Indifference curves

A graph of indifference curves for an individual consumer associated with different utility levels is called an indifference map. Points yielding different utility levels are each associated with distinct indifference curves. An indifference curve describes a set of personal preferences and so can vary from person to person. An indifference curve is like a contour line on a topographical map. Each point on the map represents the same elevation. If you move "off" an indifference curve traveling in a northeast direction you are essentially climbing a mound of utility. The higher you go the greater the level of utility. The non-satiation requirement means that you will never reach the "top".

Indifference curves are typically represented to be:
• 1. defined only in the positive (+, +) quadrant of commodity-bundle quantities.
• 2. negatively sloped. That is, as quantity consumed of one good (X) increases, total satisfaction would increase if not offset by a decrease in the quantity consumed of the other good (Y). Equivalently, satiation, such that more of either good (or both) is equally preferred to no increase, is excluded. (If utility U = f(x, y), U, in the third dimension, does not have a local maximum for any x and y values.) The negative slope of the indifference curve reflects the law of diminishing marginal utility. That is as more of a good is consumed total utility increases at a decreasing rate - additions to utility per unit consumption are successively smaller. Thus as you move dowm the indifference curve you are trading consumption of units of Y for additional units of X. The price of a unit of X in terms of Y increases.
• 3. complete, such that all points on an indifference curve are ranked equally preferred and ranked either more or less preferred than every other point not on the curve. So, with (2), no two curves can intersect (otherwise non-satiation would be violated).
• 4. transitive with respect to points on distinct indifference curves. That is, if each point on I2 is (strictly) preferred to each point on I1, and each point on I3 is preferred to each point on I2, each point on I3 is preferred to each point on I1. A negative slope and transitivity exclude indifference curves crossing, since straight lines from the origin on both sides of where they crossed would give opposite and intransitive preference rankings.
• 5. (strictly) convex (sagging from below). With (2), convex preferences implies a bulge toward the origin of the indifference curve. As a consumer decreases consumption of one good in successive units, successively larger doses of the other good are required to keep satisfaction unchanged.

What is Acquisition?

Acquisition is the technology that allows dynamic behavior and content to be passed between Zope objects.

Acquisition's flavor permeates Zope, and a basic understanding of acquisition is important for understanding Zope's power and how to harness it.

Acquisition is about Containment

The concept behind acquisition is simple:

1. Objects are placed inside other objects.
2. Objects acquire content and behavior from their containers.

That's it.

What's so powerful about Containment?

The powerful part about acquisition is how objects automatically gather services from their containers. What this means is that when you create Documents and Folders you're not just building a web site, you're building an information structure.

For example, when you place a Document inside a Folder you are creating a small information sharing facility between the Document and the Folder.

Why is this different from placing an HTML file inside a directory? Because in Zope, the Document has access to all its container's content and services. So if a Folder can send mail, any Document placed inside the Folder can also send mail.

Providing services

Not only do objects acquire services, they also provide them. For example, adding a Mail Host object to a Folder provides that Folder with the ability to send mail. Documents too can provide services to Folders. In fact every object provides some service.

So acquisition goes both ways, when you create an object in Zope it automatically acquires services, and it also automatically provides services that other objects can acquire. This makes reuse of services very easy since you don't have to do anything special to make services available to other objects.

What is a Merger?

A merger occurs when two companies combine to form a single company. A merger is very similar to an acquisition or takeover, except that in the case of a merger existing stockholders of both companies involved retain a shared interest in the new corporation. By contrast, in an acquisition one company purchases a bulk of a second company's stock, creating an uneven balance of ownership in the new combined company.
The entire merger process is usually kept secret from the general public, and often from the majority of the employees at the involved companies. Since the majority of merger attempts do not succeed, and most are kept secret, it is difficult to estimate how many potential mergers occur in a given year. It is likely that the number is very high, however, given the amount of successful mergers and the desirability of mergers for many companies.
A merger may be sought for a number of reasons, some of which are beneficial to the shareholders, some of which are not. One use of the merger, for example, is to combine a very profitable company with a losing company in order to use the losses as a tax write-off to offset the profits, while expanding the corporation as a whole.
Increasing one's market share is another major use of the merger, particularly amongst large corporations. By merging with major competitors, a company can come to dominate the market they compete in, giving them a freer hand with regard to pricing and buyer incentives. This form of merger may cause problems when two dominating companies merge, as it may trigger litigation regarding monopoly laws.
Another type of popular merger brings together two companies that make different, but complementary, products. This may also involve purchasing a company which controls an asset your company utilizes somewhere in its supply chain. Major manufacturers buying out a warehousing chain in order to save on warehousing costs, as well as making a profit directly from the purchased business, is a good example of this. PayPal's merger with eBay is another good example, as it allowed eBay to avoid fees they had been paying, while tying two complementary products together.
A merger is usually handled by an investment banker, who aids in transferring ownership of the company through the strategic issuance and sale of stock. Some have alleged that this relationship causes some problems, as it provides an incentive for investment banks to push existing clients towards a merger even in cases where it may not be beneficial for the stockholders.

What is deflation and how can it be prevented?

There is currently talk in the media about the possibility of deflation. I think I understand what deflation is, and the problems that deflation would entail. However, I also seem to recall that when the government prints money it causes inflation. It seems to me, given these two "facts", the government would only have to print money to avoid deflation. (Pretty simple minded approach!)

Is the problem that there is more to printing money than printing money? Is in fact the way printed money gets into circulation, that the fed buys bonds, and thus gets money into the economy? What is the logical rabbit trail that leads to inflation from printing money? Would solving deflation this way work with today's low interest rates? Why or why not?

A: Deflation has been a hot topic since about 2001 and the fear of deflation does not look like it will subside anytime soon. Thanks for the topic suggestion!

What is deflation?

The Glossary of Economics Terms defines deflation as occurring "when prices are declining over time. This is the opposite of inflation; when the inflation rate (by some measure) is negative, the economy is in a deflationary period."

The article Why Does Money Have Value? explains that inflation occurs when money becomes relatively less valuable than goods. Then deflation is simply the opposite, that over time money is becoming relatively more valuable than the other goods in the economy. Following the logic of that article, deflation can occur because of a combination of four factors:

1. The supply of money goes down.
2. The supply of other goods goes up.
3. Demand for money goes up.
4. Demand for other goods goes down.

Deflation generally occurs when the supply of goods rises faster than the supply of money, which is consistent with these four factors. These factors explain why the price of some goods increase over time while others decline. Personal computers have sharply dropped in price over the last fifteen years. This is because technological improvements have allowed the supply of computers to increase at a much faster rate than demand or the supply of money. During the 1980's there was a sharp increase in the price of 1950's baseball cards, due to a huge increase in demand and a basically fixed amount of supply of both cards and money. So your suggestion to increase the money supply if we're worried about deflation is a good one, as it follows the four factors above.