New Liabilities Under The Consumer Protection Act 1987 Yusuf Belgore Essay

New Liabilities Under The Consumer Protection Act 1987 Yusuf Belgore - Essay Example Before the enactment of the consumer protection act of 1987, those injured had to prove negligence of a manufacturer to sue successfully for any damage. The act now removes this bottleneck and a customer can already sue a supplier without proof of negligence, under sale of produce law. This law applies equal right to anyone injured by the defective product whether or not the good was sold to them . The major crux, of the consumer protection act, 1987, as we have seen so far is that it seeks to protect the consumer from unwholesome practice of producers. Part 1 of this act allows people injured by defective product to sue for compensation without having to prove that the producer was negligent. All that has to be proved is that the product was defective and the defect in the produce caused injury. The law applies to all consumer products and products used at place of work. This law makes taking litigation against producers of defective goods and in fact getting redress easy for the consumer. It also opens up lapses so that manufacturers of genuinely not defective goods get sued and may end up paying compensation. What this does is to allow for a larger influx of cases into the courts (over 1500 cases were in courts last year alone with 1000 successful prosecutions ). There are cases of adverse reaction to goods that are hitherto not defective for which an injured person may sue and in fact, get compensation for such cases. This is so because the act is very strict about liabilities. Thus the having contractual terms with the consumer does not exempt a producer from being sued.

Effects of Ongoing Migration Issues in Greece Essay

Effects of Ongoing Migration Issues in Greece - Essay Example According to the report in the post World War II period, Greece was in a hard situation where two factions were competing for its control. This in effect initiated the Greek civil war that between the prodemocracy and procommunist movements. The prodemocracy faction ended up achieving victory and turning Greece in to west learning country of sort. This made Greece resistant to soviet War. The post World War II period has witnessed a huge migration out and in of Greece. Firstly, the country has witnessed emigration to other European countries with expanding industrial economies. However with the stabilizing of the economy of Greece after the World War II period, the immigration in to Greece turned in to a huge unmanageable phenomenon. Albeit being one of the less developed countries of the European Union, in the 1990s, Greece received comparably the highest number of immigrants in relation to the size of her labour force.This paper stresses that  Pakistan, India and Former Soviet Un ion were gaining entry in to Greece. Even more, people from Iraq, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and North Africa immigrated into Greece. The population increase that was witnessed in Greece between 1991 and 2001 was greatly impacted by the immigrants.  Among the European Union member states, Greece tops the list of the countries with the highest number of immigrants to national population ratio today.  The migratory phenomenon in Greece is rather engendered and ethnically distinct.

New British Library And Bps Andrew Field Development Construction Essay

New British Library And Bps Andrew Field Development Construction Essay The construction industry is one of the best industry in the world for delivering excellence in result. In United Kingdom we have a fantastic heritage of excellence in construction going back to Victorian times with the remarkable achievements of great engineers. But there has long been a recognition that there is considerable scope for improvement in the way construction projects are delivered. Back in the 1980s clients complained about performance of the industry, the industry complained about clients and a strong belief that we the public were not getting value for money! The industry was characterised by poorly performing projects, dissatisfied clients, poor quality end product, adversarial relationships between buyers and suppliers, low profit margins and a claims culture, lack of investment in people and a poor health and safety record. Public sector project in particular were inevitably delivered late, costing far in excess of what was originally estimated, and often did not meet peoples expectations in terms of performance, aesthetics or lifecycle. To drive culture change we must move beyond construction to a broader vision of the built environment , leveraging performance in other parts of the economy to deliver better quality of life in housing, transport, health, educationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..etc. Recognising that the relatively small up front construction cost has a big impact on overall business costs and ultimate value to the user. the social and environmental outcomes. Focus on the environment we must be a sustainability leader and adopt carbon efficiency. A green recovery from the current recession is required. Such that young people who want a better world can fulfil their aims by joining the industry to deliver a low carbon economy Find a cohesive voice for the industry. Institutions must collaborate to represent the industry to government and other stakeholders. Focus on how we can help reduce government costs Adopt new business models find ways to incentives long term value creation Develop new leaders who can communicate their vision and drive culture change Integrate education and training to promote a wider understanding of the built environment. Procure for value rather than lowest price procurement process needs to be more professionally managed Suppliers take the lead in demonstrating how they can create additional value New British Library Aim of British Library The aim of British Library is to serve scholarship, research and enterprise. Their purpose to promote the advancement in knowledge through the communication of information and ideas. In order to achieve this they identify and respond to users needs for a national library services; build, catalogue and conserve the collection; provide entry to the worlds knowledge base; provide leadership and initiate co-operative programmes for the national and international research library community; and exploit their collections in enterprising ways to raise support for their activities. Source: The British Library Corporate Plan 1995 Development of British Library The concept of British Library was established in 1982, the construction of first phase was started at St Pancras. At the early stage their was no budget for complete project and the cost approved phase by phase. This was not an efficient practice for management. In 1988 Minister was agreed for  £300 millions as a cash target for phase 1A and also  £150 millions for completion phase. In 1991, the former Committee of public Accounts were critical of the serious lapses in the management control and accountability of the project and elected the management arrangements to be monitored closely. The government accepted the main findings of committee and confirmed that the expected completion of new building will held on 1996 with in the cash limit of  £450 millions but in November minister increased cash limit to  £496 millions. It was expected that the whole building should be completed in 1996 but the completion and handover dates of phase 1A changed three times since July 1991, in 1993 phase 1A was planned for operational in the middle of the year but the phase was completed in November 1995 but no part of the building is now expected to open until October 1997.the completion target date of phase 1A was slipped because of identify and resolve technical problems with the book shelving, in order to find out how to deal with cabling damages during installation, how to deal with short comings in the fire protection systems, and to implement remedial works. BPs North Sea Andrew Field Development Proposed Idea Development In 1974 Andrew was discovered in 1974 in 230 km NE of Aberdeen in 115 m water depth, a relatively small complex reservoir, with estimated 112million barrels of oil and 3.8 billion cu m of gas. It was proposed for development a number of times between 1981 and 1988 but always commercially unattractive. By 1991 collaborative team work had solved the gas management plan incorporating gas export and re-injection into the reservoir. BP themselves were not sure of the steps needed to reach their goal and had to hold fast to their vision. They wanted the facilities contractors on board at the pre-sanction stage for them to establish an early sense of ownership and to work on reducing the unacceptably high cost estimate of  £450m. BP moved away from a traditional tendering process and developed a set of 10 new criteria the Minimum Conditions of Satisfaction (MCOS) against which they would judge prospective candidates. The tender document at only 50 pages was the slimmest ever produced for a major new Offshore development. Brown Root recognised that BP was serious and came up with its own response to BPs Minimum Conditions Of Satisfaction that would change behaviour and reduce cost foremost of these was an end to man to man marking on the project limiting the client team to 20 and truly integrating them was part of the delivery of the project. Contractors were cautious especially with the MCOS requiring that the development cost be limited to  £270m. Temporary grillage steelwork to support the structure during fabrication and load out was reduced from 1100T to 300T saving  £260k. An example of further cooperation between design and fabrication was that the design team produced drawings for fabrication. Usually 300 primary drawings would be produced. Instead only 30 were needed with all fabrication drawings directly produced from the CAD model saving 12000 man-hours. At sanction the estimated man hours for jacket fabrication were 580,000 which was reduced to 500,000 by reduction in work scope. However, by smarter working motivated by the cooperative atmosphere and culture of the Alliance, Andrews Jacket was built for less than 440,000 man hours. Sanction estimates, based on other typical projects, was 78 man hours/tonne The final outcome for Andrew was 66 man hours/tonne. As different contractors would be working under different payment methods reimbursed costs with fixed overhead and profit and fixed lump sum prices there was concern that although joint commitment was required under the risk and reward gain share system, one party might not have influence over another in achieving the target cost. Target cost finalised in Nov 93 at  £373m which included  £39m contingency approx 20% reduction in price had been achieved. And first oil 3 months early, by Sep 96 Way the Both Projects Delivered In the contrast of both the projects like ;New British Library and BPs North Sea Andrew Field Development s project both started almost on same time and having same magnitude of cost. In the case of British Library, time and cost of project both over runs. the performance and specification of complex systems need to be settle down early during design, the library believed that they were justified in revisiting basic features of the design when construction was well advanced. In their project they did not arranged quality people like architects and other professionals because they provide the financial incentive to complete projects on time and with in budget. there was unclear definition of responsibilities for inspections between Laing, the design team, and the clerks of works. Their had been insufficient planning, resulting in sufficient time being allowed for inspections. Guidance on handover procedures had been confused, their were poor identification and recording of items to be rectified or still outstanding. As a result, there had been uncertainty over the amount of work still to be done before an area could be handed over also uncertainty over what bookshelving contractors were contracted to provide: records of technical discussions and agreement were not readily accessible. As far as BPs North Sea Andrew Field Development s project was concern a totally integrated team approach was done with a gain share mechanism to share risk and reward. The idea of behavioural change as an essential ingredient for success had taken hold following feedback from another BP project which suggested that the much discussed benefits of alliancing could bear fruit if managed correctly. They defined their roles, strategies and principles. They concentrated on their performance and specification during the project. They delivered their project on time because they monitored the technical issues, accidental issues and weather issues that is why the project finish on time and with in the targeted cost as well Recommendations Bibliography Refrences Constructing the Team (The Latham Report) (July 1994) Rethinking Construction (The Egan Report) (Dec 1998) NAO Report HC362: Progress in Completing the New British Library (15 May 1996) Lecture notes for EPM 934 Lecture 5 (available on City Space)

The Blue-collar Appeal of Hard Times Essay -- Dickens Hard Times Essay

The Blue-collar Appeal of Hard Times   Ã‚   In Hard Times, Charles Dickens gives us a close-up look into what appears to be the ivory tower of the bourgeoisie of his day, yet these middle-class characters are viewed from a singular perspective, the perspective of those at the bottom of the social and economic system. Though Dickens’ characters tend to be well developed and presented with a thoroughly human quality, the stereotypical figure of arrogant and demanding Bounderby fails to accurately capture the motivations and attitudes of the typical successful businessman of the day and is an indication of the author’s political motives. Hard Times, rather than presenting a historically accurate picture of the extraordinary changes brought about by the industrial revolution, is a one-sided attack on the utilitarian value system of the middle 19th century based upon emotional blue-collar appeals for labor sympathy that are not uncommon in today’s corporate environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Josiah Bounderby of Coketown represents the utilitarian attitude and, as such, is the villain of the story and clearly the target of Dickens’ political argument. Dickens characterizes Bounderby as a powerful individual, driven by greed and guided by a distorted view of human nature. He is the only wealthy industrialist introduced in Hard Times, although Mr. Sleary might arguably be considered the more virtuous businessman. Dickens clearly portrays Bounderby as a greedy and individualistic, self-serving capitalist; rather than an insightful, forward-looking crafter of a new industrial age. Dickens artfully weaves his political enemy into a pompous, arrogant image reinforced with traditional working-class themes that lead the reader to conclude that Bounderby, ... ...nate and truly human society should strive to benefit all classes of its citizens.    Works Cited Coolidge, Archibald C., Jr. Charles Dickens as Serial Novelist. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1967. Hayek, F. A., ed. Capitalism and the Historians. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1954. Laughlin, J. Lawrence. The Elements of Political Economy. New York, NY: 1896. Malthus, Thomas. First Essay on Population, 1798. London, England: Macmillan & Company. 1926. Marx, Karl. "Capital." Great Books of the Western World. Vol. 50. Ed. Robert Hutchins. Chicago, IL: Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. 1982. Veblen, Thorstein. Selected Writings of Thorstein Veblen. Ed. Wesley C. Mitchell. New York, NY: Viking Press. 1947. Wilson, John F. British Business History: 1720-1994. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. 1995.      

The Pros and Cons

ENC 1011 Birth Control in American Society The Pros and Cons â€Å"On May 9, 1960, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the marketing of the first birth control pill in the United States. † The battle over birth control waged on long before F. D. A’s approval. Since its creation, arguments both pro and anti birth control have been immense. From religious beliefs to freedom of choice, both sides still have yet to find a middle ground on this matter. Whether negative or positive, birth control has had a tremendous impact on American society with no compromise in sight.The pro birth control side believes we must know in the war of birth control what exactly we are fighting for, teens are going to have to sex before marriage regardless, and parents have to do what they can to minimize the effects of it. According to one thinker, â€Å"The first step in determining the dispense of birth control is acknowledging the frequency of non-marital sex, and willingness to consider its consequences. † Backed by Susan Jacoby studies, indicating that the percent of the population having sex by the age of 21 rose from 40% to 70% were for the entire population.Today, 77% of men and women will have had sex, including 75% who will have had premarital sex, by the age of 20. Consequently, 95% of the entire population will have had sex outside of marriage by the age of 44, and they will overwhelmingly have done so with someone other than a person they will eventually marry (Jacoby). Naomi Cahn, a professor from George Washington University Law School once stated, â€Å" The war for non-premarital sex was lost long ago, we’re now combatting the results of the loss with our main weapon being birth control. Once conceding defeat, the belief is that parents can neutralize the consequences of teens having sex by giving them birth control. On the other hand the anti birth control side; tends to believe by parents giving birth control to teens, they ar e in fact promoting teen promiscuity. According to research done by Richard John Neuhaus commenting on giving birth control to kids, â€Å"To do so would be to try something that possibly no society has tried before: to state publicly that there are no social standards or sanctions with respect to the sexual activity of young people.Giving teens birth control would be parents way of saying, I expect you to have sexual intercourse with out verbally saying it. This would make it appear to be normal, thus by virtue lending a helping hand in teens having sexual intercourse (Neuhaus). Feeling dispense of such devices would led to lower standards in American society is more harmful then beneficent. Most people who are pro choice refute the notion of more harm done then good in usage. Joyce Arthur an activist for birth control was a part of several studies conducted in the U. S.Joyce cited â€Å"The consequences of mothers and fathers parenting children they did not want to bear resulted in damages both to the children and parents. † The children were significantly more likely to have mental handicaps, they performed significantly worse academically and were twice as likely to have a record of juvenile delinquency according to Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis in a study published. Activist states not only are we putting our future in jeopardy by denying them birth control, but we are also damaging our young teens.Teens whom had to bear unwanted children have shown consistent patterns of anti-social behavior and neglect by their own parents. Joyce argues â€Å"These issues are more detrimental than the marginal increase in sexual activity amongst teens. † Thus parents giving birth control devices to teens help society more according to Joyce Arthur. Many of those against birth control believe we cannot foresee the full impact of parents actively giving out birth control. According to Douglas J. Besharov,† Parents actively pushing birth control to teens ought to be aware of the possible increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STD).Citing a vast number or birth control devices protect against pregnancy but aren’t efficient at fighting the diseases. Besharov stated, â€Å"If only can we have our parents weigh the unwanted birth of a child, to the lost of a child to an S. T. D, they may see the lesser of two evils in promoting birth control. No method outside of condoms has proven to offer any protection from a S. T. D. Besharov asks, â€Å"Are we so concerned with unwanted births that we’d disregard the health of the living? † The debate on whether we should or should not give birth control to teens as gone on for years and will continue on for the foreseeable future. Both sides have made very valuable and valid points. There is no right or wrong answer it just a matter of beliefs and preferences. The only answer lies with in the person, if one chooses to have sex, with out ques tion birth control should be readily available to them, to protect themselves from consequences. However, if there is any error at all in these debates it would be the notion that we should assume that all our teens are having sex.With this assumption for us to actively push birth control could indeed send the wrong message. For those who aren’t actively having sex it could be due to the fact that they don’t have their hands on birth control devices and by us giving it to them we could also be giving them the green light to have sex. Works Cited Bartells, F. K. â€Å"Teens Should Not Have Access to Emergency Contraception Without Parental Consent. † Birth Control. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. rom â€Å"The New ‘Emergency Contraception': A Dark and Deadly Pill. † 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. Cahn, Naomi, and June Carbone. â€Å"Birth Control Asserts Feminist Values and Is Socially Beneficial. † Birth Control. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Contraception: Securing Feminism's Promise. † The George Washington University Law School Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper. Vol. 476. 2009. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2012 Neuhaus, Richard John. â€Å"Long-Term Contraceptive Devices Promote Teen Promiscuity. † Teens at Risk. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. Parenthood, Planned. â€Å"Teen Access to Abortion Should Not Be Restricted. â€Å"The Abortion Controversy. Ed. Emma Bernay. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Current Controversies. Rpt. from â€Å"Child Custody Protection Act: Hearings on H. R. 1218. † 1999. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. The Pros and Cons ENC 1011 Birth Control in American Society The Pros and Cons â€Å"On May 9, 1960, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the marketing of the first birth control pill in the United States. † The battle over birth control waged on long before F. D. A’s approval. Since its creation, arguments both pro and anti birth control have been immense. From religious beliefs to freedom of choice, both sides still have yet to find a middle ground on this matter. Whether negative or positive, birth control has had a tremendous impact on American society with no compromise in sight.The pro birth control side believes we must know in the war of birth control what exactly we are fighting for, teens are going to have to sex before marriage regardless, and parents have to do what they can to minimize the effects of it. According to one thinker, â€Å"The first step in determining the dispense of birth control is acknowledging the frequency of non-marital sex, and willingness to consider its consequences. † Backed by Susan Jacoby studies, indicating that the percent of the population having sex by the age of 21 rose from 40% to 70% were for the entire population.Today, 77% of men and women will have had sex, including 75% who will have had premarital sex, by the age of 20. Consequently, 95% of the entire population will have had sex outside of marriage by the age of 44, and they will overwhelmingly have done so with someone other than a person they will eventually marry (Jacoby). Naomi Cahn, a professor from George Washington University Law School once stated, â€Å" The war for non-premarital sex was lost long ago, we’re now combatting the results of the loss with our main weapon being birth control. Once conceding defeat, the belief is that parents can neutralize the consequences of teens having sex by giving them birth control. On the other hand the anti birth control side; tends to believe by parents giving birth control to teens, they ar e in fact promoting teen promiscuity. According to research done by Richard John Neuhaus commenting on giving birth control to kids, â€Å"To do so would be to try something that possibly no society has tried before: to state publicly that there are no social standards or sanctions with respect to the sexual activity of young people.Giving teens birth control would be parents way of saying, I expect you to have sexual intercourse with out verbally saying it. This would make it appear to be normal, thus by virtue lending a helping hand in teens having sexual intercourse (Neuhaus). Feeling dispense of such devices would led to lower standards in American society is more harmful then beneficent. Most people who are pro choice refute the notion of more harm done then good in usage. Joyce Arthur an activist for birth control was a part of several studies conducted in the U. S.Joyce cited â€Å"The consequences of mothers and fathers parenting children they did not want to bear resulted in damages both to the children and parents. † The children were significantly more likely to have mental handicaps, they performed significantly worse academically and were twice as likely to have a record of juvenile delinquency according to Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis in a study published. Activist states not only are we putting our future in jeopardy by denying them birth control, but we are also damaging our young teens.Teens whom had to bear unwanted children have shown consistent patterns of anti-social behavior and neglect by their own parents. Joyce argues â€Å"These issues are more detrimental than the marginal increase in sexual activity amongst teens. † Thus parents giving birth control devices to teens help society more according to Joyce Arthur. Many of those against birth control believe we cannot foresee the full impact of parents actively giving out birth control. According to Douglas J. Besharov,† Parents actively pushing birth control to teens ought to be aware of the possible increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STD).Citing a vast number or birth control devices protect against pregnancy but aren’t efficient at fighting the diseases. Besharov stated, â€Å"If only can we have our parents weigh the unwanted birth of a child, to the lost of a child to an S. T. D, they may see the lesser of two evils in promoting birth control. No method outside of condoms has proven to offer any protection from a S. T. D. Besharov asks, â€Å"Are we so concerned with unwanted births that we’d disregard the health of the living? † The debate on whether we should or should not give birth control to teens as gone on for years and will continue on for the foreseeable future. Both sides have made very valuable and valid points. There is no right or wrong answer it just a matter of beliefs and preferences. The only answer lies with in the person, if one chooses to have sex, with out ques tion birth control should be readily available to them, to protect themselves from consequences. However, if there is any error at all in these debates it would be the notion that we should assume that all our teens are having sex.With this assumption for us to actively push birth control could indeed send the wrong message. For those who aren’t actively having sex it could be due to the fact that they don’t have their hands on birth control devices and by us giving it to them we could also be giving them the green light to have sex. Works Cited Bartells, F. K. â€Å"Teens Should Not Have Access to Emergency Contraception Without Parental Consent. † Birth Control. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. rom â€Å"The New ‘Emergency Contraception': A Dark and Deadly Pill. † 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. Cahn, Naomi, and June Carbone. â€Å"Birth Control Asserts Feminist Values and Is Socially Beneficial. † Birth Control. Ed. Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Contraception: Securing Feminism's Promise. † The George Washington University Law School Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper. Vol. 476. 2009. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2012 Neuhaus, Richard John. â€Å"Long-Term Contraceptive Devices Promote Teen Promiscuity. † Teens at Risk. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. Parenthood, Planned. â€Å"Teen Access to Abortion Should Not Be Restricted. â€Å"The Abortion Controversy. Ed. Emma Bernay. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Current Controversies. Rpt. from â€Å"Child Custody Protection Act: Hearings on H. R. 1218. † 1999. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2012.

Fifth Element of Game Theory Essay

As each of the competing companies watchfully study the moves made by the others in the same industry they all belong to, they sometimes end up deciding to just do the best they can to win the biggest share in the market – without spending more time focusing of the others. This direction, when taken by the industry players, results to the occurrence of â€Å"Nash equilibrium. † (Economics 11th Edition by Richard G. Lipsey & Paul N. Courant, UK: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1996) The above graph illustrates the Nash equilibrium and the optimum result that it leads to (Osborne, An Introduction to Game Theory). As opposed to how badly things may end up for the competing players, Nash equilibrium brings in profitable results for everybody. As opposed to getting stuck with the â€Å"prisoner’s dilemma† or the â€Å"pride game†, companies in this scenario have individually opted to stick to the strategies that they believe will work and will hand them the market dominance that will secure their place as the industry leader. Effects of Equilibrium Equilibrium brings balance to the economy – whether long- or short-lived. As a temporary phase that may or may not be maintained, equilibrium occurs when there is no tendency for change in the decisions of the economic entities regarding their products and services, the price and volume that they will supply, and the demand segment that they will target. (Lipsey & Courant 510) Equilibrium comes in different forms as prevailing circumstances vary. â€Å"In the macroeconomic goods market, equilibrium occurs when planned aggregate expenditure is equal to aggregate output. † Thus, the volume that the suppliers has made available in the market is the same volume that buyers will actually buy. Meanwhile, equilibrium in the financial markets is attained when the supply of money is equal to the demand for money (Case & Fair 67). In this setting, qualified borrowers find that there are loans that they can avail. In the same setting, financial institutions are able to use in their operations the idle cash in their coffers – they issue loans to maximize their income from lending activities. Equilibrium has been thoroughly explored as a concept and has been attributed with all kinds of applications arising from distinct circumstances and conclusions. It is not surprising that there evolved a specialized branch of game theory called â€Å"General Equilibrium Theory† which is widely used in analyzing the public and private sectors of the economy. (David Levine website) Freddie Mac in the Game Theory Freddie Mac never had to ward off many competitors in the industry. As one of the two giants –the other one being Fannie Mae – serving the country’s secondary mortgage market, the gaming area has turned out to be definitely spacious. Indeed, there is the entire USA as the territory to be serviced and there come the banks to take care of dealing with them – then there come Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae and Ginny to pour in the needed financial resources. With Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae issuing or guaranteeing a total of $5. 4 trillion in outstanding mortgage debt, these two companies practically make up the entire mortgage industry. Furthermore, they are equipped with all the needed ammunition for winning: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have indisputable strong points. Due to the implied backing of the United States government, they enjoy virtually unlimited access to the capital markets at funding costs that are below market. They pay no local taxes, only national. Each has enjoyed tremendous growth and profitability. As the biggest issuers of mortgage-backed securities and corporate securities in the world, the biggest buyers and hedgers of the securities in the world, and, not least, the source of liquidity for more than 75% of conventional and conforming home mortgages extended in this country, it could be argued that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are about as central to the American capital markets as the Treasury Department. (Annaly webstie) (Source: World Socialist website) Indeed, with their coveted roles as providers of a continuing supply of money for the banking institutions engaged in retail lending to the multitudes, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae own the game. As competitors offering the same products and services, enjoying the same rare privileges and dealing with the same clients, Freddie Mac and Fannie May have consistently been like identical twins – though Fannie May turns out to be decades older than Freddie Mac. With each one of them keen on beating the other, the strategies and packages they resorted to turned out to work for both of them, at least during the booming growth years of the industry. Consistent with the Nash equilibrium concept, a report that came out in the Spring of 2002 showed that fully one-half of 2002’s 1. 2% gain in real GDP growth was brought on by the housing activities across the country. (Annaly website) Freddie Mac and Fannie May have been playing the Nash Equilibrium game. In such a game as theirs, â€Å"players play the best they can given their beliefs, and they have learned all there is to learn about their opponent’s play† (David Levine website). Works Cited Osborne, Martin. An Introduction to Game Theory. Oxford University Press, 2002. Lipsey, Richard & Courant, Paul. Economics 11th Edition. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1996. Case, Karl & Fair, Ray. Principles of Economics 8th Edition. Prentice Hall, 2007. Levine, David. What is Game Theory? Department of Economic, UCLA. 29 October 2008 Annaly. com Website. FAQs on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, 29 October 2008 World Socialist Web Site. The Importance of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 29 October 2008