Comparison of cigarette smoking rates in Australia with other countries
1. In the US, the prevalence of cigarette smoking is 16.8% compared to the world prevalence rate of 20% and Australia at 12%. This shows that more people smoke cigarettes in the world and the US on average compared to Australia (WorldBank data).
2.
In the case the demand is elastic, the increase in price due to the excise tax will cause a more than proportionate decrease in the quantity demanded from Q1 to Q3. The government revenue will therefore be (P2-P1) *Q3
In case the demand is inelastic, the increase in price due to the excise tax will cause a less than proportionate decrease in the quantity demanded hence the move from Q1 to Q2. The government revenues will therefore be (P2-P1) Q2
3. Each year, smoking kills an estimated 15,000 Australians and costs Australia $31.5 billion in social
(including health) and economic costs.
Each year, smoking kills an estimated 15,000 Australians and costs Australia $31.5 billion in social
(including health) and economic costs.
According to the article, cigarette smoking has accounted for over 150000 deaths annually and has increased the economic costs of healthcare to the government. A decrease in smoking rates is bound to lead to cost savings in these two areas. There is evidence to suggest the higher impact of tobacco smoking in older individuals compared to when they are young and therefore an individual should gain more if they quit smoking at an older age (Davidson & de Silva, 2018).
Each year, smoking kills an estimated 15,000 Australians and costs Australia $31.5 billion in social
(including health) and economic costs.
4. One of the policies includes plain packaging where the state regulated the packaging of cigarettes to make them less attractive for individuals to purchase it. The other policy was the introduction of excise tax increases. From the article, pain packaging had no considerable impact in the change of smoking rates in the country. Also, the increase in excise tax had significantly less impact. Further the article cites that individuals had policy resistance to policies affecting their consumption which reduced the efficacy of regulation policies (Davidson & de Silva, 2018).
5. According to the article, there is little or a net negative effect of introduction of plain packaging as a policy regulation on the smoking of cigarettes. This is because it only leads to a loss of product differentiation on the supply side forcing the suppliers to compete on price which further increases prices in the market. This is because the plain packaging does not quite affect the nature of the product. It also contributes to the levels of policy resistance among consumers who anticipate policy regulations meant to deter them from the consumption of tobacco (Davidson & de Silva, 2018)..
The article hypothesizes that a probable cause for structuralt could be the mismatch between the graduate skills and current skills demanded.
According to the article, cyclical unemployment is created by the demand and supply cycles of certain industries for example hospitality and tourism where the amount of workers needed will be dependent on the demand for the service provided.
Supply and demand curves and the impact of excise tax on cigarettes
According to the article, frictional unemployment is caused by a heightened sensitivity of younger workers to demand conditions which may reflect a “last in, first out practice” making employers reluctant to hire or retain younger workers especially when there is cyclical weaknesses since they tend to have less experience and lower skills.
According to the article, there are individuals who are not interested in finding work yet the unemployment statistics only account for individuals who are unemployed and actively looking for work. This shows that a significant portion of the population could be misrepresented in the unemployment statistics.
According to the article, underemployment occurs when individuals are willing to work for more hours but are not able to find the type of work that allows them so.
2.
One factor contributing to the decline in labor supply of 15-24 year old’s is the ageing of the population. As the population grows older, the labor supply provided by the age group of 15-24 year old’s declines. Another factor is the decline in the participation rate of younger workers. This means that younger workers may be less interested to participate in work compared to the work available to them this may be due to studies which may require full time participation. A factor that may increase labor supply is probable the time available to the individuals to work. Another factor that may increase labor supply is migration where individuals from other countries enter the country and are legible to participate in the workforce (Davies and ANTA, 2001).
In the case of labor demand, one factor that may lead to an increase in demand for 15-24 year-old workers is increase in the availability of part time employment and a decline in full time employment. This structural change has increased the demand for younger people working part time. Another structural factor is the structure of the economy. For example, as the economy becomes more service oriented, there has been an increased demand for workers in the service industries such as tourism and hospitality. Another factor is technological change where the decline in demand for routine jobs and the automation of entry level or lower skilled jobs limits the options for younger people to find full time work.
3. One of the reasons influencing the level of part time work among individuals who are 15-24 years of age is that most of them are still in school and are therefore unable to work in a fulltime capacity. The other reason is because there are structural or cyclical issues in the industry they are seeking work, they are not able to successfully find fulltime work. Another reason is some of the young individuals may prefer working part time since they would like to participate in order activities as well. Also, the individual may be engaged in multiple job options which may require them to work part time. Another influencing factor is that the individual may be caring for children and therefore working part time creates a conducive schedule (Davies and ANTA, 2001).
4. The rate of youth unemployment in Australia is 12½ percent while the underemployment rate is nearly 14 percent. The youth unemployment in Australia describes individuals who are eligible for work and are looking for work but cannot find work while the underemployment rate describes individuals who are looking to work more hours but cannot find more work. It is clear that the underemployment rate in the market is higher than unemployment. This is contributed by the increase in part time employment compared to full time employment which makes workers employed for lesser hours than they would like. This shows that while the economy is capable of employing more people, it is increasing employment in a part time capacity (Davies and ANTA, 2001).
5. In America, the youth unemployment rate is 9%. This is a lower rate than that of Australia. One of the reasons why this may be so is the difference in the ability of the economy to absorb more youth in the labor market. Further, there might be higher levels of youth engagement in labor compared to that in Australia.
References
Davidson, S., & de Silva, A. (2018). Did Recent Tobacco Reforms Change the Cigarette Market?. Economic Papers: A journal of applied economics and policy, 37(1), 55-74.
Davies, M., Teese, R., O’Brien, K., & Australian National Training Authority (ANTA); University of Melbourne. Centre for Post-compulsory Education & Training (CPET); Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). (2001). Labour market outcomes for young people.
World Bank data retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/
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