Assessing how macroeconomics affects the remote industry and Operating environments

Introduction The study of macroeconomics has become very important in the contemporary world of business and economic practices. Generally, macroeconomics involves decision made by households and firms (including government), more so in relation of how the scarce resources can be allocated in order to effectively carry out production, trade and consumption. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Assessing how macroeconomics affects the remote industry and Operating environments specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Viewed from a different perspective, the success of economic practices depend on the levels of demand and supply prevailing in a certain market environment, which tend to have influence on price level of products and the general consumers’ purchase behaviour. Moreover, the effect of macroeconomic variables on the economy’s gross domestic product determines the success of an economy mainly in relation to employment levels, investment, inflation levels, and resource distribution among others. An organization’s external environment is normally affected by the remote environment, the industry environment, and the operating environment, all of which are macroeconomic aspects that may in one way or another affect the profitability of an organization both in the short and long term. In a national level, macroeconomic forces influence the level of government participation in economic activities as well as influencing government’s decisions pertaining to economy’s capital structure. In this case, macroeconomic variables determine the level of gross national income of a country, which is usually measured by net worth of economic activities including production in the economy over a specific period of time, mostly one fiscal year. One notable aspect of macroeconomics is the fact that economic growth rate tends to change frequently due to volatility of hou seholds’ living standards and changes in income distribution among different groups of people in a country. Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, given that it is not always possible to maintain equity and status quo in an economy, GNP tends to focus on measuring the scale of income and wealth inequalities in the country. Therefore, it is worth noting that, as the GDP measures the economic value of all final goods and services in the economy in a fiscal year, it becomes a valuable determinant and indicator of a country’s economic status. According to Barro (2008, pp 2), performance of the overall economy matters to the citizens of a country because it influences incomes, job prospects and prices; therefore, it is important for the government to understand how macroeconomics work. Generally, macroeconomics are usually characterized by various vari ables that include among others the â€Å"health of an economy: aggregate output or income, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, and the interest rate† (Barro, 2008). First, unemployment is a common phenomenon in most countries; however, the level of unemployment differs from one country to another depending on the number of non-working labor force in a country. In simple terms, labor force includes the working population as well as people who are in process of hunting for jobs; however, people who are voluntarily unemployed (either formally or informally) are disqualified from this definition of labor force. Nevertheless, it is impossible to bring down the rate of unemployment to zero in an ideal economy. The second macroeconomic variable is inflation rate, which is simply described as the tendency of general price levels rising relative to the production capacity in the economy over a given period of time. In other words, there is a high supply of money in the hands o f households and firms in the economy thus increasing the aggregate demand beyond the aggregate supply, thus forcing prices of goods and services to rise. One significant measure of inflation is the consumer price index and producer price index applicable to households and firms for the purchase of consumer goods and producer goods respectively. In addition to this, the GDP price deflator is also used as an inflation measure particularly on national and public goods and services. The third variable of macroeconomics is the health of the economy, which is measured by the economy’s GDP. Normally, the production of goods and services usually generates income within the specific period of production, thus GDP measures the economic value of products at the prevailing market prices during the period under consideration; however, recycled goods are eliminated from this calculation.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Assessing how macroeconomics affects the remote industry and Operating environments specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The fourth and last macroeconomics variable is the interest rate prevailing in the economy, which is the measure of the cost of capital. In an ideal economy, the level of interest rate will influence economic activities including investment by firms and government, for instance, a high mortgage rate will discourage investment in housing while a high bond rate will increase the chances of government expenditure on investment as households and firms are more likely buy the bonds. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that the level of interest rate is affected by fiscal and monetary policies prevailing in the economy. However, according to Okun and Tobin (1983, pp. 12), interest rates do not respond to inflation as the classical theories suggest. Theories associated with macroeconomics There are several macroeconomic theories that tend to explain the f unctioning of an economy, among them being the â€Å"classical economics theory, Keynesian economics, monetarism theory, the new classical theory, and the supply-side economics† (Solow, 1998). The classical economic theory signifies the beliefs of the classical economists who believed in the existence of full employment in an economy, mainly brought about by the fluctuation of the price of labor (wage rate) over a given period of time. In this case, the demand and supply of labor vis-à  -vis the demand and supply of employment opportunities will affect wage rate upwards or downwards; for instance, when the labor supply is higher than the available jobs, demand for labor will decline and the effect would be a decline in wages. This process will continue until there is equilibrium between the demand and supply of jobs and labor; thus, full employment will be determined by labor supply and demand in the economy and the prevailing wage rate. In the product market, classical theorists argue that the forces of demand and supply determine the price level, and thus government intervention will be unnecessary as long as market mechanisms are working and there is full employment.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the classical economists, the monetary policy would only affect prices but not employment. They perceived the fiscal policy as harmful in the cases of government borrowing, as the amount of money available for private investment and household consumption will decline from the economy, an aspect commonly referred to as crowding out. Nevertheless, the government can increase taxation in order to raise money for its expenditure; however, the result would be to discourage consumption as purchasing power of households is reduced, as well as private investment as income from firms is reduced. According to Solow (1998, pp 11), many modern Keynesians like James and Paul, pointed out that Keynesian economics is an environment of imperfect competition in which business firms have control over their own prices. Keynes explained that classical theories are not effective since they had ignored the aspect of aggregate demand, and the possibility of existence of demand deficit in the economy. In this case, monetary and fiscal policies play a vital role in influencing private investment and consumption; for instance, changes in money supply affect the interest to be applied in the economy, thus having a direct influence on cost of borrowing and the level of investment to be undertaken by firms, and consumption by households. Monetarism theory argues that market forces are vital in aligning economic activities, given the fact that labor force may not be available always. It discounts fiscal policy as ineffective in altering output and employment; however, while monetary policy is effective, there may be inadequacy of competency in formulation of sustainable monetary policies and in this case making it difficult to put a boundary between the success rate of monetary and fiscal policies. According to Snow and Vane (1997, pp 337), the new classical economic theory was because of the inflation in 1960’s and 1970’s, which provides a framework to suppor t the fact that â€Å"neither fiscal nor monetary policy can be effective in altering the output and employment levels in a systematic manner† (Snow and Vane,1997). Macroeconomics in relation to the operating environment and remote industry Primarily, macroeconomics focuses on the issues pertaining to the general business environment in which a business operates. Factors that constitute economic environment may include; the type of an economic system of a country; general trends in production, employment, income, prices, taxes and interest; structures and trends in the working of financial institutions; magnitude of trend in foreign trends; trends in labor and capital markets; government’s economic policies and social factors such as property rights, customs and habits (Kesavan, et al, 2005, pp. 8). According to Mukherjee (2007, pp 82), scarcity of goods is common with the character of human wants changing with time. A society’s economic problem refers to scar city of resources at large. The law of scarcity also gives rise to the economizing problem, which has been divided into three issues including â€Å"how, what and for whom.† He also explains these problems as what commodities to produce and in what quantities, how to produce the desirable quantity of goods and services, for whom to produce the goods and services, are the economy utilities being fully utilized or are some lying idle and unemployed? Is the economy’s capacity to produce growing or is it remaining stagnant?† A full employed economy must give up one good in order to produce another one. Here are some concepts that relate to the business environment – scarcity, opportunity cost, specialization, marginal decision making. Resources are always scarce, thus, the amount of goods produced in an economy is always limited. However, more goods can be produced by increasing on the quality of resources. Since resources normally tend to be specialized, as a society produces more and more of one commodity, it must give up an increasing amount of another commodity. Marginal decision-making means that each move indicates that the society is getting extra benefit that exceeds extra costs. In this case, the marginal cost of an additional amount should equal the marginal benefit of that additional amount (Mukherjee, 2007, pp89). According to Miles and Scott (2005, pp 10), macroeconomics is about dynamics that change the nature of a firm’s market and its competitors and the demands the firm places on its managers and staff. An example is the case of two United States car manufacturers; general motors and ford 30 years ago. During this period, the management of GM and Ford had to cope with how the economy operates. The major technical revolution has been the IT technology, which has led to change in how cars are manufactured and marketed, leading to increased skilled workforce. The competition between how cars are manufactured in different countries has become intense, while oil prices have increased over this 30 years period, leading to a rise in demand of different types of cars. Governments across the world have responded to the damaging environment impact of burning fossil fuels by raising gasoline taxes and requiring strict emission controls, thus affecting the designs of cars. These economic trends have hence changed the business environment for car producers companies. However, coping with technical change and shifting patterns of demand for new types of cars, as well as ensuring a sufficient number of trained workers and battling against foreign competitors have been an important strategy of how GM and Ford have remained profitable. All factors that these two car manufacturers had to cope with are macroeconomic. To create value added factors of production, labor has to be paid wages, salary, and overtime, while the owners of capital are paid in form of rent, dividend payment, interest payments or thr ough retained profits. According to Solow (1998, pp 11), today’s macroeconomic theory approach on market for goods tends towards the state of perfect competition. However, monopolistic competition and the macroeconomic theory assume that markets are imperfect to allow sellers have some power over price. In this case, macroeconomics has been integrated into theoretical and policy models of industrial and developing economies. Here, the market for products, supplies, and cost of raw materials and labor, interest rates and international competitiveness, all influence the performance of business. The difficulties of year-to-year growth in GDP are always a reminder that economists have not learnt on strategies that can control business cycle. Nevertheless, trade and capital movements have linked the world economies to a unified trade and financial systems. Most managers are concerned by the way in which an economic outlook will affect their business. They are also concerned with the issue of permanent employment and prevention of inflation. Normally, the closer the economy is to full employment, the lower the unemployment rate, and the greater the build up of inflationary pressure. Nevertheless, excessive demand on the available capacity and labor supply leads to increase in wages and prices, rise in interest rates and balance of payment disequilibrium (Adams, 2002, pp 12). A remote environment is normally slow – acting, thus firms established in such environments struggle to compete. However, for an industry to perform well, it must outwit all the barriers of trade. Generally, there are factors that affect remote industries, which include customers and competitors. Products in a market are influence mainly by the size and growth of demand depending on a country’s economy state. An industry structure includes suppliers, buyers, entrants, substitutes, and direct competition from within. If the competition is high, profitability in industries is low. One of the factors that lead to high competition is the easy entry of new competitors to the markets. In addition, if slow growth is combined with excess capacity and high exit barriers, then it leads to low profitability. It should therefore be realized that good returns in a business always lead to many new entries to that market, as they seek to benefit from the high returns. Corporate finance is another important area that particularly concerns the impact of agency relations within firms on financial and investment decisions, and hence on the valuation of financial instruments within firms. Primarily, corporate financing is associated with monetary policy and taxes, which in turn affect the macroeconomic changes in these policies. Pricing models and theories in macroeconomics also fall under corporate finance. Macroeconomic has also a common interest with finance in the areas of financial markets and asset pricing. Moreover, macroeconomics models are regularly used by firms, businesses corporations, and government as an aid in economic policies and business strategy. Conclusion Macroeconomics is all about dynamics that change the nature of a firm’s market and its competitors, AS WELL AS the demands the firm places on its managers and staff. An organization’s external environment is normally affected by the remote environment, the industry environment, and the operating environment. In broader perspective, macroeconomics reviews how an increase or decrease in net profits affects a country’s capital. The rate of economic growth changes over time because of the average living standard of people and change of distribution of income of different groups of people in a country. References Adams, F. (2002). Perspective on the new economy. NY: World scientific publishers. Barro, R. (2008). Macroeconomics: A modern approach. NY: Cengage learning Publishers. Kesavan, R. et al. (2005). Engineering economics and financial accounting. Ne w Delhi: Firewall Media. Miles, D. and Scott, A. (2005). Macroeconomics: understanding the wealth of nations. Second edition. NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Mukherjee, S. (2007). Modern Economic Theory. New Delhi: New Age International. Okun, M. and Tobin, J. (1983). Macroeconomics, prices, and quantities. Washington DC: Brookings institutions publishers. Snow, B, and Vane, H. (1997). History of economic thought. NY: Routledge publishers. Solow, R. (1998). Monopolistic competition and macroeconomic theory. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. 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Marco Polo And His Travels Through Asia Essays - Marco Polo

Marco Polo And His Travels Through Asia Essays - Marco Polo Marco Polo And His Travels Through Asia Marco Polo and His Travels through Asia The Question I am asking in my essay is, Why did Marco Polo go? I think his reason for exploring new lands is not because he had dreams of conquest, but because he was in fact trying to find a new trading market. Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy in 1254. His father Niccolo was a prosperous merchant who imported luxury goods from Asia. When Marco was just six years old, his father sailed off to Istanbul(then called Constantinople) and didnt come back for nine years. Marcos mother died shortly after his 16th birthday, just before his father got back from his voyage. Two years later he set out again, this time taking his son. Marco Polo was just 17 years old when he left Venice for the first time in his life . He would nearly be 42 years of age when he saw it again. So the journey to Asia had begun. The first place the Polos reached was lesser Armenia where Marco had begun to observe new and different kinds of people. He was not always impressed. In former times its gentry were esteemed expert and brave soldiers but at the present day great drinkers. From Lesser Armenia, the Polos traveled to Anatolia in Eastern Turkey (then called Turkomania). Here Marco marveled at the horses, mules, handsome carpets and fine skills. Next came greater Armenia where Mount Arat towered nearly eighteen thousand feet into the heavens. At the top of this mountain, Marco knew, Noahs ark finally came to rest, but there was too much snow that covered the upper slopes so that no one could climb it and search for the ark. No one did climb it until 1829. Those explorers did not find the ark, but later explorers found evidence of fossilized wood. The next place the Polos voyage took them to was Zorzania (today part of Georgia). Marco became interested at a geyser grushing oil. He noticed that people used the oil to cure rashes and skin related problems, and also burned it for light. The European people had forgotten this method which their ancestors would be familiar with . In the city of Mosul, the Polos saw the finely woven cloth still called muslin today. The Nestorian Christians that lived there especially interested Marco. Although Marco wrote about the city of Baghdad, it is not yet certain that the Polos actually visited it. Still, Marco did hear many miraculous stories about the area and was eager to write about it . Next, the Polos arrived in Tabriz, the greatest pearl market in the world. They moved on quickly to Saba in Persia. Marco saw the tombs of the three wise men Casper, Melchior and Balthasar, who of course visited the baby Jesus. Marco had high Praise for Persia, including horses, donkeys, grain fruits, wild game, military equipment, beautiful embroidery done by women and young people, and turquoises(Turkish stone) . The next place the Polos visited was probably the biggest obstacle thus far. They entered a place in Persia overwhelmed with bandits known as Karaunas. Karaunas scoured the country and plunder everything in their reach . For safetys sake, the Polos joined up with a larger caravan to travel with through the region. However, the bandits still went after the large caravan and attacked it murdering many people and others were sold into slavery. Luckily, the Polos escaped without any harm and continued their long journey. The next part of their journey, the Polos decided to go to the Plateau of Iran and into the city of Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. None of the Polos particularly liked Hormuz. The summer air was poisonous. Marco says, sixty-five hundred soldiers were caught outside the city during a windstorm. Everyone of them suffocated. When the people of Hormuz tried to bury them, the corpses crumbled apart . Their journey then took them across a huge salt desert whose green water was too bitter and salty to drink. They then made it to a place called Tunocain. In my opinion, this place has the most beautiful women in the world said Marco. From Tunocain, the Polos went on to Sapurgan,

American Music History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

American Music History - Assignment Example Hence, Jazz music was established by African American slaves who were prohibited from maintaining their indigenous musical traditions, and this made them feel the need to substitute some home-made form of musical expression. In relation to that, we can depict that the white were not ready to be associated with jazz music since they perceive jazz music as an African American art and not of the white. However, some conservative white and black Americans did not approve of jazz music. For instances, some conservative white did not approve of jazz music since they perceive jazz as a black American music. Jazz music features the black American experience over conservative white insensibilities that made them exploit the black American. This made Lois to say that some conservative white like did not approve of jazz music since â€Å"Jazz music created a sense of identity, originality, and social cohesion among black musicians† (Lois L.pg .9). I prefer this quotation it has helped me to illustrate how the Whites failed to acknowledge black-Americans music since they repudiated to equate anything valuable with black Americans. Subsequently, some conservative black-Americans did not approve of jazz music due to the social stigma associated with the music. For instance, â€Å"Jazz Must Go,† was the heading of a critique published in 1921 by one journal in America (Scaruffi, P. pg. 103). I prefer this quotation as it has helped me portray how stigma formed an environment for black mistreatment since jazz was considered black folk music. The University of Chicago Library. "Chicago, Jazz, and the Great Migration." The University of Chicago Library. N.p.,  2012. Web. 27  May  2015. Retrieved from

Roles in an Investigation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Roles in an Investigation - Essay Example investigation, I would play the role of helping the investigators carry out their duties to know the cause of the death and act as a counselor as well. I would do research and aid in investigating all the possible reasons that might have caused the Chief’s death. After identifying the cause of the death, I would know the cause of the death, as well as the possible criminal responsible for the act. Therefore, the issue leading to the death of the chief would be discussed and counseling would be a major role to play to help people prevent future reoccurrence of the incidents. By playing a role of counseling, I would also assist the affected family to recover quickly from stress show them how to deal with problems and handle them effectively. Kocsis (2009) believes that the concept of psychology autopsy is not a simple concept hence hard to explain. He depicts that psychology autopsy is a mechanism that is largely recognized for evaluating possible circumstances that were behind a certain death. Further still, other psychologists consider it as a research paradigm in which all the types and reasons that may lead an individual to committing suicide are studied. Despite the fact that its operational application has its origin from coroner’s investigation, it developed to a point where the state of mind of the deceased person is evaluated. This reconstruction is usually based on information that is obtained from individual documents, police reports, and interviews with friends or the families, medical records and other people who had the contact with the victim before his death. The purpose of psychological autopsy is to carry out an accurate death process of the decedent, hence classifying the death mode in the deat h certificate. This method requires detailed information in the decedent’s life and many interviews from decedent’s social environment, friends, and families. There are two major trends that are used in psychological autopsies, which include

What Happens in the Sacraments Essay Example for Free

What Happens in the Sacraments Essay 1. What does the Church’s liturgy celebrate? The Church’s liturgy celebrates the Paschal Mystery of Christ. 2. Redemption is the action of Jesus Christ whereby he paid the price of his own Death on the cross to save us from sin and thus return us to new, eternal life in union with God. In the Eucharist we proclaim the mystery of our Redemption. 3. True or False? In the liturgy we remember and participate in the events that accomplished our Redemption. True 4. What is a central theme of the spiritual writing of Blessed Dom Columba Marmion, O.S.B.? Explain. A central theme in his writing is â€Å"divine adoption† 5. In the Eucharist Christ communicates the fruits of the Paschal Mystery. Through faith and our participation in the sacraments, every facet of our lives becomes intertwined with the life of Jesus as we grow in union with the Blessed Trinity. Pages 32 – 37 Christ Acts through the Sacraments 6. True or False? The Apostles were empowered to begin the mission to teach and baptize people of all nations on the Jewish Feast of the Ascension. FALSE The Apostles were empowered to begin the mission to teach and baptize people of all nations on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. 7. The experience of Paraclete forever changed the Apostles as they became enlivened, rejuvenated, and filled with courage. They spoke openly to the â€Å"Jews from every nation† who had come to Jerusalem for the celebration. 8. The Holy Spirit continued to be present in the Apostles and they became â€Å"sacramental signs† of Christ. Through Apostolic succession they entrusted the power and authority of the Holy Spirit to their replacements. 9. True or False? The events of our Salvation occurred only once, but by the power of the Holy Spirit the liturgy makes these events present and real for us today. True 10. God the Father is the source of the blessing we receive from the liturgy. Our response involves recognizing God’s blessings in the story of creation, His covenants with the Chosen people and finally in the coming of Christ.

Economic Integration of the Baltic Sea Region and the Passenger Traffic Issues :: Europe Airlines Economics Economy Essays

Economic Integration of the Baltic Sea Region and the Passenger Traffic Issues Table of Contents: I. Introduction 2 II. Goals of Economic Integration 2 III. VASAB 2010 3 IV. Ãâ€"resund vs. Helsinki - Tallinn Link 4 V. Aviation Development in Scandinavia 7 VI. Conclusion 10 VII. Works Cited 11 I. Introduction Economic integration is not an easy task. This is clearly evident by its nature, and even more so a problem in the Baltic region where there have been so many political changes in recent history. We have seen the formation of three newly re-independent states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. East and West Germany have been reunited to form a new nation. The communist governments of the former Soviet Bloc have been replaced by democracy. These changes have made economic integration not only more difficult, but also to some degree more necessary.

History of the Automobile Essay

Starting in the late 1700’s, European engineers began tinkering with motor powered vehicles. Steam, combustion, and electrical motors had all been attempted by the mid 1800’s. By the 1900’s, it was uncertain which type of engine would power the automobile. At first, the electric car was the most popular, but at the time a battery did not exist that would allow a car to move with much speed or over a long distance. Even though some of the earlier speed records were set by electric cars, they did not stay in production past the first decade of the 20th century. The steam-driven automobile lasted into 1920’s. However, the price on steam powered engines, either to build or maintain was incomparable to the gas powered engines. Not only was the price a problem, but the risk of a boiler explosion also kept the steam engine from becoming popular. The combustion engine continually beat out the competition, and the early American automobile pioneers like Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford built reliable combustion engines, rejecting the ideas of steam or electrical power from the start. Automotive production on a commercial scale started in France in 1890. Commercial production in the United States began at the beginning of the 1900’s and was equal to that of Europe’s. In those days, the European industry consisted of small independent firms that would turn out a few cars by means of precise engineering and handicraft methods. The American automobile plants were assembly line operations, which meant using parts made by independent suppliers and putting them together at the plant. In the early 1900’s, the United States had about 2,000 firms producing one or more cars. By 1920 the number of firms had decreased to about 100 and by 1929 to 44. In 1976 the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association had only 11 members. The same situation occurred in Europe and Japan. The first automobile produced for the masses in the US was the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile; 425 of them were sold in 1901 and 5,000 in 1904–this model is still prized by collectors. The firm prospered, and it was noted by others, and, from 1904 to 1908, 241 automobile-manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of these was the Ford Motor Company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July 23. The company produced 1,700 cars during its first full year of business. Henry Ford produced the Model T to be an economical car for the average American. By 1920 Ford sold over a million cars. At the beginning of the century the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich. However, it became increasingly popular among the general population because it gave travelers the freedom to travel when they wanted to and where they wanted. As a result, in North America and Europe the automobile became cheaper and more accessible to the middle class. This was facilitated by Henry Ford who did two important things. First he priced his car to be as affordable as possible and second, he paid his workers enough to be able to purchase the cars they were manufacturing. This helped push wages and auto sales upward. The convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to other places. Many states in the US established motor fuel taxes that were used only to build and maintain highways helping the auto highway system become self-supporting. Popularity of the automobile has consistently moved with the state of the economy, growing during the boom period after World War I and dropping abruptly during the Great Depression, when unemployment was high. World War II saw a large increase in mass transit because employment was high and automobiles were scarce. The rapid growth of car owners after World War II, particularly in the United States and Western Europe demonstrated the population’s favor towards automobiles. During the war, automobile motors, fuel, and tires were in short supply. There was an unsatisfied demand when the war ended and plenty of production capacity as factories turned off the war machine. Many people had saved money because there was little to buy, beyond necessities, in the war years. Workers relied heavily on mass transportation during the war and longed for the freedom and flexibility of the automobile. A historian has said that Henry Ford freed common people from the limitations of their geography. The automobile created mobility on a scale never known before, and the total effect on living habits and social customs is endless. In the days of horse-drawn transportation, the practical limit of wagon travel was 10 to 15 miles, so that meant any community or individual farm more than 15 miles from a city, a railroad, or a navigable waterway was isolated from the mainstream of economic and social life. Motor vehicles and paved roads have narrowed the gap between rural and urban life. Farmers can ship easily and economically by truck and can drive to town when it is convenient. In addition, such institutions as regional schools and hospitals are now accessible by bus and car. Yet, the effect on city life has been, if anything, more prominent than the effect on the farms. The automobile has radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs. The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car and truck is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their one or two story structures. Better roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout the nation. As with other automobile-related phenomena, the trend is most noticeable in the United States but is rapidly appearing elsewhere in the world. Before the automobile, people both lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. Because of the automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting. New jobs due to the impact of the automobile such as fast food, city/highway construction, state patrol/police, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. allow more employment for the world’s growing population.