Q1. What is the optimal global population?
Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?
Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?
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Today we bring you the analysis of John Locke's 2024 Economics Competition Zone Q1: Q1. What is the optimal global population?
This question consists of only six words, and I'm sure everyone noticed the prominent word "optimal" at first glance.
The meaning of "Optimal" is the most ideal, best, or optimal. However, when such an adjective is applied to "global population," how should we interpret it?
What does "Optimal" mean?
To discuss the optimal size of the global population, we need to first understand the problems that arise if the global population size is "suboptimal."
Firstly, the number of the global population is directly related to the sustainable development of society. Issues such as the aging population, gender imbalances, and unequal distribution of resources may arise due to different population proportions, which could exacerbate social inequality and uneven resource allocation.
From this, we can understand that the question of the optimal global population is not just a numerical one but rather a question of dynamic equilibrium. Due to space limitations, today we will mainly explore this issue from the perspective of labor economics.
In labor economics, discussions about the optimal global population size typically refer to achieving the ideal balance of labor supply and demand and how this balance affects wages, productivity, job opportunities, and economic growth.
After all, as mentioned earlier, population size and structure directly impact the operation of the global labor market, including labor supply and demand, skill structure, migration flows, and population aging.
Labor Economics Perspective
Therefore, when this question asks about the so-called "optimal population size," it actually refers to "at what point the global population can reach a balance among providing sufficient labor, ensuring social welfare, maintaining ecological balance, and promoting economic development."
This "optimal" is not simply about pursuing numerical growth but maximizing quality and efficiency. It includes the sustainability of population size and population quality, such as health, education, and skill levels, all of which are key factors affecting labor productivity and economic growth.
Additionally, the optimal population also involves the age structure and geographical distribution of the population, as well as the long-term effects of population changes on the labor market.
So, to answer this question accurately and pragmatically, besides avoiding giving a simple number, we also need to refrain from providing overly general suggestions focused on population control.
For example, some might argue that the world needs more population to drive economic growth, or that population reduction is necessary to address resource scarcity, which oversimplifies the implications.
The State of "Just Right"
To delve deeper into the question, we can start by setting aside the complexities of the global environment and instead build a toy model.
Let's imagine an isolated island. The population of this island is just enough to maintain a high quality of life for all residents while ensuring stable economic growth and environmental sustainability (somewhat resembling the early stages of Easter Island).
Here, "just enough" means neither too many nor too few. If the population on the island is too small, it may lead to a shortage of labor, affecting the provision of production and services. And if the population is too large, it may cause excessive resource consumption and environmental damage (resembling the stage just before the collapse of Easter Island civilization).
We can understand the whole world as interconnected islands. At the global level, the optimal population needs to consider factors such as geographical differences, cultural diversity, stages of economic development, and technological innovations. Only by considering these complex factors comprehensively can we approach understanding the "optimal" global population size.
Additionally, this question also needs to consider "social welfare" when solving it. Social welfare depends not only on the per capita consumption level but also on the population density in individual residential areas.
At a given per capita consumption level, total utility increases with increasing population density, reaching a maximum value, and then decreases with further population increases because overcrowding can have detrimental effects on quality of life (such as environmental factors like education quality, entertainment facilities, clean air, and pure water).
Today, we present the analysis of John Locke's 2024 Economics Competition Zone Q2:
Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?
This question explores whether "accurate news reporting" should be financially supported through "taxation."
Here are three approaches to cracking the problem for participants to consider:
1. The Two Layers of Meaning in the Question
This question carries two layers of meaning.
Firstly, it questions whether the traditional commercial model can guarantee the quality and independence of news.
Secondly, it explores whether government funding for news agencies would be a better alternative.
From the perspective of media economics, if accurate news reporting is considered a non-excludable and non-competitive public good, then it may not be efficiently supplied in the market due to the lack of direct economic incentives.
Therefore, the question arises: should news agencies be funded by taxation?
2. Hard News vs. Soft News
Before answering this question, we need to understand the relationship between "accurate news reporting" and "news agencies" as mentioned in the prompt.
To understand their relationship, we first need to differentiate between types of news: hard news and soft news.
Hard news focuses on serious, significant, and timely events or issues that directly impact society. It typically covers politics, economics, crime, disasters, international relations, and other urgent matters. The writing style is formal and objective, and accuracy, conciseness, and directness are essential.
Hard news prioritizes news values such as timeliness, proximity, impact, prominence, and conflict, often relying on official sources, expert opinions, and verified facts.
Soft news, also known as feature news or human interest news, covers lighthearted and entertaining topics unrelated to major current events. It includes lifestyle, arts and culture, human interest stories, celebrity news, travel, fashion, and personal interest stories.
Unlike hard news, soft news is driven by different news values and often incorporates storytelling techniques and elements, focusing on human interest, novelty, personal experiences, entertainment, and personal opinions, with significant differences from serious news.
Therefore, when the prompt emphasizes "accurate news reporting as a public good," it likely refers to hard news. However, news agencies produce not only hard news but also, in many cases, gain loyal readership through their soft news, columns, etc., and some news agencies hold clear editorial stances.
Thus, there may be a potential logical fallacy in the premise and the question part of the prompt.
3. Who's the Mouthpiece and Gatekeeper of the Media?
News reported by the media, whether hard or soft, is essentially a process of selection and gatekeeping. Media filter information for the public and prioritize the sorting of this information.
In the process of exercising the "supervisory" function, each news media receives a large amount of news provided by reporters, news agencies, and various other sources every day. Due to practical considerations, the time or space for each media to provide news to the audience is limited. The remaining space must be used for advertising and other content.
Within any news organization, there is a news culture, a subculture that includes a set of complex criteria for judging specific news reports—these criteria are based on the media's economic needs, institutional policies, definitions of news values, concepts of relevant audience characteristics, and beliefs in the fourth estate obligations of journalists.
Moreover, this news perspective and its complex criteria are used by editors, news directors, and others to select a limited number of news reports to present to the public. They then package these news reports to meet the demands of the media and the tastes of the audience.
Therefore, the staff of news organizations become gatekeepers, allowing some news reports through the system while excluding others.
Today, we present the analysis of John Locke's 2024 Economics Competition Zone Q3:
Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?
This question addresses whether successful business people benefit others:
1. When making their money
2. When spending it
3. Both when making and spending it
4. Neither when making nor spending it
Similar to the 2020 Junior Division question "Who should own your data? Do you agree to share your data with companies, everyone, yourself, or no one?" both questions involve discussing four scenarios separately.
While the 2020 question delved into data ownership, this year's economic question examines economic externalities.
Positive & Negative Externality
Economic externality refers to the impact of an economic entity's actions on third parties (referred to as "others" in the question), resulting in either benefits (positive externality) or harms (negative externality) without compensation for the affected third parties.
To illustrate, consider a flower shop or a coffee shop in a neighborhood enhancing the aesthetics of surrounding homes, bringing joy to residents, or the pleasant aroma of a bakery near an apartment building bringing happiness. These are examples of positive externalities.
Similarly, some unintentionally captured content by social media influencers can propel a long-standing or endangered craftsperson into fame, reviving a heritage brand's visibility and profitability, also representing a positive externality.
Negative externalities typically manifest in pollution generated during the production processes of companies, resulting in environmental degradation, such as smog from industrial activities or vehicular emissions.
Additionally, noise pollution from aircraft taking off and landing near residential areas constitutes a negative externality.
Thus, this question explores the potential impact of entrepreneurs' wealth creation and spending activities on others—directly and indirectly.
Applying the concept of externality discussed earlier to this question, we can discuss the positive and negative externalities generated by entrepreneurs' wealth creation through market activities and the positive and negative externalities their consumption activities may produce.
What impact do successful business people have on others when making their money?
Regarding the externalities generated by entrepreneurs in wealth creation, we cannot overlook the true story depicted in the 2000 legal biographical film "Erin Brockovich."
Set in Hinkley, a small community in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, the film portrays Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) operation of a natural gas pumping station since the 1950s.
Until 1966, the company used a chemical called "hexavalent chromium" to prevent rust, which eventually seeped into the groundwater supply of Hinkley's nuclear power station.
Erin Brockovich discovered an unusually high number of residents in the community suffering from asthma, chronic cough, bronchitis, rashes, and unusual joint pains. After thorough investigation, she obtained evidence indicating severe contamination of Hinkley's groundwater with the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, contrary to the company's claims of using a safer form of chromium.
Subsequently, she filed a lawsuit against PG&E, holding them responsible for the Hinkley groundwater contamination.
This true story illustrates the negative externalities that entrepreneurs or commercial entities may impose on society during their production and wealth creation processes. For instance, specific chemical pollution from a company's operations can directly harm the health of local residents and may be covered up with the help of connections, evading accountability.
Of course, besides negative externalities, business entities also bring many positive impacts during wealth creation, such as driving overall societal innovation capabilities, stimulating social potential, among other crucial roles.
However, the question not only asks about the process of making money but also about the process of spending it.
What impact do successful business people have on others when spending their money?
Regarding spending by wealthy individuals, many might initially think, "It doesn't affect me," or "It stimulates consumption, drives economic growth, and achieves the 'trickle-down effect,' which is good."
However, just as there are many complex aspects to wealth creation, such as when Pacific Gas and Electric Company "poisoned" surrounding residents while also providing significant tax revenue and job opportunities, thereby receiving a protective shield, there are also many considerations in spending.
Here are a few points to consider:
1. The purpose of spending. Many successful business people, after achieving wealth, consider giving back to society through philanthropy and charitable activities. Philanthropy (dispersing wealth) is also a form of spending with positive intentions, directly benefiting third parties.
2. Externalities in spending. Some spending choices by the wealthy may result in significant resource wastage or environmental pollution, such as opting for private jet travel. On the other hand, the consumption of some wealthy individuals may inject funds into sustainable development enterprises and numerous companies, expanding market demand, driving innovation in technology companies, and indirectly benefiting overall societal well-being.