Scotland to impose minimum price on alcohol

Measures to tackle alcohol abuse by stopping cut-price offers have been outlined by the Scottish Government. It has proposed a range of measures including the radical step of a minimum price per unit. It would be the first country in Europe to take the step. The details of the price to be set will be worked out with economists to find the most effective level. The blueprint said the amount of advertising by supermarkets over recent months suggested that cheap alcohol did play a key role in determining where people shop. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Plummeting prices and aggressive promotion have led to a surge in consumption, causing and adding to health problems ranging from liver and heart diseases to diabetes, obesity, dementia and cancers.

However, the proposals have not been universally welcomed. Fiona Moriary, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the plans would add costs to responsible shoppers without making any difference to irresponsible drinking. She said: "Irresponsible drinking is not about price or availability yet this is the main focus of the government's approach. We need to develop solutions that educate rather than alienate, instead the government has retreated to its bunker and is neither listening to the evidence presented nor willing to tackle these issues in a consensual manner." The Portman Group, an alcohol industry body which promotes responsible drinking, said the government was not listening to reason. Chief executive David Poley said: "People who drink to get drunk would not be influenced by these measures

Link

Do you think setting a minimum price for alcohol will reduce consumption? What factors will determine its success?

What externalties ar associated with excess drinking? Even if price controls don't reduce consumption is it something that could have benficial effects?

The return of coal?

The Observer reported that Britain is poised to expand its coal mining industry, despite fears that the move will lead to a rise in climate change emissions and harm communities and the environment. In the past 18 months 14 companies have applied to dig nearly 60 million tonnes of coal from 58 new or enlarged opencast mines. At least six coal-fired power stations are planned. If all the applications are approved, the fastest expansion of UK coal mining in 40 years could see southern Scotland and Northumberland become two of the most heavily mined regions in Europe.
The demand for new mines is being driven by dramatic increases in the price of coal. This has quadrupled in two years and has risen by 45 per cent since the start of this year. Opencast, or surface, mines are much cheaper than deep mines, but those living nearby can suffer years of pollution. (Link)

Tackling the drinking culture

BBC News has coverage of call by MPs to ban 'Happy Hours' and possibly regulate the price of alcohol, through the imposition of a minimum price The Select Committee report evidence showed the biggest problem faced by police forces was violence and disorder caused by excessive drinking of cheap alcohol. Other official figures on the cost of goods over time show alcohol has become much more affordable in the last three decades. Many of the negative externaliies associated with excess drinking are detailed in the article. (Link to BBC News)

Think about whether the imposition of a minimum price would be effective in reducing consumption of alcohol.

Punch hits out at 'tax on binge drinking'

An interesting article in today's Guardian questioning the effeciveness of alcohol taxes in reducing binge drinking. The chief executive of Britain's biggest pub company has attacked the recent above-inflation rise in alcohol duty, dismissing government claims that it could discourage binge drinking as "ridiculous". Giles Thorley, chief executive of Punch Taverns, warned today that the 6% rise in alcohol duty, announced in the March Budget, could even encourage excessive drinking because customers may choose to buy more cheaper alcohol from supermarkets and drink heavily at home."The pub is the home of responsible drinking. The number of restrictions that already exist as result of recent government legislation means that you are much safer drinking in the pub than anywhere else," he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/24/punchtaverns.fooddrinks

Think about the conditions that ensure that a tax that aims to reduce consumption is successful. Why doesn't Thorley think it will be successful?

Employers face shortage of skilled trades people

While the world pursues the knowledge economy, employers are increasingly desperate for plumbers, welders and other technical staff, U.S. employment services firm Manpower Inc said on Tuesday, in its annual survey of staff shortages. The survey of nearly 43,000 employers in 32 countries found the rising lament almost everywhere was for trades people and similar skilled, but not necessarily highly educated, positions. While Europe has fretted about the eastward expansion of the European Union and the potential for a flood of Polish plumbers and the like heading west, the survey found most Western European nations had the most acute shortages in such traditional crafts.

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUST30198120080421

A2 Economists - Check this out alongside GeoffvRiley's excellent revision focus on 'Labour Market Failure'.

How important is information?

Two stories this week drew attention to the role of information and the efficient operation of markets.

Tesco is to test putting "carbon labels" on its own-brand products next month in a move to enable consumers to choose products which are less damaging to the environment.The retailer will put carbon-count labels on varieties of orange juice, potatoes, energy-efficient light bulbs and washing detergent, stating the quantity in grammes of CO2 equivalent put into the atmosphere by their manufacture and distribution.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/16/carbonfootprints.tesco

Vitamin supplements taken by millions of people do not increase life expectancy and may raise the risk of a premature death , according to a review of 67 studies with more than 230,000 subjects. lage numbers of people take such supplemets in the belief that they are beneficial for their health.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/16/medicalresearch

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/apr/17/health.healthandwellbeing

Emissions - 'rich states failling to lead'

Developing countries, including China and India, are unwilling to sign up to a new global climate change pact to replace the Kyoto protocol in 2012 because the rich world has failed to set a clear example on cutting carbon emissions, according to the UN's top climate official. Analysts say a new global deal needs to be agreed at the Copenhagen meeting for it to come into force by 2012, because it will take several years to be ratified by countries. If a new deal is not in place when Kyoto expires, then confidence in emerging carbon trading markets - seen as a key way to reduce greenhouse gas pollution - could collapse. Schemes such as the European emissions trading scheme, set up under Kyoto, force polluting companies to invest in carbon credits or cleaner technology, but rely on carbon caps continuing past 2012.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/14/climatechange.carbonemissions