Inflation in Saudi Arabia

Introduction In the recent past, there has been an unprecedented easing of monetary and fiscal policies in many countries. This has raised widespread concerns that the policies may plunge the world economy into a period of hyperinflation. Already in Saudi Arabia, inflation has been rising. This has been attributed to the government’s recent expansion of fiscal lending, which makes a rise in inflation inevitable. The main factors that drive Saudi’s inflation include food prices, high inflation in trading partner’s economies, and a rise in domestic rent.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Inflation in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Methodology In the eighties and nineties, inflation in Saudi Arabia was maintained at a low of 1%. However, since 2003, the inflation rate has risen rapidly and by 2008, it exceeded 11%: a phenomenon that has negatively affected the citizens (Mehran, 2009 , p. 3). Although the World financial crisis resulted to a temporary decline in the inflation rate, it again started rising since 2010. This paper, using the quarterly data from 1980 to 2010, examines the causes behind the inflation in Saudi, its effects, and the effectiveness of the counter-strategies and policies the Saudi government has put in place to curb the rising inflation. The paper will also investigate the solutions provided to the problem of runaway inflation and give recommendations on the same. The paper utilizes a methodology that incorporates both foreign and domestic factors that affect the inflation rate in the Saudi context. It will examine the external factors as a source of inflation in Saudi, given the open trade nature of the Saudi economy characterized by oil exports and importation of consumer goods from overseas. The rise in the prices globally will be examined alongside the Saudi domestic prices. Given Saudi’s dependence on exports, fluctuation in t he value of the US dollar is a fundamental determinant of the rate of inflation in Saudi both in the short-term and long-term. Additionally, the rise in the domestic demand fuelled by the sharp increase in oil prices has also accelerated the rate of inflation in Saudi Arabia. By focusing on each factor in turn, this paper aims to find the correlation between inflation in Saudi’s trading partners (OECD countries) and the domestic inflation rate. The paper will also undertake a food price outlook in the wake of rising inflation rate and its effects on Saudi staples such as rice and wheat. What is Inflation? Inflation is a common term in economic circles, but its meaning is often misconstrued. Inflation, in simple terms, refers to a continuous increase in prices of goods and services in an economy (Dhakal, Kandil, 1993, p. 414). More specifically, inflation refers to the continuous increase in prices as measured by consumer indices like the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or a price deflator such as that used for the determination of Gross National Product (GNP) (Juselius, 1992, p. 401).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Inflation can also be described as the loose of the purchasing power of a country’s currency because of too much money in circulation, or rise in consumer demand. Under these circumstances, more cash is needed to purchase goods previously bought at a lower price. Thus, in defining inflation, two terms must be clarified. First, is the general or aggregate; this implies that the inflation rate constitutes the rise in prices of the entire goods in an economy as opposed to focusing on an isolated increase in the price of a given commodity (Juselius, 1992, p. 402). Here, the implication is that a rise in prices of a single commodity cannot serve as an indication of inflation in an economy. However, in some circumstances, a rise in the price of a single commodity can lead to a rise in the prices of other products. An example here is oil prices. Nevertheless, such an isolated rise in prices of a given commodity does not indicate inflation, unless the price induces the aggregate price level of an economy to rise. Second, the increase in the aggregate price level must occur over a given period; that is, it must be sustained for inflation to occur. In other words, the aggregate price level must rise continuously over a given period or period intervals separated by one sharp increase in the price level. Types of Inflation The types of inflation are distinguishable based on the magnitude of the rise in annual prices and the period over which it continues to rise. As such, inflation conventionally ranges from mild inflation to severe inflation. An annual price rise of 1% for several years amounts to mild inflation, which does not warrant much attention given that the price index figures may not be remarkably accurate. Fo r instance, in times of war, quality or quantity of goods may deteriorate resulting to a rise in the real price level, which the price index may not capture. On the other hand, an aggregate price level that rises at an average of 2 or 3 percent annually cannot be ignored especially if it continues over a prolonged period (Juselius, 1992, p. 404). It may not be serious if it continues for a few years after which the prices decline or stabilize at a lower level. However, if the annual price rise is continuous with no spans of lower prices, then it presents a serious problem even at 2 or 3%.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Inflation in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Inflation can be grouped into four broad categories based on its magnitude; creeping inflation, walking inflation, running inflation and hyperinflation (Juselius, 1992, p. 407). Creeping inflation-is the inflation that occurs when the an nual price rise is low. A continuous annual price rise of not more than 3 % per annum is a creeping inflation. It is considered ineffectual and necessary for economic growth. If this inflation continues for a prolonged period, it is referred to as chronic creeping inflation, which can be intermittent or continuous. Walking Inflation- is the inflation that occurs when the annual price rise is moderate. The inflation rate in this case is a single digit usually above 3% but less than 10% per annum. Walking inflation indicates that the government must implement policies to control it before it becomes a galloping or trotting inflation. Running Inflation- is the inflation that occurs when the price rise is rapid and accelerated at a rate of 10 to 20% annually. It is also known as galloping or trotting inflation. Running inflation has profound adverse effects on the middle class and the poor citizenry of a country. It calls for strong fiscal and monetary policies to control it. When it ha ppens, creditors demand protection from anticipated lose of the currency’s purchasing power while debtors get the impression that they will reap from the higher rates. Hyperinflation- is the inflation that occurs when the annual price rise is unusually high with double or triple digit inflation rates. At hyperinflation stage, the inflation rate is immeasurable and uncontrollable. As such, the prices of commodities can rise continuously in a short time resulting to a continuous decline in the currency’s purchasing power. Causes of Inflation in Saudi Arabia Previous studies on the reasons behind inflation in most countries identify some domestic and external factors as the causes of inflation. These factors include demand, monetary factors, cost-push, and foreign inflationary trends. Hasan and Alogeel (2008, p. 45), while focusing on Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, established that currency supply and demand affect the inflation rate in the short run while inflation in foreign trade partners influences inflation in the two countries in the long run. In contrast, Darrat (1985, p. 211) established that inflation in Libya, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria is affected by minimal growth in real income and higher currency supply. He also established that Saudi’s inflationary rate is more affected by prices in international markets than by fiscal or monetary policies. Another study by Alshathree (2003, p. 12), examined the causes of inflation in the countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of which Saudi is a member. He found that internal factors such as GDP growth and currency supply and external factors such as high world prices, import prices and interest rates globally influenced inflation in these countries. Additionally, Alshathree (2003, p. 17) established that inflation is not a serious threat to Gulf countries at least I the short run. However, it has the potential of causing harm to the economies of these countries in the end. Thus, t he world prices and interest rates is a leading cause of inflation in the GCC economies because of their reliance on imports. However, Kandil and Hanan (2009, p. 4) believe the contrary; that world prices are not the main cause of inflation in GCC economies, rather oil prices are. They contend that oil prices influence the world prices leading to a sharp rise in the prices of imports. Additionally, the increase in oil prices results to increased government spending due to a rise in oil revenues, in these countries. This in turn results to a rise in domestic demand pushing up inflation. By using a methodology that includes both internal and external factors, this paper will investigate inflation in a Saudi context. The economy of Saudi Arabia is an open trade economy given that the country is a significant exporter of oil products and a net importer of a variety of products.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This means that Saudi is prone to inflation resulting from a rise in the price imports from inflation-affected countries. At the same time, Saudi can transfer inflation to its trading partners via oil exports. Additionally, the domestic price is largely influenced by the cost of non-tradable items that rely on a number of monetary factors. Normally, the price level, an indicator of inflation, is determined as a weighted mean of the cost of both the tradable and non-tradable goods (Engle, Granger, 1987, p. 252). Tradable goods rely on external factors such as exchange rates and world prices. The prices of non-tradable goods, on the other hand, depend on the domestic demand, which is a product of the domestic money market conditions. Thus, in a Saudi context, the external factors are the principal causes of inflation, which arises from the fact that the Saudi economy is an open economy with high import volumes from oversea markets. As a result, a rise in world prices and the fluctuat ion in exchange rates i.e. the Riyal against the Dollar stimulate inflation in both the short run and long run. Additionally, a rise in domestic demand in Saudi resulting from a sharp rise in oil prices, has also led to a rise of the inflation rate. Effects of Inflation in Saudi Arabia A small inflation rate or creeping inflation is a praiseworthy thing in any economy. In contrast, deflation tends to reduce domestic consumption as it makes households postpone expenditure by expecting a further drop in prices. This, in turn, influences firms to reduce their investment as the consumption rate declines. Subsequently, the national output begins to shrink resulting to unemployment and slow economic growth. Additionally, the real interest rates increase resulting to a credit crunch and massive defaults. Nevertheless, high inflation is problematic. It distorts prices of commodities adversely affecting savings and the value of earnings, which discourages investment. It also stimulates capit al flow into foreign assets and unprofitable real estate thereby affecting economic planning. Hyperinflation can trigger political and social unrest. Thus, an average, predictable and sustainable inflation rate is the ultimate goal of any monetary policy as it protects producers and consumers and encourages saving. Saudi’s experience with rising inflation has had profound effects on its economy Given the rise in inflation, the cost of living index (CLI) Saudi rose by an average of 9.9 % in 2008 indicating a rise in prices of consumer goods (Hasan, Alogeel, 2008, p. 34). The wholesale price index also increased by 9% over the same period, which indicates a further pressure on consumers. In particular, the inflationary pressures were felt in the food and beverage index that rose by an average of 14% in 2008. Large increase were evident in the cereal sector with rice, a key staple food for Saudi citizens, cooking oil and dairy products; all of which are imported from other coun tries. The trend reflected the global oil prices, which rose by an average of 38% during in 2007/2008 period, consequently raising transportation costs for food products. Furthermore, there has been a general rise in consumer inflation in Saudi’s main trading partners in 2008 occasioned by the global financial crisis. Indeed, the majority of Saudi’s main import markets have experienced a rise in the inflation rate with the inflation rate in the US (the utmost import market of Saudi Arabia Kingdom) rising from 2.9% in 2007 to 3.8% in 2008. The inflation rate also rose in other import markets including Germany (from 2.3% to 2.8% in 2008), India (6.4% to 8.3%), Korea (2.5% to 4.7%), and China from 4.8% to 5.9% (Dhakal, Kandil, 1993, p. 419). This general rise in the inflation rate in Saudi’s leading import markets triggered a price increase involving a broad range of imports including chemicals (rose by 14% in 2008), manufactured products (increased by 14%) and ma chinery and other equipment (rose by 6.2%). The Saudi inflation resulted to weakening of the exchange rates with leading currencies including the US Dollar against the Saudi’s Riyal. The current economic growth in Saudi began in 2003, but this did not translate to higher rents as much of the labor comprised of expatriates. However, in 2008, the rents began to rise because of the higher inflation rate. In particular, real estate and commercial establishments, which are in high demand, have registered increased rents occasioned by inflation. Inflation in Saudi Arabia from 1980 to 2010 The inflation rate in the Saudi economy has been low for the period 1980 to 2003 largely because of the oil boom experienced in the seventies. During this duration, the Saudi’s inflation rate fluctuated between a deflation and a small inflation with the average rate being less than 1% (Dhakal, Kandil, 1993, p. 421). However, since 2003, the rate of inflation has increased rapidly reaching a maximum of 11% in 2008. Then, between the last quarter of 2008 and the year 2009, it slowed down to an average of 4% in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, the inflation rate began rising beginning in 2010 to about 6% currently. Thus, Saudi Arabia has a history of fluctuating inflation. In particular, the consumer price index in most of Saudi’s history has been low. In the period between 1990 and 1999, the consumer price index rose by an average of only 1.3% while from 2000 to 2006, it increased by just 0.1%. The slow inflation rate indicated several factors including the availability of low-cost imports, average economic growth, capital mobility and high flexibility of the labor market. Additionally, the fixed exchange contributed significantly to a lower inflationary rate. Serious inflation only started in the year 2007. In this year, the average consumer-price inflation rose to an average of 4% annually in the first quarter (from 2.4% reported in 2006) to a high of 6.5% in the last quarter of 2008. The consumer prices gathered pace in this year, resulting to an inflation peak of 11.1%. This weakened the exchange rates. Nevertheless, lending by commercial banks was expanding, and by the second quarter of 2008, it stood at 35% just like in all other GCC countries. Global Financial Crisis and the Saudi Inflation The global financial crisis in 2007/2008 resulted to a decline in the inflation rate in most economies including Saudi Arabia because it resulted to a decline in liquidity and demand. However, there are indications that the inflation rate will not return to a low of 1% as experienced in the 1980s. Already, the inflation rate started rising in 2010 despite government intervention policies eliminating any hopes that it will come down further. The Inflationary Spike in the 2007/2008 period (Government expenditure 2004-2009 as a percentage of GDP As shown in the graph, in the 2007/2008 period, Saudi experienced the highest inflation in the country’s history. The IMF identified various factors as responsible for this unprecedented inflationary spike. The rise in food prices by an average of 7% during this period resulted to a pronounced Cost of Living Index of 4%. The food products that experienced sharp rises in prices included; vegetable (rose by 12%), cereals (by 7%), fish (by 12%), legumes (by 30%) and meat products, which rose by 6% (Hasan, Alogeel, 2008, p. 38). The inflation in other countries (trading partners) is also considered responsible for this inflationary spike. Since it is not easy to disentangle the inflation involving the global food prices, it is a leading cause of inflation in Saudi Arabia. In 2007/2008, inflation was also felt in many countries including Germany, China, the US, which form the principal import markets of Saudi Arabia. The trends increased in the 2007/2008 period with the CLI standing at 9.9%. The Computation of Inflation in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, inf lation is computed by the Central Department of Statistics and Information, a government department that operates independent of the Saudis central bank, the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency (SAMA). This department uses two different indices in computing inflation: the Whole Sale Price Index and the Cost of Living Index (CLI), both of which are surveyed regularly by this department. However, the inflationary trends and the labor productivity are not regularly surveyed (Mehran, 2009, p. 3). Historically, Saudi has had a low and stable inflation. The CLI, in the context of Saudi, incorporates the prices of a broad range of products. The CLI relies on a 1999 index (Hasan, Alogeel, 2008, p. 41) whereby approximately 44% of the CLI comprises of rental and food costs. About 10% of the goods or services included in the CLI are the goods subsidized by the government such as electricity and petroleum products. In Saudi, the prices of these subsidized goods are set, and as a result, they have no impact on the CLI. In Saudi Arabia, the central bank, SAMA, is responsible for stabilizing the prices and the exchange rates. In theory, the maintenance of exchange rates is given a priority by SAMA to price stability. For a long period, this has been the case in Saudi’s economy. The consumer prices only rose by an average of 1.3% in the 1990-1999 periods and only 0.1% during the 2000-2007 periods (Wang, Wen, 2007, p. 204). During these periods, the exchange rate remained relatively stable. The inflation rate during these periods was low attributable to cheap imports from import markets, flexibility in capital and labor markets and a moderate economic growth. Evidently, the fixed exchange rate lowered the inflationary rate. How Does Inflation Affect the Society, Firms and the Government? The effects of inflation in an economy are everywhere. It affects people, various firms or government economic agents in different ways. In any society, there are two broad economic groups: the flexible income group and the fixed income group (Keran, Al Malik, 1979, p. 11). During periods of inflation, individuals in the flexible income group gain while those belonging to the fixed income group lose. This arises because the price or cost of various goods and services is not uniform. Usually, during inflation, although the aggregate price level rises, the rate at which the cost of individual goods increase differs. In other words, the prices of some goods or services may rise while that of other goods remains relatively unchanged. The middle class and the poor, whose salaries are largely fixed even as the prices of consumer goods continue to increase. By contrast, people in the flexible income group including the industrialists, traders, speculators, businesspersons, and real estate developers, gain from the rise in prices of goods. Thus, the second category becomes rich at the expense of the first group. This means there is a net movement of wealth and income from th e poor in the society to the wealthy individuals. In general, the income group in the society that loses or reaps from high inflation is largely dependent on anticipatory practice of individuals. The individuals who anticipate inflation accurately, can change their buying, lending or borrowing practices to avoid either lose of income or gain wealth from inflation (Engle, Granger, 1987, p. 253). The effect of inflation on individuals is different, and as such, it is vital to discuss the effect on various groups separately Debtors and Creditors- In times of inflation, the creditors, in general, are adversely affected. The real value that they can get from money lent out is pegged on the inflation rate. On the other hand, the debtors benefit during periods of inflation as they pay significantly less than the amount they had borrowed in real value (Engle, Granger, 1987, p. 253). As such, inflation affects the creditors while favoring the debtors. Wage Earners – This group may lose or gain during inflation based on how their wages respond to increases in prices. If the wages appropriately respond to the rising prices of goods, then their wages may be pegged on the Cost of Living Index. If this happens, then the wage earners get protection from the adverse effects of inflation. However, more often, there is a delay between the rise in prices and the increase in the employee’s wages by employers, which exposes the wage earners to the negative effects of inflation. The Salaried individuals- Normally, white-collar jobs adjust to inflation slowly than other jobs, as they are performance-based and contractual. Thus, during inflation, individuals with white-collar jobs lose as their salaries are fixed. Fixed Income group of individuals- This group comprises of pensioners, persons under social security, and unemployment benefits among others. Additionally, the recipients of rent also fall under this category. They lose because the payment they receive is f ixed, while the prices of goods continue to rise and the value of money deteriorates. The Investors- The investors fall under the flexible income category; they gain from increased demand. During inflation, the rising prices mean that the company reaps more and more profits. Consequently, the value of the shares or equities held continues to increase as does the dividends. However, investors in bonds and debentures, which have a fixed interest rate, do not gain during inflation as they receive a fixed income even as the value of money declines. Businessmen and other Traders- This group comprises of real estate developers, producers and businesspersons. They gain during inflation as the prices of the goods or property they are trading in rises. At the same time, the cost of production does not increase in line with the prices. Thus, when the price of the trader’s products rises, the income also rises by the same proportion especially in the short run. For real estate developer s, the prices of land and property rise at a faster rate during inflation and hence they make a profit. However, prolonged instability in prices hampers accurate business decision-making. Thus, in the end, wages may rise and subsequently reduce the profits, which in turn would affect future investments. Agriculturalists and Peasant Farmers- This group include peasant farmers, property owners and agriculturalists with no land ownership. The property owners receive fixed rents despite the increase in prices; thus, they loose. In contrast, the peasant farmers gain, as they own land and cultivate goods whose prices keep on rising during inflation. In times of inflation, though the cost of production increases, the prices of agricultural products increase at a much faster rate (Nelson, Plosser, 1982, p. 141). In other words, the cost of farm inputs and land rates do not increase at the same rate as the increase in the prices of agricultural products. Thus, peasant farmers who own and cu ltivate crops gain during inflation as the general prices of food crops rise. On the other hand, agricultural workers who are landless and rely on wages paid by the owners of farms lose during inflation, as their wages remain the same even as the prices of consumer goods increase. Additionally, since they often lack trade unions to lobby for wage increment, they are losers during inflation. The Government- The government loses and gains during inflation as inflation affects the government both positively and negatively. As a debtor, the government gains from inflation through high interest paid by creditors, usually households. This arises from the fact that, â€Å"during inflation, the interest rates on debentures and government bonds remain fixed† (Engle, Granger, 1987, p. 254); they are not raised to offset the corresponding increase in prices. Additionally, the government through the tax levied can pay off its domestic debt. Inflationary finance obtained from the tax can help the government to fund its activities. As the level of income of employees in response to inflation increase, the government gains through taxation and levies on the incomes and goods. As a result, the government revenue increases as prices rise during inflation. However, the government can also lose through the rise in the salaries of public servants and the rise in the cost of financing public projects including infrastructure, healthcare and schools or educational facilities. Policies taken by the Saudi Government to Curb Inflation The decline in Saudi’s inflation during the 2007 world financial crisis was attributed to several reasons. Among them is the fall in prices of commodities in Saudi’s import markets, a reduction of oil prices, a reduction in domestic demand, and the rise in the Dollar value against leading currencies globally. However, the outlook of Saudi’s inflation indicates that inflation is likely to increase again despite the government policies to curb it. The expected rise in oil prices, which will result to increased public spending, prolonged dollar weakness, expected increases in world prices of agricultural products and the rise in public expenditure are among the factors that would lead to the rise in inflation again. The government policies in response to inflation have not been effective as indicated by the rise of the inflation rate since 2010. The SAMA tightened the monetary and fiscal policies during the inflationary spike. These included an increase in the value of reserve requirements for commercial banks and tightening of the treasury bills issues. However, the ineffectiveness of these measures prompted SAMA to change focus to exchange rate control especially the pegging of the Saudi riyal to the US dollar. Commentators made two observations; first, the pegging of the riyal on the dollar created imported inflation as indicated by the sharp rise in inflation during the weakening of the US dollar rela tive to leading world currencies (Kandil, Hanan, 2009, p. 7). In 2007, the US dollar’s Nominal Effective Exchange Rate i.e. its value against weighted value of principal currencies depreciated by 4.3% in 2007 compared to only 1.5% the previous year. This resulted to increase in import prices and subsequently on Saudi’s retail prices. The second observation regarded the monetary policy. The pegging of the riyal on the dollar limited SAMA’s policy options especially with regard to reducing credit and interest rates. If SAMA increased or lowered the interest rates without consideration of the US rates, then this will attract capital inflows, which in turn would result to a rise in the exchange rate. The 2007 financial crisis did little to dampen lending by commercial banks, which stood at 35%: an indicator that, Saudi’s economy was growing remarkably fast (Kandil, Hanan, 2009, p. 9). However, the rate cutting by the US during the same period meant that SAM A had limited options of redeeming liquidity growth to curb inflation. In particular, many policy options are available to the Saudi government to curb inflation. The first policy option involved government’s intervention in the determination of the prices of essential goods. The mechanism here involved price control of commodities especially food products. However, this presented a problem; it affected investment and affected the privatization program in a market economy. The second policy involved government intervention to prevent the rise of rents and real estate rates through the determination of the annual rent increases. However, this had the potential of affecting the real estate sector, reducing investments into the sector and encouraging capital outflow into other investment destinations abroad. Ultimately, this would create a shortage of real estate in the country. A third policy option involves delinking the evaluation of the riyal on the US dollar or raising its value to a higher level. However, this would enhance speculation on the riyal, which would hamper investment and the riyal’s stability. Other policies available include reducing the export of agricultural goods whose prices are high especially agricultural products. The mechanism here involves taxation to reduce the export volumes. However, this affects investments in production and agricultural sectors. Another policy option involves increasing the interest rates to discourage borrowing and encourage saving and reduce liquidity. However, this again affects investment as the cost of borrowing increases. The other policy option involves the reduction of the government expenditure especially in public projects. However, this hampers economic growth rate and recovery as distinguished projects are delayed. The Solution Provided for these Problems The policies implemented by the Saudi government were largely ineffective as the inflation rate, which declined to 4% in 2009 rose to 5 % in 2010 (Kandil, Hanan, 2009, p. 4) The solution provided here is to implement policies that curb inflation but do not affect the national economy or conflict with market mechanisms. The policies need to be comprehensive with fewer impacts on the market economy. In particular, maintaining the stability of the Saudi currency is paramount in curbing inflation. However, this does not mean fixing its value at a higher rate relative to other currencies. Instead, it implies not pegging the Saudi Riyal entirely on the US dollar as this affects the monetary policy especially when the value of the dollar, relative to capital currencies, declines. By not pegging the riyal on US dollar, agricultural goods will attract other investors dealing in other leading currencies, which would raise the world food prices. Additionally, this would result to increased domestic investment especially in the housing sector and ultimately raise the rent rates. However, the mortgage law, which has been propos ed, could serve to alleviate the rental pressures by discouraging investments in real estate and commercial buildings by encouraging investments in middle-level residential housing. Thus, the solution is two pronged: not pegging the riyal on the US dollar alone and the proposed mortgage law. Conclusion This paper involved a study of the causes and effects of inflation in Saudi Arabia between 1980 and 2010. This period showed a significant fluctuation of inflation due to both external and domestic factors. Evidence from the 2008 inflationary spike indicates that, external factors are the prime determinants of Saudi’s inflation; a finding that agrees with the fact that Saudi’s economy is an open trade economy with oil exports and import of many commodities from abroad. The rise in world prices, accompanied by the decline in the value of the US dollar relative to the world main currencies, helped trigger inflation in Saudi during the 2000-2006 period. Additionally, domest ic factors such as the rise in demand occasioned by a rapid rise in oil prices also contributed to the high inflation in Saudi. Nevertheless, the high inflation appears unrelated to money supply in Saudi’s economy. This could be explained by the observation that the riyal is pegged on the US dollar and, therefore, Saudi interest rate is consistent with the fed interest rates. As a result, the low interest rate involving the US dollar has led to low interest-rate effect on Saudi inflation. On the other hand, the low interest rate has presented challenges to Saudi’s monetary policy. Thus, in order to curb inflation in Saudi, monetary policies have to be formulated in a way that diversify the Saudi economy and encourage local output to cut down on imports. Also, reviewing the exchange rate policy by avoiding the pegging of the Riyal on the US dollar can be helpful in combating the high rate of inflation in Saudi. Recommendations To control inflation rate in Saudi in light of external factors, this paper proposes the following recommendations: The adoption of a monetary policy that targets the inflation rate. The fiscal and monetary policies should be based on the inflation rate framework so that the exchange rates and wages are adjusted in line with the prices. For this monetary policy to become successful, the government must reveal the inflation target to all citizens, investors and business community when presenting the national budget so that the interest rate of their savings is adjusted in this regard. Additionally, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) should show commitment in achieving target inflation rate by enhancing transparency in the computation of inflation. Period publications, which show the inflation rates and the deviation from the target inflation rates, can also be useful. The government must also illustrate the approaches of dealing with inflation and strategies of mitigating the effects of inflation, in order to cushion i nvestors and savers from unpredictable interest rates and prices. In controlling inflation or its effects, the government must not rely on policies that in any way affect the market mechanisms and force as this will affect liquidity. The government must undertake to increase the national output, especially of agricultural and food products to cut down on imports. The findings in this paper indicate that import inflation is largely responsible for the current high inflation in Saudi. Thus, by reducing increasing production, imports from inflation-prone economies will be reduced. Lastly, the Saudi government must seek a solution for the high rents for real estate and housing sector through the mortgage law. Otherwise, inflation and its effects will continue to affect the national economy. Reference List Alshathree, S. (2003). Determinants of inflation in GCC: Master Dissertation. Economic  Department, King Saud University, 12-25 Darrat, A. (1985). The monetary Explanation of Inflat ion: The experience of three major OPEC economies. Journal of Economics and Business, 37(16), 209-221. Dhakal, D., Kandil, M. (1993). The inflationary experiences of six developing countries in Asia: An investigation of underlying determinants. Applied Economics, 25, 413-425. Engle, R., Granger, J. (1987). Co-integration and error correction: representation; estimating and testing. Econometrica, 55, 251-276. Hasan, M., Alogeel, H. (2008). Understanding the Inflationary Process in the GCC Region: The Case of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. International Monetary Fund Working Paper, 08/193, 33-47 Juselius, K. (1992). Domestic and foreign effects on prices in an open economy: The case of Denmark. Journal of Policy Modeling, 14(6), 401-428. Kandil, M. Hanan, M. (2009). Determinants of inflation in GCC. International Monetary  Fund Working Paper, 09/82, 1-9. Keran, M., Al Malik, A. (1979). Monetary sources of inflation in Saudi Arabia. Federal  Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Re view, 11-18. Mehran, H. (2009). Inflation in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and the role of oil funds in economic stability. Discussion Paper Series, Arab Planning Institute, 2-4. Nelson, C., Plosser, C. (1982). Trends and random walks in macroeconomic time series. Journal of Monetary Economics, 10(4), 139-162. Wang, P., Wen, Y. (2007). Inflation dynamics: A cross-country investigation. Journal  of Monetary Economics, 54(7), 204-231. This essay on Inflation in Saudi Arabia was written and submitted by user Azar1a to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Review of Alice Walkers essay on the creative spirit of her female ancestors Essays

Review of Alice Walkers essay on the creative spirit of her female ancestors Essays Review of Alice Walkers essay on the creative spirit of her female ancestors Paper Review of Alice Walkers essay on the creative spirit of her female ancestors Paper Essay Topic: Creative Alice Walker uses Virginia Woolfs phrase contrary instincts to describe the creative spirit that her female ancestors valued while working and living in oppressive conditions. Throughout Walkers essay she made many connections between these contrary instincts and how she perceived the constraints on the knowledge of women in her childhood era. Although, the knowledge Walker talks about in her essays is not the kind that most people think of when they hear the word. It is the knowledge and creative spirit of ourselves that she talks about; the primary source of what we need to get us through life. She made the relation of how women used art to express their creative spirit; their knowledge. Walker depicted how her ancestors expressed their knowledge through their creative spirits, whether it be through sewing a quilt or creating a garden. She tries to get us to realize that all we have to do is to find our hidden creative spirit and that will be where we will find our knowledge. Walker speaks about how creative spirit can be passed down from generation to generation. At the age of 17 Walkers mother ran away from home to be married. While taking care of six children, Alices mother also had to battle with a white landlord over her childrens education, make clothes for all of her children, make sheets and towels, can vegetables and fruits, and still find some time in the day to make quilts. Alices mother barely had time to deal with obstacles pertaining to her own creative spirit. Alice looked up to her mother because of all the suffering she endured while finding time for herself to be creative with her flower garden. According to Alices views on the heredity of someones creative spirit, she believes that her creativity came from her mother. Walker states that We have constantly looked high, when we should have looked high- and low (744). She is referring to the fact that maybe the things that hold people back are the things that make our creative spirit. Sometimes people search for their creative spirit in some of the most interesting of places, when it is usually right there in front of them. Alice continues to speak of a quilt that is hanging in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D. C. The quilt was made by an unknown black woman in Alabama from bits and pieces of insignificant rags. Even though it is only bits and pieces of someones creative spirit, it still shows right through the meaningless pieces of cloth. Looking back at the lives of my mother and grandmother I can only see these two women completely lost in a sea of children and chores. When could they find the time to let their creative spirits loose? Then I read Walkers piece and my eyes opened. Id forgotten about the gardens. As in In search of my mothers gardens both my mother and grandmother have gardens. They planted flowers, ferns, and vines. They gave each other clippings from their most mature plants so that the plant could grow in the others garden. The two of them would tour each others garden to talk about what was growing well that season or which plant was on its last leg. Gardening was the common thread that bonded them as mother and daughter, and as women. They intertwined their creative spirits with nature to create gardens-to create themselves. Alice Walker challenges us, as art does, to make sure that we do not overlook what might be true to our existence; of who we really are. She is trying to get us to look deeper than we thought we ever could, to find our creative spirit, our knowledge and heritage and to give it new life. a woman who still struggles to sing the song that was your gift,.. It is not so much that you sang, as that you kept alive, in so many of our ancestors, the notion of song. (743) We cannot let our voices be muffled by your own lack of awareness. Walker is showing us that it is our responsibility to represent our mothers and grandmothers voices, to keep their creative spirit burning through the night; and when we die it will not be a flame being put out, but a candle being extinguished so that the morning sun can shine. Judging an artist based on skin color or gender will get us nowhere. A piece of art can challenge your opinions, inspire your creative spirit, and take you on a journey to find your hidden knowledge. Art asks the viewer to go deeper to find the true core of their creative spirit. We must know a piece of arts history to do it justice. If we do not know its background behind a piece of art, we are only confusing ourselves even more, thereby depriving ourselves of history, which certainly belongs to us. It is in these artistic expressions that Walker tries to get us to find our creative spirit. For her mother it was her garden, as it is for my mother. Walker tries to get us to understand that our creative spirit is the knowledge of ourselves, and that our spirit is all we need to get us through life. Through art and other forms of creative spirit, we find knowledge; of what came before us and of the things that are passed on from our relatives. Our creative spirit and knowledge is who we are and what we do. There is always room for us to grow through out our life time, to expand on the knowledge that we will pass down to our kids. In a sense it is as though our creative spirit is our trademark. When Walker chose the title for her piece, In Search of Our Mothers Gardens, she made it very appropriate and fitting to the inflection towards knowledge and self discovery. When examining the essay from a literal level, you see that Alice was looking at her mothers garden as an example of Woolfs contrary instincts, and the creative spirit that she was so curious about. Whereas examining her work from a symbolic level, the title is plural, showing that there are other people that may be in search of the creative spirit that is passed down from generation to generation; although it may not necessarily be in the form of a physical garden. Whereas instead people are still looking for their symbolic garden which Walker tries to get us to see. Through out her essay Walker shows us that it is not the diploma in our hand, but the spirit in our heart that will guide us to happiness in our life.

Central Park is unnatural Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Central Park is unnatural - Essay Example I feel rested in there, but also I feel a contradiction because the park is all manmade. There are many different features of the park which in my point of view contribute to its unnaturalness. These are indeed the extra activities which are provided by the park authorities for entertainment. The ramble section for example is specially made for ‘Birders’. The bird enthusiasts are the more regular visitors of this section of the park. The question arises that should birds be made a source of entertainment. The very notion of making another living being your source of entertainment is being unnatural. The Boating facilities combined with rock climbing are another feature which makes the park artificial. Every time I visit the park, these sights drag me back down to reality. My aim of visiting Central Park is to get back to nature and essence of life. Families of climbers in tight climbing gear, loaded with ropes and colorful trinkets, are enough to drag you back to reality. The question thus arises in one’s mind that is this nothing more than another w ay to establish the fact that man has lost nature forever? The trees as always still remain true and pure as ever. Sitting in their cool dark shadows, one almost falls in the illusion of reality. On the weekday afternoons, the park is filled with less noise pollution. This is because most people come on the weekends. Therefore on such afternoons, I usually love to sneak into the park and occupy a secluded bench. Under its shade, the peace and quiet of nature still persists. The wind breezes bring with them the smell of the smoke and city. Bringing you the harsh truth that this beauty will not last and soon you will be standing on a busy New York streets, filled with people unknown and odors disliked. The trees are thus the only natural thing about the park. The arrangement however sometimes seems still unnatural. Trees for instance are not supposed to grow in straight lines and

Cost Accounting Assignment Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost Accounting Project - Assignment Example At the end of year 2013, the net income of the company was $494,500 million. This is an increase of about 17%and 21% from 2012 and 2011respectively. The company brands the products and distribute to the market segments. Each market segment receives a unique brand as per their respective preference. Enables them to company manufactures thousand units of the product at some point in time. The method provides the manager with an answer of comparison of similar products from one period to another hence having a control over the manufacturing cost. The method allows the allocation of materials that part way the process. This enables in determining the value that processes material such as the labor cost. The company incurred several operating and management costs. The cost incurred includes factory insurance cost, plant depreciation $13,450, factory manager’s salary$90,000, laborers wages 450,000, supervisor’s salaries 250,000, power consumption $45,000 and warehouse maintenance cost 50,260. The direct cost was which composed of laborer’s wages $450,000, indirect costs was $398450 that is factory insurance $120,000, power consumption $45,000, factory manager salary $90,000, depreciation $13,450 and supervisor $250,000. The fixed cost includes the warehouse maintenance cost of $38, 000. From the financial perspective, the company has improved due to marketing of its products and services worldwide. From the annual report, the company garnered 26 billion as the total profit after tax. This is the growth of 1.45% and 3% from 2013 and 2012 years respectively. From the customer perspective, there is an increase in the customer loyalty. This is due to the manufacture of superior quality products that give them a competitive advantage. The products sell faster than the competitors because of efficiency supply of products to the markets for their loyal customers. From internal business

Software engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software engineering - Essay Example Development of programming languages was at the initial stages and much work has to be in field of software technology. The hardware equipment used in programming were huge and weighed in tons. To operate one computer more than 10 persons were required. The space required for it was just like an auditorium. The expenses on maintenance were sky high. It was very time consuming effort for even to do simple mathematic calculations. Research on development of software technologies was given more importance and works on these issues were employed. Many companies realized the importance of development of software technology and many research institutes were developed accordingly. After the development of some programming languages like FORTRAN the importance of programming concepts were realized and companies like IBM, Microsoft, Apple, etc., invested heavily on the development of these technologies. The problems faced by these companies were: Development Time problem: In the development of large systems sometimes technology goes through a generation change from the time it was first conceptualized to the tie of delivery. Sometimes systems have to be reprogrammed completely. System User Interface problem: At the time of initial designing of the technology many associated operational procedures were neglected. This resulted in delay in the development process and need of other additional requirements. Additional hardware as well as software was frequently needed to meet the requirements. These problems can be prevented through operational timelines. Test and Integration problem: In the early stages of software development insufficient thought was given to integration and testing. Appointing experienced programmer and conducting tests at all levels can avoid problems. Maintenance problem: The expenditure was huge for the maintenance. The best way to cut costs is to design the code in such a way that changes can be accommodated frequently. Software development life cycle (SWDLC) models were used in developing a software product. SWDLC models helps in understanding the problem, design of a solution and tests on the solution can be performed in an operational environment. Some of the SWDLC are generic waterfall model, department of defense model, spiral model, NASA model, incremental developmental model, evolutionary prototype model, reuse and automated development models, etc. SWDLC process goes through five phases. They are (1) requirement analysis, (2) design specification, (3) coding and unit testing, (4) test and integration and (5) acceptance test. The people involved in software development process are: 1. Operators/Users: These are the end users who use the final products of the software system. Directly or indirectly users are involved in the development of software products. Keeping user's requirements in mind companies develop the final product. Since users are the key to the success of the final product most of the companies takes user's conceptions and develops the product accordingly. 2. Client: Client may be a person or a firm

Investigating methods for preventing racial profiling in the field

Investigating methods for preventing racial profiling in the field Racial profiling occurs when law enforcement officers interpret race (specifically minority membership) as an indicator of increased risk of criminal behavior. Most racial profiling is conducted by officers engaged in street-level policing and this practice is generally banned by federal law, state statutes, and police manuals or guidelines (Wu, 2005). According the United States Department of Justice Fact Sheet on racial profiling: Racial profiling sends the dehumanizing message to our citizens that they are judged by the color of their skin and harms the criminal justice system by eviscerating the trust that is necessary if law enforcement is to effectively protect our communities (United States, Department of Justice, 2003). Major stakeholders with an interest towards this problem include the states Attorney General, county commissioners or city council members, agency leadership, law enforcement officers, and the public. In recognition of the problem, various corrective steps have been taken by states. These measures have included the development of statewide anti-racial profiling policies and mandatory demographic data collection to be conducted by law enforcement officers during all stops. This writer recommends the implementation of an early intervention system to compile information including the assignment history of each officer, traffic enforcement data, citizen complaints, and disciplinary actions taken against the officer. This system would be used by supervisors to monitor officer performance and to address potential problems before they escalate to serious racial profiling events. Used regularly, the program would identify potential racial biases more effectively and would place greater accountability upon supervisors to monitor officers performance. Problem Statement The problem is the use of racial profiling in the field of law enforcement. Specifically, the problem is the disproportionate number of minorities that are targeted for investigatory stops in comparison to non-minorities. Historically, African Americans, Hispanics, and since 9/11, Arab Americans have been subjected to higher instances of traffic stops and investigatory detentions. By definition, racial profiling occurs when a law enforcement officer questions, stops, searches, arrests, or investigates and individual because the officer holds a prejudicial notion that members of that persons racial or ethnic group have a greater likelihood than the rest of the population to commit the sort of crime the officer is investigating. (Barnes, Gross, 2002) Officers who practice racial profiling are in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection clause which states, No state shallà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. (Ward, 2002 ) In addition to the violation of civil rights, racial profiling contributes to the greater social problem of public distrust towards law enforcement. Stakeholders Attorney General In most states, the states Attorney General serves as the top law enforcement officer and lawyer for the state. For state-level law enforcement agencies, particularly the highway patrol or state police, the attorney general acts as a supervisor to the agencys director and therefore holds the responsibility for appointing the agency director as well as providing guidance to the agency in regards to the proper application of the law. In the event that a lawsuit is filed against a state law enforcement agency, the attorney general acts as the states legal representative. Furthermore, in a majority of states the attorney general is an elected official and is therefore subject to lose votes if the public is dissatisfied with his job performance. He must therefore stay abreast of any updates or changes to the law and ensure that the states law enforcement officers operate in compliance with these laws. County commissioners and City council members Within counties, cities, and towns, the county commissioners, city or town council members are legislative bodies responsible for passing laws, bills, and ordinances that govern the municipality. In city or town police departments, the police chief is appointed by the council and in county Sheriffs offices, the Sheriff is sometimes appointed by county commissioners (in instances where the position is vacant outside an election year). In the event that citizens are not satisfied with local law enforcements actions, the county commissioner or city council members will hear the complaint and make a final decision on the matter. As decision makers (and citizens) they have an interest in maintaining public safety and order. As elected officials, their performance is subject to public scrutiny and failure to adequately address rights violations is unlikely to get them reelected. Agency Leadership Depending on the level of law enforcement (state or local), the agency Director, the Chief of Police, or the county Sheriff have a direct responsibility in addressing racial profiling. All law enforcement agencies operate using a top-down leadership approach, with the Director, Chief, or Sheriff at the top of the hierarchal ladder, followed by Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants, and Officers or Deputies. The agencys leader has an interest in making sure the department adheres to the laws and policy standards for law enforcement set forth by the state or local government. The federal government has enacted anti-racial profiling laws and most states have followed suit. Law enforcement agencies that are found to be non-compliant with these laws are held accountable. As the highest ranking employees within their respective agencies, these officials serve as the face of the agency and are often called upon to answer to the aforementioned commissioners or councils when allegations of officer misconduct are made by the public. Law Enforcement Officers Law enforcement officers are stakeholders because the publics perception of the police can have either a positive or negative impact on performance of their duties. Racial profiling is a contributor to the larger social problem of public distrust of the police. In Race, Cops, and Traffic Stops, Angela Davis argued that when minorities experience injustices that are tolerated by criminal justice officials, they develop distrust and disrespect for the justice system. That lack of faith translates into hopelessness, frustration, and sometimes violence (Davis, 2007). For law enforcement officers, public trust and cooperation is essential to their job function. When these two elements are diminished or absent in a community, fewer crimes are solved and officer safety is in jeopardy. Public The public relies on the police to enforce the law and maintain order. As a subgroup of the public, minority populations share these expectations that law enforcement officers will behave ethically. Inability to rely on the police to remain fair and impartial creates a barrier between the police and the minority communities they serve. When this occurs, the public is less likely to report crime and/or provide assistance to the police during criminal investigations. Eventually, some law enforcement officers develop an Us against Them approach towards minorities while minority groups adopt a Them against Us mentality. As a result, fewer crimes are solved and criminals remain on the street. Thus, racial profiling contributes to the perpetual cycle of police ineffectiveness caused by the disconnect between the police and the public. Background of Problem In Analysis of Racial Profiling as Policy Analysis, Samuel Myers, Jr. presents a 1999 report by Knowles, Persico, and Todd that in a stretch of Interstate 95 in Maryland from 1995 to 1999, 63% of all motorists searched were African American. However, only 18% of the motorists on the road were African American. Similar studies have shown patterns of disproportionality in traffic stops conducted by other law enforcement agencies. Allegations of racial profiling have resulted in a number of class action lawsuits and law enforcement agencies response to the problem varies. Some states or police departments have banned racial profiling while others have focused on collecting racial data on stops and searches in order to monitor the ratio of minorities to non-minorities being subjected to these activities. Many have also instituted training and education programs designed to specifically address racial profiling. In 2002, the Minnesota state legislature recommended a voluntary initiative for police departments to address this problem. The preamble to this legislation read in part, Law enforcement policies and training programs must emphasize the need to respect the balance between the rights of all persons to be free from unreasonable governmental intrusions and law enforcements need to enforce the law. Key components of the legislation included: The development of a statewide anti-racial profiling policy that obligated police to provide their name or badge number during routine traffic stops. Providing training to law enforcement officers to adhere to the model policy and dismiss from service any officer who did not complete the training. Collection of data for a 2-year period among participating agencies (Myers, 2002). In its response to racial profiling, the General Assembly of North Carolina enacted a law in 2009 that mandated both state and local law enforcement officers to compile information for each traffic stop to include the race, ethnicity, and sex of the driver along with the alleged traffic violation that led to the stop. The results of these studies and measures taken by state legislatures indicates recognition that the racial profiling does exist and that appropriate measures need to be taken to ban this practice. Alternative Policies In considering alternative ways to address the problem of racial profiling, one could consider a revision to departmental policy to include specific disciplinary action, adjusting training and policy standards to incorporate cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness training, or implementing an early intervention program to monitor officer performance and provide guidance. Alternative Policy #1 Disciplinary Action In an effort to deter officers from racial profiling, one alternative would be to revise departmental policy to include disciplinary guidelines that prescribe specific punishment according to the number and severity of substantiated offenses. For example, the guideline would prescribe counseling for a 1st offense, a written warning to be added to the officers personnel file and possible suspension for a 2nd offense, and termination for a 3rd offense. This method would provide officers with strict guidelines to govern their behavior and would leave no room for misinterpretation. Issuing a punishment-based policy would also give the public the perception that the agency takes the problem seriously and will respond to complaints with appropriate corrective action. The implementation of a zero tolerance policy, in theory, could improve police relations with minority communities and increase public confidence in law enforcement. This alternative could also lead to a decrease in officer morale, higher turnover, and fear of punishment (amongst officers) for doing their jobs. Officers who feel that stops involving minorities will be scrutinized may make an effort to avoid these investigatory stops, meaning that some guilty people will go undetected. This method does not take into account that some officers, by nature of their assignment or job function, will simply have more contacts with minorities and will likewise conduct more stops involving these groups. For example, an officer patrolling an inner city area is more likely to have interaction with minorities than an officer assigned to a rural area because metropolitan areas tend to be more racially and ethnically diverse. This should not serve as a definitive indicator that the officer with a higher percentage of stops involving minorities is guilty of racial profiling. This policy also does not allow for alternative measures such as reassignment, addition al training, or psychological assessment that would give the officer an opportunity to redeem himself. Lastly, punishment-based alternatives are generally ineffective in treating the root cause of the problem. Instead of determining why an officer has more stops involving minorities, this alternative is reactive in nature and only seeks to penalize the officer after this behavior is detected. Alternative #2 Adjust Training and Policy Standards The majority of law enforcement agencies across the nation require officers to complete yearly training to provide legal updates, refresher courses in officer safety, and to renew firearms qualification. In addition to these classes, departments should incorporate mandatory cultural sensitivity/diversity awareness training into the annual in-service training curriculum to specifically address racial profiling. In addition, agency policy could be adjusted to restrict officers to random interdiction and indiscriminate investigatory detentions. Training in cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness would help dispel stereotypes and overcome communication barriers that exist between the police and minority communities. In the District of Columbia for example, the Diversity Awareness and Sensitivity Training Program was developed by the Institute for Public Safety Justice to explore how issues of bias, prejudice, and stereotyping negatively impact effective law enforcement and the relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. Representatives from cultural and community groups are invited to incorporate culture-specific information into the program (Institute for Public Safety and Justice). While on patrol, police officers often use apparent violations of traffic laws as a pretext to stop and question drivers whom they suspect of involvement in illegal drug or firearm offenses. In actuality, the driver was stopped because of race. (Joh, 2007) With this alternative, agency policy would be adjusted to require officers to use discretionless policing and to prohibit pretextual traffic stops. Police officers would be required to take universal prescribed enforcement measures regardless of the circumstances of the stop. For instance, all drivers stopped for speeding, broken taillights, or seat belt violations would be asked the same questions and issued citations. In addition, officers conducting highway interdiction or running radar would be required to point their patrol vehicles away from traffic in order to eliminate racial identification as a factor in the decision to conduct a traffic stop. Critics of cultural sensitivity training for law enforcement view these efforts as an attempt at political correctness that is discriminatory and demeaning to non-minority officers. Training coordinators could also find it difficult to deciding which cultures should be highlighted in the training program. Some would view the inclusion of only African American and Hispanic cultures as singling out these races (or ethnicities) as having negative interactions with the police. As a result of this training, law enforcement officers may consciously or subconsciously treat these minority groups with kid gloves. Police discretion is an integral part of effective policing. Forbidding the police from considering racial characteristics may reduce this effectiveness. Oftentimes, those who engage in certain criminal activities tend to share certain characteristics relating to specific socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. For instance, because of its low cost, the sale of crack cocaine is more common in poor, predominately African American communities. However, the sale of methamphetamine is more common amongst whites. Forcing the police to disregard such characteristics may lead to less effective policing and to increased crime. (Persico, 2002) Alternative #3 Early Intervention Program Law enforcement agencies could implement an early intervention system that would be used to identify officers who appear to have a tendency towards racial profiling. This system would be a centralized database within the agency that compiles information to include: each officers assignment area (or zone), traffic enforcement data (of all individuals stopped or detained), citizen complaints, and a record of all tentative or final formal disciplinary actions taken against the officer in the past. Early intervention is not to be confused with a formal discipline, which carries a negative connotation. Whereas discipline involves official documented actions toward officers in response to substantiated misconduct allegations, early intervention actions are informal and confidential. Officers flagged by the early intervention system should be addressed in confidential counseling sessions and a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) should be agreed upon between the supervisor and the officer. Recommended Policy An early intervention program represents a proactive approach eliminating racial profiling that tailors corrective measures to fit the individual officer. Early intervention systems are useful in identifying potential problems before they escalate into more serious issues requiring formal disciplinary action. Using this method also places greater accountability upon supervisors to closely monitor the performance of their subordinates. In contrast to traditional performance reviews that involve subjective assessments, this policy is objective in nature, identifying specific areas of performance, such as citizens complaints, and developing an appropriate response to these problems. Implementation and Monitoring An early intervention program should include four basic components: performance indicators, an identification and selection process, intervention, and post-intervention monitoring (Walker, 2005, 108). Performance indicators Include data such as assignment area, racial demographic data of individuals detained (whether citation were issued or not), citizen complaints, and history of disciplinary actions. Identification and Selection Should be treated as two separate stages. This would result in some officers who are initially identified based on compiled data that would not be selected for intervention. Instead, the nature and context of these criteria should be further evaluated before selection is made. An officer working in a high-crime area is likely to receive more complaints than an officer working in a low-crime area. Therefore, officers identified in the system as having relatively high numbers of complaints would be subject to further screening that may reveal a legitimate explanation. Intervention Consists of confidential counseling between the selected officer and supervisor and may include the recommendation for remedial training specific to the officers needs. The counseling session should include a discussion of the performance problems identified by the system and an agreement on the steps that will be taken to correct these issues. Post-intervention monitoring Following the intervention, the supervisor would be required to monitor the selected officers performance for a specified time period. Once the time period has passed without a significant number of additional problem indicators, monitoring frequency may be decreased or discontinued. Funding Funding could be accomplished by reallocating law enforcement grant funds to include a fund that designed to target racial profiling. These funds would be provided to departments as an incentive to voluntarily implement an early intervention strategy. Grants would be used towards assisting in startup, supervisor training, and maintenance of the system along with remedial training materials for officers. Evaluative Criteria Equity Supervisors should analyze officer reports and field interview cards while continuing to monitor the early intervention system to access citizen contacts and the purpose for stops and/or arrests. Using this method of evaluation will ensure that officers are enforcing the law fairly across minority and non-minority populations. Liberty/Freedom Periodic monitoring of the early intervention system would highlight the frequency and type of citizen complaints against an officer and would initiate further inquiry into the officers performance. From there, the department could determine if any civil rights violations have been committed by the officer and take immediate action.

William the Conqueror :: essays research papers

He was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, his mother, Herleva, the daughter of a tanner of Falaise. In 1035 William’s father Robert, Duke of Normandy, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in which he died. Before starting the pilgrimage, he presented to the nobles his seven year old child demanding their allegiance. "He is little", the father said, "but he will grow, and, if God please, he will mend." William, after a period of anarchy, became the ruler of Normandy in his father's place at the age of nine. William had a youth of clean life and of much natural piety, while the years of storm and stress through which he passed gave him an endurance of character which lasted to his life's end. During the time of anarchy in Normandy he became a skilled military leader and defeated his enemies, uniting his duchy. Once he began fighting, rumor has it that he never lost a battle. In 1047 a serious rebellion of nobles occurred, and William with the aid of King Henry of France, gained a great victory at Val-à ¨s-Dunes, near Caen. Which led to the capture of the two strong castles of Alenà §on and Domfront. Using this as his base of operations, the young duke, in 1054 made himself master of the province of Maine and became the most powerful vassal of the French Crown, able on occasion to bid defiance to the king himself. William even married Matilda, the daughter of the Earl of Flanders, in 1053,in spite of the papal prohibition. In 1066 when his claim to the English throne was threatened by Harold Godwinson. Due to the fact that Harold Godwinson overlooked the dead king's wishes. Edward the Confessor, sworn his loyalty to William of Normandy when he died not to Harold. Harold Godwinson promptly had himself proclaimed king. It was only a matter of months before William, Duke of the large and powerful duchy of Normandy in France, paid Harold a visit to bring to his remembrance his own claim to the throne. William raised an army of Normans by promising them land and wealth when he came into his rightful kingship. October 14th 1066 he and William fought at the famous battle of Hastings. William and his army of Normans came, saw, and conquered. True to his promise to his fellow warriors, William systematically replaced the English nobility with Norman barons and noblemen who took control of the land, the people, and the government.

Jainism vs. Sikhism Essay

Read the assigned chapters for the week and complete the following table. Be as specific as possible when identifying practices, beliefs, rituals, and historical elements. Cite sources in APA formatting. Sikhism as a religion believes in the followings: Core Beliefs Jainism Sikhism 1. Every living being has a soul 2. Sikhism believes in One GOD. 3. Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss (masked by its karmas). 4. Sikhism believes Guru Granth Sahib as the last and eternal Gurus of Sikhs. 5. Regard every living being as you do yourself, harming no one and being kind to all living beings. Sikhism believes in Karma- the law of cause and effect. 6. Every soul is born as a heavenly being, human, sub-human or hellish being according to its own karmas. 7. Sikhism believes in Reincarnation. 8. Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter 6. When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine consciousness, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss 9. Sikhism believes in Multiple paths to salvation. 10. Sikhism opposes Pilgrimage,rituals practices 11. Sikhism believes in Karma- the law of cause and effect. Respond to the following questions in 150 to 200 words: 1. What do you think is the most important similarity and which is the most important difference? Use specifics to support your answer. Although Sikhism and Jainism are both South Asian religions with high philosophical values, they differ significantly in their age, diet, ways of salvation, and most importantly, their concept of God. Jainism is the oldest known religion in India being most recently traced back to its latest tirthankara or prophet, Mahavira (599 – 527 BCE), whereas Sikhism is the youngest tradition and began in the 15th century in the state, Punjab. Eventhough both religions believe in karma and reincarnation of the soul, Sikhs are not required to be strict vegetarians, highly contrasting to the vegan diet ofthe Janis. A significant difference between these two eastern religions is their belief in how to attain salvation in their lives. Since Janis do not believe in a single God or multiples gods for that matter, they believe their salvation is gained solely through their own personal struggle and victory. Jains do not believe there is heavenly figure guiding them through life, but rather that the universe is a never-ending cycle. This drastically differs fromthe monotheistic beliefs of Sikhism of how there is only one creator and God,mostly referred to as Allah in the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhs believe they may gain salvation through serving Allah, and eventually becomes one with God.Both religions practice and revere Ahisma (non-violence), however Jains heavily emphasize this lifestyle more than Sikhs do. This can be seen historically when the Sikhs wanted to rise politically, formed a military and beared arms. 2. Consider the following statement: Sallekhana (â€Å"holy death†) violates the Jain principle of ahimsa because it is an act of violence against oneself. Using examples from Ch. 5 of your text, what points might a follower of Jainism make to argue against this statement? non injury extends to thought, word and action. Mahavira taught that all beings desire life. Therefore no one has the right to take away the life of another being. According to Jainism, the killing of animals is a great sin. Jainism goes further and says that there is life in trees, and plants and there is life in air, water, mud, etc., and that all things have the right to exist.(live) References: http://www.sikhismguide.org/ http://www.religioustolerance.org/sikhism2.htm http://sohum-jainism.blogspot.com/2010/10/jainism-core-beliefs.html http://religion.answers.wikia.com/wiki/What_are_the_5_main_beliefs_of_Jainism http://toseventhheaven.blogspot.com/2010/04/17-significant-differences-between.html http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_core_belief_for_Sikhism

Free Essays on Pierre De Fermat

Pierre Fermat's father was a wealthy leather merchant and second consul of Beaumont- de- Lomagne. Pierre had a brother and two sisters and was almost certainly brought up in the town of his birth. Although there is little evidence concerning his school education it must have been at the local Franciscan monastery. He attended the University of Toulouse before moving to Bordeaux in the second half of the 1620s. In Bordeaux he began his first serious mathematical researches and in 1629 he gave a copy of his restoration of Apollonius's Plane loci to one of the mathematicians there. Certainly in Bordeaux he was in contact with Beaugrand and during this time he produced important work on maxima and minima, which he gave to Etienne d'Espagnet who clearly shared mathematical interests with Fermat. From Bordeaux Fermat went to Orlà ©ans where he studied law at the University. He received a degree in civil law and he purchased the offices of councillor at the parliament in Toulouse. So by 1631 Fermat was a lawyer and government official in Toulouse and because of the office he now held he became entitled to change his name from Pierre Fermat to Pierre de Fermat. For the remainder of his life he lived in Toulouse but as well as working there he also worked in his hometown of Beaumont-de-Lomagne and a nearby town of Castres. From his appointment on 14 May 1631 Fermat worked in the lower chamber of the parliament but on 16 January 1638 he was appointed to a higher chamber, then in 1652 he was promoted to the highest level at the criminal court. Still further promotions seem to indicate a fairly meteoric rise through the profession but promotion was done mostly on seniority and the plague struck the region in the early 1650s meaning that many of the older men died. Fermat himself was struck down by the plague and in 1653 his death was wrongly reported, then corrected:- I informed you earlier of the death of Fermat. He is alive, and we no long... Free Essays on Pierre De Fermat Free Essays on Pierre De Fermat Pierre Fermat's father was a wealthy leather merchant and second consul of Beaumont- de- Lomagne. Pierre had a brother and two sisters and was almost certainly brought up in the town of his birth. Although there is little evidence concerning his school education it must have been at the local Franciscan monastery. He attended the University of Toulouse before moving to Bordeaux in the second half of the 1620s. In Bordeaux he began his first serious mathematical researches and in 1629 he gave a copy of his restoration of Apollonius's Plane loci to one of the mathematicians there. Certainly in Bordeaux he was in contact with Beaugrand and during this time he produced important work on maxima and minima, which he gave to Etienne d'Espagnet who clearly shared mathematical interests with Fermat. From Bordeaux Fermat went to Orlà ©ans where he studied law at the University. He received a degree in civil law and he purchased the offices of councillor at the parliament in Toulouse. So by 1631 Fermat was a lawyer and government official in Toulouse and because of the office he now held he became entitled to change his name from Pierre Fermat to Pierre de Fermat. For the remainder of his life he lived in Toulouse but as well as working there he also worked in his hometown of Beaumont-de-Lomagne and a nearby town of Castres. From his appointment on 14 May 1631 Fermat worked in the lower chamber of the parliament but on 16 January 1638 he was appointed to a higher chamber, then in 1652 he was promoted to the highest level at the criminal court. Still further promotions seem to indicate a fairly meteoric rise through the profession but promotion was done mostly on seniority and the plague struck the region in the early 1650s meaning that many of the older men died. Fermat himself was struck down by the plague and in 1653 his death was wrongly reported, then corrected:- I informed you earlier of the death of Fermat. He is alive, and we no long...

Why Did Eva Smith Die Essay Example

Why Did Eva Smith Die Essay Example Why Did Eva Smith Die Paper Why Did Eva Smith Die Paper Gerald, celebrating Sheila and Geralds engagement. The maid comes in to announce the unexpected arrival of an Inspector Goole. Inspector Goole begins by questioning Arthur, the head of the family. Inspector: I think you remember Eva Smith Birling: Yes I do, she was one of my employees, and I discharged her This demonstrates Birlings dismissive attitude towards employees; he is not at all embarrassed or ashamed at having sacked Eva. She had been one of his workers. He had discharged her from his employ because she and several others had organized a strike for better wages. Mr. Birling, regarding himself as a hard headed man of business, refused and fired Eva. I think he fired her, not only because she helped in the strike, but also because she was a woman. The evidence above shows the attitude towards women at the time. Eva was also very hard headed and determined to get what she wanted, this probably would have made Mr. Birling resent her enough to fire her. I think this shows the general attitude towards women in the beginning of the 20th century: that they should just be tools for mans work; they did not even have the right to vote. This contributed to Evas death because it sparked a chain of events, through each member of the family until they each shared the blame. Mr. Birlings attitude towards social responsibility only seems to be one thing: Look after yourself and your family, forget everyone else. This is supported when he says: But the way some or these cranks talk and write now, youd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed together like bees in a hive This attitude contributed to Evas death because, had Mr. Birling cared at all about Eva, he might not have fired her and therefore the chain of events would never had happened. This quote also shows how he is in denial about the social changes taking place around him. Later in the play, the Inspector began to question Sheila. It is revealed that Sheila had something to do with Evas death and that she feels guilty about it when she gives a half-stifled sob and runs out. When Sheila returns, we find out that she had, earlier that year, complained to Evas boss in a jealous rage when she thought she caught Eva laughing at her trying on a dress. She threatened to withdraw her familys account with Milwards the shop Eva was working in at the time. We learn that this has contributed to Evas death because the Inspector explains that this was the last real steady job she had, all because of Sheilas jealousy of this prettier, younger girl. Thus continuing the chain of events. We next discover the involvement of Gerald Croft in Evas demise. After Sheila had confessed, the Inspector mentioned that Eva had changed her name to Daisy Renton; at hearing this Gerald immediately gave himself away by reacting in a startled way. It is revealed that Gerald had an affair with Eva the previous summer. He met her in a bar of ill repute, being harassed by another respectable man. When he found out that Eva had no money and was living in a miserable back room, he felt compelled to be the hero and let her stay in one of his friends houses. They had fallen in love, but, inevitably, it had not lasted. Not only were there the differences in social class and power but Gerald was involved with Sheila as well. To end his affair with Eva, Gerald had given her some money and she went away to some seaside place. This contributed to Evas death because it pushed her slightly further towards the edge emotionally. She was already emotionally fragile and now it was getting even worse for her. When Gerald says: I became at once the most important person in her life it shows Evas dependence on others and her weakness without them. Gerald left a small amount of money for Eva to get on with, when these funds ran out, it probably contributed to the feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness that contributed to Evas death. As the play progresses we learn of Sybils role in Evas death. Sybil Birling, in my opinion, is a perfect example of the arrogance, toffery and indifference of upper middle class women to people like Eva. Sybil cares of nothing but her social status which she clearly shows when she denies Eva aid from her charity; this action shows that Sybil only does charity work for the social status it creates for her. When Sybil says: She was claiming elaborate feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl of her position it shows that Sybil Birling thinks that women of a lesser social status have less of a right to feelings and emotions than she does. This contributed to Evas death because if Sybil did not think so hypocritically and arrogantly then Eva would have been accepted by the charity organization and she may never have committed suicide. I think that Eric Birlings actions played a major role in Evas death, but one may argue that his actions are not as driven by socially pervasive attitudes as the other characters in the play. For example, Sybil Birlings clear belief that she is better than anyone of a lower class is a pervasive attitude, but Eric abandoning Eva is the type of thing that often happens in relationships. Eric, along with Sheila, is part of a new generation of people that care less about social status and more about others, so maybe J. B Priestley wanted to show that social conventions themselves were changing to fit the new generation. On the other hand, you could argue that Eric would have been far less likely to abandon a girl of his own social class, and that in this regard his treatment of Eva was typical. Eric contributed to Evas death because her pregnancy could have affected her mental health, causing depression which continues the chain of events. The prospect of becoming a single mother may have been overwhelming because of the way unmarried mothers were stigmatized at that time. Although we learn that Eva has in fact killed herself; through Priestleys exploration of each characters role, we discover the large part that social and political factors have played in her demise, and how, to some degree, each of them carries some responsibility for the tragedy, even if they refuse to accept it. In conclusion, I believe that above all, the massive gap between working class and rich people was responsible for the tragic stories of people like Eva Smith. The rich people of the time gave no hint that they cared for the classes below, Mr. Birling and Mrs. Birling did not care that what they had done to Eva caused her suicide, they were much more concerned with retaining their wealth and social status. Sheila and Eric, on the other hand felt guilty about what they had done demonstrating that perhaps their generation had a better attitude. J. B Priestley cleverly used the whodunnit genre to explore social attitudes, class differences and their consequences for people like Eva Smith and The Birlings. The most telling statement in the whole play is when Inspector Goole says One Eva Smith has gone but there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still out there. This quote sums up J. B. Priestleys opinion that things like this happen everyday, but individuals cannot abrogate their responsibilities. The play addresses multiple issues of importance such as morality, social responsibility, highlighting the political and social changes in the 20th century. Everything we said had happened, really had happened. If it didnt end tragically, then thats lucky for us. But it might have done.

Insurance Law - Insurable Interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Insurance Law - Insurable Interest - Essay Example Before insurance companies came up with regulations regarding issuance of policies people would take life policies on other people, and if the insured was to surpass the expected life expectancy, some insurers tended to â€Å"help them along† so as to get their claims. This presented moral hazards and created to need to come up with insurable interests. Analysis In property insurance when a policy is to be taken, insurance companies ensure that insurable interest is shown to the property. In a case where no loss was incurred, then the insurer is not paid anything (Evans 1912). Insurable interest also serves to reduce intentional losses and damage, before this was enforced, people used to take out policies on property and intentionally destroy the property so as to get the claim, but with insurable interest when the insurer has taken a policy on a property that they have an interest in, they are less likely to intentionally cause damage to it. This serves to significantly reduc e the number of bogus claims. The issue of valuation also arises, being that some policies will only pay of the value of the property even with insurable interest; the valuation question is still unresolved and highly controversial. The main difference in the application of insurable interest in property insurance and life insurance is that, when it comes to property, it proves essential. For example, if an insurance policy of 100.000 is taken on a house, at a premium of 300 per year. If the insurer doesn’t lose anything if the house is destroyed, then the insurer will be betting 300 every year that something happens to the house. Insurance policies should not be incentive for people to destroy property, just to claim. Non indemnity insurance, valued insurance, is when the policy holder is entitled to a certain amount if the insured property is damaged. If insured against fire, even if the fire does not do as much damage, the insurance still pays the claim. The contrast comes is life insurance where the insurance should change the insurable interest policy and change it with, the right to give consent, although this might be a bit complex, as in the example of someone who takes life insurance and sells it, as seen if the case of Arthur Kramer who took a life insurance policy of 56 million dollars and sold it to investors. When he died, his family could not claim anything, this led to long court battle for ownership. Life insurance, which engulfs other aspects as critical illnesses or accident, may be taken by a person on themselves for any amount. The law also allows one to take out a policy on a spouse or civil partner recognized by law (Dobbyn 2003). It does not however cater for natural affection or cohabitants. Therefore the law requires that for one to take a life insurance policy on another there must be reasonable interest, but this begs the question, how much interest? And how does one get to measure this? It comes down to the degree, which crea tes ambiguity. Although the law permits the insurance of a spouse, it does not have further specifications like, if the spouse is abusive, or is abused, should the allow for giving of consent. The law also holds that if you have pecuniary interest in a person you can take a life policy on them, for example business partner because the law will likely permit this, but then the business might fall, or a fallout occurs. Then there will be no more interest

Renting an Apartment in Japan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renting an Apartment in Japan - Assignment Example Be prepared to put down about five to seven month’s worth of rent up front. This is standard. The deposit is composed of the following: †¢ Reservation fee (tetsukekin) – 1 month’s rent paid when the tenant applies for an apartment and before the contract is signed. After the contract is signed, the money is included as part of the deposit. †¢ Security Deposit (shikikin) – 2 to 3 months’ rent used to cover eventual damage to the apartment or unpaid rents and fees. It is seldom that this is refunded in full (alterations to the property are one of the thorniest issues between landlords and tenants). It is refunded without interest. †¢ Key money (reikin) – 1 to 2 months’ rent a â€Å"gift† to the house owner when making a contract and is not refundable †¢ Advance rent – 1 month’s rent the rent should be paid before the start of the month Fourth,If you are a foreignor, be sure to have a guarantor and proper identification. (Passports and Non-japanise licences are useless). A guarantor is also required before a contract is signed. Usually, it is the tenant’s company or a wealthy Japanese. The guarantor takes the responsibility if the tenant is unable to pay the rent or room expenses. ("Japanese landlords get key money")One of the very real obstacles is that many landlords will simply refuse to rent to foreigners, even if they speak Japanese fluently and can make all arrangements in Japanese. I've heard many different excuses for this, such as ''The landlord can't speak English,'' ''Foreigners have loud parties,''. ''Foreigners' food smells different and the neighbors might be bothered by it,'' (Jay). Japanese use the phrase hikoshi-bimbo to describe someone who recently moved into a new apartment. Literally translating as 'moving poor,' hikoshi-bimbo describes the state of having to fork over six months' salary for the privilege of renting a new apartment. (Renting an Apartment in Japan) Fifth: Register your new address with local authorities at the local city hall or ward office. They will write the new address information on the back of your Alien Registration Card. A word of warning on finding your apartment. Don't be hasty in selecting your apartment. Take your time and make a good selection. Paying key money once is pretty tough, paying twice is a financial disaster. Sixth: Don't expect the rental contract to be in English, so bring a Japanese friend to help you with understanding its terms and conditions. Seventh: If you're making a higher salary, you may save on taxes by arranging for your employer to pay your rent as a "housing allowance." US citizens working in Japan are allowed to receive very generous housing allowances which are not counted as income for US tax purposes. Check the IRS website or talk to your lawyer or accountant. (Jay) Eighth: If you get an indefinite term for your lease, your landlord has almost no way to kick you out so long as you are paying your rent.