Term
| 5 problems leading to environmental degradation |
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Definition
- collective action failures
- negative externalities
- NIMBY movements
- Hyperconsumerism: societal expectation to consume
- concentrations of economic power |
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Term
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Definition
def: a cost that doesn't get factored in, cost is shifted to the public or future generations
- distribution of air pollution is disproportionate by state |
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Term
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Definition
"not in my backyard"
-displacing environmental hazards on to the powerless
-organized and disorganized communities
- environmental inequalities, racism, injustice
- interaction between negative externalities and political process result in disproportionate burdens on poor and minority communities |
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Term
| Concentrations of Economic power |
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Definition
- access to policy makers
- monopolization of relevant expertise
- For capitalist firms, pollution is not an accident, but rather a convenient way to displace the cost to others |
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Term
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Definition
def: the failure of institutional actors to carry out their responsibilities with the degree of rigor necessary to merit the level of societal trust they enjoy
-in this highly specialized division of labor, we have to trust and recreancy is a failure to live up to that trust
- modern society involves a trade-off between affluence and vulnerability |
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Term
| Positive externalities of cars |
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Definition
- Individual convenience and comfort
- Greater access (eg extensive road system) |
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Term
| Negative externalities of cars |
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Definition
- Environmental degradation
- Congestion
- Inefficient use of labor force
- Costs of oil and foreign oil dependence
- Roads require continued investment over time |
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Term
| Positive externalities of Public Transportation |
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Definition
- Reduced environmental costs
- Reduced reliance on fossil fuels
- Improved use of labor force
- Reduced urban congestion
- Improved public health
- Reduced need for invested in the private auto infrastructure |
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Term
| Negative externalities of Public Transportation |
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Definition
- Reduced individual convenience
- Require maintenance over time |
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Term
| What is the real cost of oil? |
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Definition
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Term
| Solutions for Transportation issues |
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Definition
- Rethink transportation mix
- No free parking
- Build infrastructure for transportation alternatives: bike path, rapid transit
- Increased residential density within cities
- Fully recognize the value of positive externalities in the price of public transportation
- The full cost of driving should be reflected in gas taxes |
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Term
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Definition
- consumerism is promoted through by markets
- leads to large negative externalities
- Aren't people the best judge of their desires? |
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Term
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Definition
| the belief that personal well-being and happiness depend on personal consumption, particularly of material goods |
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Term
| Evidence of consumerist society |
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Definition
1. Pervasiveness of marketing
2. Trend of larger houses, larger cars
3. Time spent working vs leisure time
4. Attitudes about work, leisure |
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Term
| What's so wrong with consumerism? |
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Definition
Env sustainability
Work and Spend Treadmill: to feed our consumptive desires, we have to work all the time |
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Term
| Why is Health Care a different kind of commodity? |
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Definition
- extraordinary value of the service
- supply generates demand
- competition leads to over-investment
- increased investment in technology
- Ethical issues in distribution: some rationing process is inevitable
- Information costs for average consumer
- Preventative medicine: market for Health vs. Market for treatment |
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Term
| Types of Health Care systems |
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Definition
1. Beveridge model ("Socialized medicine")
2. Bismark--Germany's
3. National Health Insurance (single-payer) |
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Term
| Beveridge model Health care |
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Definition
- Gov't pays, via taxes
- Doctors and clinics tend to be gov't owned
- no insurance
- countries: Britain, Cuba
-criticism: waiting lists, series of referrals, "gate-keeping" |
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Term
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Definition
-everyone's covered: Health insurance plans have to cover everybody and they don't make a profit
- privately run
- uses an insurance system: the insurers are called "sickness funds", usually financed jointly by employers and employees through payroll
- multi-payer method
-low costs
-countries: Germany |
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Term
| 3 basic elements of a Capitalistic economy |
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Definition
1) Market for exchange
2) Private ownership and control of investment
3) Market for labor |
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Term
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Definition
| no one can improve w/o someone else being worse off |
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Term
| According to book, problems inherent to markets |
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Definition
| inefficiency and market failures |
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Term
| 5 problems in functioning of capitalistic market |
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Definition
1. Information failures
2. Concentrations of economic power
3. Negative externalities
4. Short time horizons
5. Public goods |
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Term
| Two main social costs of an automobile-based transportation system |
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Definition
1) environmental costs
2) time costs |
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