are
too closely similar and it takes a deep understanding of the basic rules
of grammar pertaining to the usage of the two. However once the rules
are well understood it becomes absolutely easy to distinguish between
the two and use them correctly.

Another place where do and does may cause confusion is for

non-living objects.
What does this word means?
What do these words mean?

______ sit down.

doesn't do does don't

I ______ remember much about him.

doesn't do does don't

My husband ______ most of the housework.

doesn't do does don't
 You remember me, ______ you?
doesn't do does don't

We ______ think you are suitable for the job.

I'm very sorry.
doesn't do does don't

I ______ think that this is a good idea.

doesn't do does don't

We don't want to do that, ______ we?

doesn't do does don't

It ______ bear thinking about.

doesn't do does don't

They ______ seem very happy.

doesn't do does don't

We ______ need to see you again.

Our minds are made up.
doesn't do does don't