The balance of payments is the main measure of import and exports in Essay

The balance of payments is the main measure of import and exports in the UK. For some years the balance of payment s has been in - Essay Example Additionally, an accurate balance of payment deficit must make provisions for errors and omissions to account for the missed out data. When there is a disequilibria in the balance of payments as a result of certain sections of the balance of payments being in deficit, then we can conclude that an economy’s balance of payments is deficit. This in most cases occurs with respect to deficits in a countries and to a smaller extent trade deficits. This is theoretically explained by the fact that for equilibrium to be reached, there must be a balance between capital/ current accounts values and the financial account. This therefore explains the UK situation is that if there is a deficit in current account then there must be a surplus on the capital/financial account (Nikolas 2010, p. 59). The ever persistent UK current account deficit can be traced to mid-1980s with a review of the current account revealing that the imports of goods and services exceed their exports. A critical revie w of the values of balance of payment account observed from the first quarter of the year 2000 to the last quarter of this year show a deteriorating current account. The study reveals a current deficit of over 12 billion pounds as at the last quarter of 2012 translating to a 3.2% of the GDP. ... This is majorly attributed to the process of de-industrialisation which accelerated in the early 1980s. A growth in consumer spending that UK been experiencing is majorly as a result of rapid increase in the imports leading to the worsening of the current account. Looking at the 1980s boom, it is evident that the fall in the rate of savings and the resulting rise in the consumer spending of the UK citizens led to the record deficit in current accounts. On the other hand, the recession experienced in 1991 which resulted to the consequent improvement in the current account improvement and subsequent falling in the spending on imports (Guillermo 1978). Another important reason that can be attributed to the deficit in balance of payments is the overvalued exchange rates. This, apart from, other countries like Spain, Greece and Portugal can be attributed to the large account deficits in the countries as it makes exports from the countries more expensive in the international markets while the imports becomes cheaper. This is a motivation to the local consumers to purchase of the imports which are relatively cheap while on the other hand making the market tougher for the exporters since it makes them uncompetitive in the market compared to exporters from other countries. With overvalued exchange rate, there are expectations of general competitiveness in amongst various firms. A decline in relative competitiveness coupled with rising costs, poor quality of goods and industrial unrests which results to difficulties in making exportations which causes deterioration of the current account of the UK (Stijn 1988). Various economists have attribute

Mediation Observation Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Mediation Observation Paper - Assignment Example The mediation case in focus involved James Nguyen, a student of Chapman law and who acted as the mediator between Robert and Swoboda who were the plaintiffs and Keith Mullens who was the defendant at the Corona Superior Court. Robert and Swoboda were couples who rented their house to Keith who upon vacation left the couple’s house in damaged state and was therefore sued for failure to pay for repair and rent of the previous month. However the disagreements, it became apparent that the plaintiffs and the defendant had never engaged in any conflict for the past five years that Keith rented the plaintiffs’ structure. All the parties were convinced and accepted to engage mediation process and Keith indicated that he would not be able to pay for the alleged damages and therefore requested that the plaintiffs drop the demands. On the other side, the plaintiffs held strongly that they could not drop the demands and the case was taken back to court where the plaintiffs were den ied their demands after long period of time. Effective mediation requires that the individual mediator follow certain sequential processes and procedures that will enable him/her comfort the parties and achieve utmost transparency of opinions and views. Usually, mediation process begins with introduction between the mediator and the individual parties and any other additional party present in the session(s). The introduction part is usually very critical as it determines the moods and emotions of the individual conflicting parties and allows the mediator an opportunity to employ other strategies to comfort the parties (Douglas and James 4). Introductory part of the mediation process requires the mediator use the most appropriate physical presentation to ensure that no individual party is frightened or threatened by the just intended process. According to Douglas and James, this stage needs to be accomplished with all parties who are located in different structures (6). In the introd uctory stage, the mediator clarifies the roles of each participant in the process and explains the rules that should govern the mediation process and the actual time frame for the process. The mediator will then acknowledge by reaffirming to both parties about the issues under determination or the actual cause for the mediation (Cohen 6). In his mediation practice, James Nguyen involved all necessary aspects introduction to ensure that nothing was left in doubt. In introducing my friend Abdul Sameer and I, James described us as his fellow law students who had come to particularly assess his progress and approach to the mediation process. James reiterated to the individual conflicting parties that we the third party had nothing to do with their discussion and therefore the parties had no reason to fear expressing their vies in transparent manner. It is at this level of mediation that James Nguyen informed the conflicting parti