Reflection

A. What I learned in this class that will be most applicable to my understanding of the world is all the economic viewpoints. These economic viewpoints will be useful because it means I get a better perspective and can look at economics from a German view point. This view point will help me to understand the world in ways like dissecting transportation in geographical ways and understanding that different places in the world make different decisions based on different values to their society. 

B. I am interested in learning more about transportation in differing countries. I really want to know what effects transportation and why Europe is able to be so different in transportation than the United States.  I also would like to learn more about international trade. What are the exact economic factors that affect trade and how do countries try to get the best out of their trade deals? 

C. I would advise the next year students to work ahead of time. To try and start projects, papers and blog posts early. Also take notes on the reading so that you can have precise examples from the reading to add to the next class’s discussion. Also make sure to have a basic understanding of economics and if not talk to any economics professor about economics to get different explanations that might make more sense to you.  

Speculation and expectations for the future

1. In this article it is easy to see that Germany is not untouched by what is happening in Europe. Many companies and people are feeling very pessimistic about the future of German exports. German banks still believe that there will be a turnaround for exports and one in eight expect exports to fall. Also German economic growth has been greatly reduced. It has only grown 0.1 percent from January to March. 

2. This topic really relates to GDP. In particular in pertains to the GDP formula we covered in class. Because of the decrease in exports our formula ( C+I+G+Net Exports) will show that GDP will decrease. Also because of the decrease in optimism for exports the consumption will also go down. This leads to Germany's GDP falling, which is not good at all for Germany's economy. 

3. It will be very hard to fix this situation. The best way would be to find a way to increase optimism in exports. If companies have more faith in their exports then the economies GDP will not fall as much or any because consumption will not go down but instead will probably rise. Another solution would be to break away from the European Union. Nine out of the seventeen countries in the Union are in a recession and holding Germany's economy down. This solution would have terrible consequences for the other countries. 

Central cities of Germany

1. The city that I will be looking at is Bonn, Germany. The city is currently ranked as the 19th largest city in Germany. Some of the really big cities in Germany are Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Hannover. Some smaller cities include Augsburg, Halle, Kiel, Erfurt and Hamm. These cities are all around the country and have a lot of differences that make them unique.

The list can be found at this site.
http://www.citymayors.com/gratis/german_topcities.html

2. Bonn is a great city that has the Rhine River running through the city. Bonn also has the largest metropolitan area in Germany. It also holds a couple of multi-national corporations. Cities bigger than Bonn will have a larger variety of food. They will also hold more national corporations and hubs. Hamburg has the biggest port in Germany and the city of Berlin is the capital of the country.

Here are some pictures of the city:

EGT Consulting

The most important thing to remember about Germany is their economy. Even though they are holding strong, the country is on an economic down turn. The per capital GDP in 2012 for Germany was $39,100 estimated in the year 2012. The biggest port in Germany is the Port of Hamburg. The port is on the north, western side of the country but has many roads and a few rivers leading out of its harbor. The Autobahn will allow for quick transportation of the shipping containers. The most cost effective order of transportation would go train, roads, and then planes because of shipping costs. The business climate in Germany is very good. Compared to the United States in 2012, Germany has a lower corruption level. If the European economy was doing better, Germany would be a sure fire deal; with their GDP and population plus excellent transportation.

Pointing the Blam

1. This article is about how the delivery of some high tech electronics are going to be delivered late and this will cost the company millions. Also the article talks about how the German company called Siemens was always in the news for something negative. The company had been on the right track and had gotten a contract for high speed trains but they will not be able to deliver the parts on time. 

Siemens AG is a German multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company. Siemens' principal activities are in the fields of industry, energy, transportation and healthcare. It is organized into five main divisions: Industry, Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure & Cities, and Siemens Financial Services.

2. This had me thinking about the transportation we were talking about last week. By just needing to push back the order by about a month or two the delivery costs are going to be in the millions. I know that transportation was expensive and when a company ships multiple items it will cost close to a million if there was a delivery change but I never thought that transportation costs could cost multiple millions for a company that needed a delivery change. Just making me think that even though those freight containers are useful it still costs a company changing moment. These millions could be the difference of if a company survives and if a company goes under. Thinking that delivery costs is a difference maker is a very interesting thought because then what else could make a major difference in a company? The little costs might not be so little any more. 

3. The solution to this could be having open ended delivery dates, or even not booking transportation for the goods so far in advance. Trying to cut down on delivery costs is a huge deal and one that should always be taken into consideration. All companies should try and minimize transportation costs by not only booking transportation in advance but also knowing what product you are making and know when to not book transportation for the goods if the company even has a doubt the product will not be in on time. 

Crates or a box, whats the difference?

1. The part of this article that I found most interesting was the relation to innovation and how it really helped to create a different type of economy. Now we focus on an innovation driven economy instead of asking how capital and labor can be amassed. As a future economist I really do enjoy this view point because it stretches my brain to think about how something like transportation helped to influence innovation which in turn then influenced the way economies functioned.

2. The author sees the shipping container as what opened up globalization in the world's economy. Instead of it taking close to several weeks for a small amount of goods to be transported it now takes very little time for a lot off goods to be transported, making the manufacturing cost fall to the ground because now goods could be made in low income economies and shipped to high ones to be sold in.

3. I see companies gaining from this because now they can trade all around the world making their goods more available. I also could see the consumer gaining because now there are more competitors lowering the price of goods in the markets. But lastly I see the consumer losing because they will receive goods not at the same standard they are used to. Goods are going to be made cheaply and quickly so they can be sold in bulk, which I believe then harms the consumer in the goods they buy but at the same time decreases prices for them.

Prosperity without growth?

1. The issue this article talks about is if there truly is prosperity without growth. It questions our GDP formula (GDP = C+I+G+(Exports-Imports)) because the formula does not calculate in "the over exploitation of resources, the destruction of biological diversity, air pollution, noise, the expansion of impervious surfaces known as soil sealing, and the poisoning of groundwater." 

                       

2. This issue really can be related to when we talked about the GDP formula and how it was affected by its factors of the equation. This article now makes us think if there is actually something else that affects the formula and makes GDP increase or decrease. 

3. What lead to this was economist's not wanting to include outside environmental factors. This is a really hard policy to figure out because while economists really do want to find a way to measure GDP, they also would love to find a way to measure it properly and include environmental issues. I really do not know of any solutions or any way to improve the formula to include these factors. 

Transportation

1. Water Transportation

The port of Hamburg is the biggest port in Germany that has access to the North Sea. The ports
of  Lübeck and Bremerhaven are also very big ocean ports in Germany.

Hamburg

 Lübeck

Bremerhaven

2. Ground Transportation

Railways:

• total: 40,826 km, including
• at least 14,253 km electrified and
• 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked

Though Deutsche Bahn is a private company, the government holds all shares and therefore Deutsche Bahn can still be called a state-owned company. Since its reformation under private law in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it own.  There is also about 280 privately or locally owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks in Germany. 

Highways:

The volume of traffic in Germany, especially goods transportation, is at a very high level due to its central location in Europe. In the past few decades, much of the freight traffic has been shifting from rail roads to driving road.  Germany possesses one of the most dense road systems in the world. German motorways have no blanket speed limit, but posted limits are in place in many dangerous or congested stretches. Germany has approximately 650,000 km of roads, of which 231,000 km are non-local roads.The road network is extensively used with nearly 2 trillion kilometers traveled by car in 2005, in comparison to just 70 billion km traveled by rail and 35 billion km traveled by plane.

3. Air Transportation

Short distances and the extensive network of motorways and railways make airplanes noncompetitive for travel within Germany. Only about 1% of all distance travelled was by plane in 2002. But due to a decline in prices with the introduction of low-fares airlines, domestic air travel is becoming a lot more attractive. Frankfurt International Airport is Germany's largest airport and a major transportation hub in Europe. Frankfurt Airport ranks among the world's top ten airports. It is one of the airports with the largest number of international destinations served worldwide.

Airports — with paved runways:

• total: 320
  • over 3,047 m: 14
  • 2,438 to 3,047 m: 61
  • 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67
  • 914 to 1,523 m: 56
  • under 914 m: 122 (1999 est.)

International Trade

1. A. Germany exports machinery, vehicles, electric & electronic equipment, and plastics. In 2012 Germany had $1.492 trillion in exports. Germany exports mostly to places like Canada, China, Bangladesh, but mostly exports to China.

B.  Importing merchandise like motor vehicles, chemical products, machinery, oil and gas, and computers. In 2012 Germany had $1.276 trillion imports. The Netherlands, China, France and US were the biggest import partners of Germany. 

2. The exchange rate of the Euro to the US dollar for the past couple years was 0.7838 (2012 est.), 0.7185 (2011 est.), 0.755 (2010 est.). Currently the exchange rate is 1 US dollar equals .77 Euros. 

3. The net migration rate is 0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.).Berlin, Hamburg and Munich are the most populated cities in Germany and are the places where people are going.  

4. Germany has many allies including the US, the Euro Zone, and Canada. Germany has had some conflicts in the past being on the wrong side of the war for World War 1 and World War 2. 

Fixing Europe

1. In this article I have read, it talks about how the Euro zone is trying to fix the crisis on its hands by having the southern countries leave the union. Now this would create a huge recession in Europe that would affect the entire world. The issue with these countries leaving the euro zone is that there is no way they can leave without the European nation and the suggestion was to implement the old currencies back into the economy but the article then goes on to explain why it won’t work?

2. I think it can be related to the topic of the McMillan book of those who cannot pay die. What the article is talking about doing would most definitely punish those countries that cannot pay their own bills. These southern countries are trying to be left out because they depend upon the other European countries to help them out which then hurts the overall European economy. 

3. What led to the down fall of the European Nation was indeed the nation coming together itself. The problem with the European Nation is that the fiscal policy for each country is still different and this difference is not helpful when you are trying to act as an entire nation with one currency. Either the European countries need to decide to make a body that can make fiscal and monetary decisions or they need to split up and become the separate nations they want to act as.  

Information Wants to be Free

A. A part of the reading that I found very interesting was the connection between the truck driver industry and the internet. It was fascinating because now logistics was so much easier and in the reading McMillan talked about how the truck drivers could now fill their trucks up with goods one way find some one who wanted them to transport goods back the other way and be back home without any lay over. The logistics made profits in companies increase very quickly and helped products that are perishables get delivered right on time.

B. Transaction costs talked about by McMillan is the price you pay to make the transaction happen. To clarify it includes everything from the price of researching and finding information to the cost of actually shopping through a store and buying the item you want. An example is buying a good quality hair cut versus an okay one for the same price. Finding information about reputations and then actually observing the hair cut for yourself is a transaction cost. The buyer has to trust that they are getting sold a decent product.

C. Effects like an imperfect market arise which then creates a very unstable economy.  The effects of imperfect information are mostly on the sellers. They often times hinder the buyers decisions on what they are able to buy and for what price. The sellers has less information about the quality of what the person has to sell thus making the buyer at a disadvantage on whether they are getting a bad deal or not.

A fez of the Heart

A. One passage of the reading that I found very interesting was towards the end when Jeremy Seal made the comparison of Fez's being banned to people walking around naked. That the priorities of those old and new were so different because of tourism and the way the people of Pomegranate had acted towards tourists. The factor of money being such a priority that people could find new ways to make a living, even through something they originally thought would never cost any money.

B.  " pg. 13 'Fried squit?' he asked. 'I've eaten,' I lied, and pointed at his fez. 'I thought it was illegal to wear that.' 'My boss like me to wear it,'..."
" pg. 12 'For us, they are forbidden,' he replied in halting English. "for tourists, they are . . .' He searched for the word in vain. 'Bidden. But we don't like fezzes anyway. They are not modern.' "
" pg. 4 Halil is now a successful Pomegranate hotelier, but he has not forgotten his father. The tools of the old man's trade- the wooden ploughs and the threshing sleds, horse-drawn slabs of walnit from whose base diagonal lines of flints protrude to separate wheat from chaff- have been tidied up, varnished, and displayed around the hotel' " - I think this quote shows a relationship between economics and culture in the way that Halil moved on from his fathers business but would not forget where he came from and that shows his cultural values.

C. People want to visit places like Oktoberfest and Hainich National Park because they find these places unique and interesting. They have activities that unlike any others in the world. People want to have these experiences in Germany because of this.  

Tourism of Germany

1. Total expenditure by tourists                                                                € 278.3 bn
by domestic tourists                                                                                  € 241.7 bn (87%)
by international tourists                                                                            € 36.6 bn (13%)

Total national gross value added (direct, indirect, and induced effect)   € 214.1 bn.

Proportion of total national gross value added                                         9.7%

of which: total national gross value added(direct effeckt)                       € 97.0 bn

Proportion of total national gross value added                                         4.4%

Overall impact on employment(direct, indirect, and incluced)                4.9 million workers

Proportion of total number of workers in Germany                                 12.0%
of which: impact on employment(direct)                                                 2.9 million workers
Proportion of total number of workers in Germany                                 7.0%


International arrivals 2011
International arrivals in million (incoming)                                              28.4
Arrivals per 100 of the population                                                           35

More information can be found at http://www.germany.travel/media/pdf/dzt_marktforschung/DZT_Incoming_GTM12_en_web.pdf
on page 08

2. Some Major tourist attractions are:

A. Neuschwanstein



The ultimate fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein is situated on a rugged hill near Füssen in southwest Bavaria. It was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castles in the Disneyland parks. The castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was declared insane when the castle was almost completed in 1886 and found dead a few days later. Neuschwanstein is the most photographed building in the country and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Germany.

B. Heidelberg Old City




Located in the Neckar river valley, Heidelberg is one Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. During WWII, the city was almost completely spared by allied bombings which destroyed most of Germany’s larger inner cities. As a result, Heidelberg has retained its baroque charm of narrow streets, picturesque houses and the famous Heidelberg Castle.

C. Oktoberfest



The Oktoberfest in Munich is the largest Volksfest in the world with over 6 million visitors annually. Despite the name, the Oktoberfest starts at the end of September until the first weekend in October. An important part of Bavarian culture, the festival has been held since 1810. Visitors enjoy a wide variety of traditional fare such as Hendl, Schweinebraten, Würstl, Knödel and large quantities of German beer.

http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-germany/

3. Some national parks include:

A. Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park




B. Rügen Cliffs

 

C. Hainich National Park




4. Important Museums

A. Gemäldegalerie



B. Pinakothek Art Galleries


C. Federal Art Space

1. The GDP for Germany for the 2012 year is $3.601 trillion. 

2.  GDP per Capita for Germany is $39,100 estimated in 2012.

3. Life expectancy of the total German population is 80.19 years.

4. The population below the poverty line is 15.5%.

5. The literacy rate is at 99%.

6. The unemployment rate is 5.4%

7. The inflation rate is 1.44%

You can find more facts about German economic at this website.

1. German climate is cool, cloudy, has very wet winters and summers. Germany's resources include coal, natural gas, copper nickel and timber. Some major rivers include the Rhine, Elbe and Danube.

2. The German labor force was at 44.01 million in 2012. The school life expectancy is 16 years.This includes  primary to tertiary. 

3. The industrial production growth rate is around 8%. Germany's infrastructure is excellent. Not only are the industries striving but the efficiency of transportation is one of the best in the world. 

"Caught in the Cold"

1. In this article I have just ready, it talks about how the longer winter is in Germany will be having a negative effect on Germany's economy. The article talks about how construction, agriculture, service and retail are all suffering and will continue to suffer from winter. This will then impact Germany's economic abilities to support others in the Euro zone. Also more people have reported in for sick days than usual; meaning that production is going to have a 5 billion euro loss or 6.5 billion dollars. 

2. This issue can be related to the buyers and sellers activity we had on Monday April 8th. It will drive up the prices of the sellers and makes it so that their products will be more expensive and the equilibrium price will get raised. Making bad news for the economy because there will then be less money circulating from people trying to save up to buy goods they did not have to save for last summer. 

3. Nothing to much really lead to this situation other than Mother Nature deciding winter needed to stay longer. One thing that could have led to this situation was people not taking care of themselves properly. Not wearing the proper winter clothing and taking more health risks than necessary. One thing that could fix this problem is the German government giving more incentive for finding better cures for winter illnesses. It could lead to less sick days and better production. 

Culture of Germany

1. Soccer or as it is called in Germany, Football is the most popular sport. With Bundesliga as the top level football/soccer league.
2. Music in Germany has gone through multiple phases. Classical music is very well known and played throughout the entire world. The most popular music today is hip-hop, and performers are groups called MIA and Rammstein.
3. Some common traditional popular food is Bratwurst, Currywurst, and Kohlroulade.
4. The major religion/beliefs in Germany are Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
5. Some important national holidays include Easter, German Unification day (October 3), Christmas and News Years. Some customs are to shake hands when you greet each other, Germans eat a large hot lunch and small dinners, and Germans expect everyone to always be on time.
6. Popular tv shows include Doctors Diary, The Mentalist, and Der Letzte Bulle. Movies include Hanni & Nanni, Iron Doors, and Hotel Lux.
7. Here are a couple links to some German newspapers: http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/, http://www.abendblatt.de/, http://www.berlinonline.de/.
8. Some German newspapers in English are http://www.thelocal.de/, http://www.spiegel.de/international/.
9. Germany is a federal parliamentary republic. It has two major parties that include the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union), with a sister party the Christian Social Union. Germany has three minor parties, the Free Democratic Party, The Left, and Alliance ‘90/The Greens.  Political leaders include Fed. Pres. Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice Chancellor Philipp Roesler

McMillan Ch. 1

1. I think that McMillan's most important characteristic of a market is the "hand" He really focuses on how a market would act with some form of control verses no control or in this case the control of God. What McMillan is arguing is that a free market will not function properly in today's economy without rules to help regulate it. "The problem in developing countries is not that markets are absent; it is that they are working badly (pg 14)." The way to fix the markets is through the Government either having it back off or make more rules. 

2. I have seen types of opinions that think markets are bad. I think people distrust markets because of the harm they cause to the individual. Some people will feel the effects of the market more than others will and when the market does not work well people tend to not trust it as much. Non-market action can be distrusted as well because of the lack of regulation and everything that is needed to help make transaction fair. Personally I like markets because they provide competition that helps to make products better for the buyers and helps the sellers sell their product to multiple buyers easily. 

3. I think that making sure there cannot be a monopoly in the market is a great rule. Monopolies hurt the buyers and if there are no more buyers then the market will start to fall apart. Also competition is great for the market because it helps to create innovation which is a big deal in furthering our society.

Human History

A.  Diamond’s major theme is talking about history in a sense of science. That the geographical areas of the world explain how and why the human race evolved the way it did. Diamond often talks about the domesticated animals, plants and how the climate of the land effects how the people that lived there would act.

B. The most important determinants to a society’s success is domestication and innovation. A society has to be able to domesticate plants and animals to survive and many places in the world had a very hard time finding animals and plants to domesticate over a large space of land. They also needed to innovate because that’s how they would become better at surviving in the world. Innovation could be achieved through time, which a lot of societies did not have because they were busy being gatherers and hunters.

C. In the global economy you can see those that are thriving are the ones that get to innovate instead of focusing on agriculture. Innovators get to trade for agricultural goods they need but the price for them is lower than it is for those trading away their agricultural goods.