Economics and Firms

Micro Economic Essays These are some suggested micro economic essays. The essays are from different exam boards. In practise they ask similar questions so they will be helpful whatever your exam board. There are different ways to answer questions. But, all these answers contain enough material to get the top grade. Whenever the question requires evaluation, the essay contains the necessary critical distance. On the last page, there are some general tips for evaluation. Note: These essays are for revision purposes giving suggestions for how to answer questions. Don’t try to pass them off as your own work. For more micro economic help. See also the Economics Revision Guide available at www. economicshelp. org/ Copyright  © T. Pettinger 2011. All Rights Reserved (For single use license only) www. economicshelp. org Micro Economic Essays Market Structure 1. Discuss how firms within an oligopolistic market compete. 2. Discuss whether monopoly is always an undesirable form of market structure. 3. Explain how interdependence and uncertainty affect the behaviour of firms in Oligopolistic markets 4. Evaluate the view that only producers, and not consumers, benefit when oligopolistic firms collude to try to reduce the uncertainty they experience. . Explain why contestable markets generally function more efficiently than noncontestable markets. 6. Explain various barriers to entry to a market and how these barriers might affect market structure. 7. In the past, utility industries such as the postal service, electricity and gas, have been heavily protected by entry barriers. Evaluate the possible effects on efficiency and resource allocation of removing these barriers. 8. Explain the meaning of price discrimination and the conditions necessary for price discrimination. 9. Evaluate the view that, because price discrimination enables firms to make more profit, firms, but not consumers, benefit from price discrimination. 10. Evaluate different ways in which governments could make markets more competitive. 11. Discuss the extent to which new technology, such as the internet, has increased or decreased the competitiveness of markets. Government Intervention 1. Discuss the impact of deregulation on the local bus industry in Great Britain. 2. Evaluate the view that the government should give financial assistance to firms producing cars in the UK to increase their competitiveness. . Evaluate the view that government intervention can correct all the market failures caused by the effects of economic activity on the environment. 4. In some European countries, price controls are imposed upon pharmaceutical companies. Discuss the case for government intervention to control market prices. 5. Discuss whether the government should ever consider nationalising privatis ed industries? Labour Markets 1. Footballers receive high pay, while those in disagreeable occupations, such as road sweepers, are among the most lowly paid. How does economic theory explain such differences in pay? . Assess the case for and against the government intervening to raise the disposable income of workers on low pay. 3. Do you agree that if a trade union persuades employers to increase wages in a labour market, employment must inevitably fall in that labour market? Justify your answer? 4. Assess three labour market policies which might be used to increase the level of employment amongst incapacity claimants and lone parents on benefits. 5. Discuss the impact of net migration on UK labour markets 6. Discuss the relative merits of welfare benefits and taxes for reducing relative poverty in the UK. Market Failure / Transport 1. Discuss whether Cost-benefit analysis is a practical way to decide whether projects, such as new roads, should go ahead. 2. Discuss the case for a toll on motorway travel. 3. Discuss whether giving increased subsidies to firms providing bus services would correct the market failure arising from urban road congestion. 1. Discuss how firms within an oligopolistic market compete. An oligopolistic market is a market structure dominated by a few firms. One definition of an oligopoly, is a market where the five firms biggest firms have 50% or more of the market share. There are different ways firms in an oligopoly may compete. Firstly, the kinked demand curve model suggests that prices will be stable because firms have little or no incentive to change prices. If a firm increased price, they would be uncompetitive and lose market share; therefore demand is price elastic for a price increase. If they cut prices, other firms follow suit and there is a price war; therefore, if they cut prices, demand will be price inelastic and they will have less revenue. Therefore, the best solution is to keep prices stable. The Kinked Demand curve P P1 Profit max occurs at Q1 where MR = MC MC D=AR Q Q1 MR Because there is no incentive to change price, firms compete through non-price competition such as advertising, branding, after sales service and offering a better product. In other words firms try to sell goods through measures other than price. Non-price competition is particularly important for markets where branding is important such as soft drinks, clothes and mobile phones. Firms will try hard to differentiate their products through extra features, good reputation and effective advertising campaigns. However, the kinked demand curve has imitations. It doesn’t explain how prices were arrived at in the first place. In the real world, it doesn’t explain why prices in oligopoly do change. It is only one theoretical model to explain some behaviour under certain conditions. Also, if firms seek to maximise market share rather than profit maximisation then they may compete by cutting prices. Although, this makes t hem less profit, some firms may see increasing market share as the most important long-term objective. If demand is price inelastic, cutting prices will lead to lower revenue, however a firm may feel it is worth it. This is because cutting prices leads to increased market share, and it may enable a reduction in competition in the long term. Also with higher output they may be able to benefit from economies of scale and get rid of surplus stock. However, price wars are often selective (e. g. supermarkets cutting certain products) or short term. Also, shareholders often prefer profits and dividends to growth maximisations If there are a small number of firms, and there are barriers to entry in the industry, then firms in oligopoly may be able to collude. This is when they formally or tacitly agree to restrict supply, keep to quotas and therefore maintain higher prices which maximise profits. Collusion is actually illegal, but if there are barriers to entry then it may be possible for firms to tacitly collude and avoid detection. Collusion will be more likely if there is a dominant firm in the market who can influence market by setting output and prices. If there are large economies of scale in the industry, the oligopoly is more likely to be highly concentrated with less competitive pressures. The outcome of an oligopoly depends on several factors. If the oligopoly has very high barriers to entry, such as, economies of scale and strong brand loyalty, then it will be much easier for firms in oligopoly to act a like a monopolist and set higher prices. For example, the market for cola is highly concentrated; a large share of the market is held by two firms (Pepsi and Coca-Cola), and because of strong brand loyalty there is little price competition in this oligopolist market structure. However, in other oligopolies, such as clothing, there are lower barriers to entry and more competition. If an oligopoly is contestable, (no barriers to entry), then the oligopoly may be ery competitive and the outcome similar to competitive markets. 2. Discuss whether monopoly is always an undesirable form of market structure. A pure monopoly is when there is only one firm in the industry. However, a firm with a high market share (greater than 25%) is said to have monopoly power. A monopoly is seen as undesirable for several reasons. A monopolist ma ximises profit where MR = MC. Therefore it sets a price (PM) higher than in a competitive market (P1), leading to a fall in consumer surplus. Selling at the price of Pm, means that the firm is allocatively inefficient because at Qm, price is greater than marginal cost. Secondly, this monopoly diagram is productively inefficient because it is not the lowest point on the average cost curve. (Note if the market was competitive the firm would produce at P1, where D=AC+MC; this is normal profit and allocatively efficient) A monopoly may also have fewer incentives to cut costs because of a lack of competitors. Therefore, it will be x inefficient. This means the cost curves of a monopoly will be higher than they would if there was more competitive pressure. Similarly a monopoly may lack the incentives to develop new products and offer a good quality service. . g. the standard of food in a service station arguably drops due to lack of competition. Some monopolies may become too big and therefore suffer from diseconomies of scale because in a big firm it is harder to co-ordinate and motivate workers. Monopolies may also be able to use their market power to pay lower prices to suppliers. For example, a big supermarket like Tesco may be able to squeeze the pr ofit margins of farmers who supply them. Tesco’s can use their monopoly buying power to reduce incomes of farmers because farmers don’t have any alternatives to selling to supermarkets. Lastly, monopolies make supernormal profit and this can be said to be an inequitable and unfair distribution of resources in society. However, monopolies are not always against the public interest. If an industry has high fixed costs, then the economies of scale may mean the most efficient number of firms in an industry is one. If industry demand was 10,000, then the most efficient number of firms would be one. If there were more firms, then the average costs would be higher. However, this kind of natural monopoly is only relevant to certain industries like tap water and national networks of electricity and gas distribution. In many industries, economies of scale are not that large. Even in the car industry, which has high fixed costs and scope for specialisation, there is sill enough room for several firms. In some cases, monopoly can use their supernormal profit to invest in research and development. For example, a drugs company may rely on a patent to make supernormal profit which justifies the high cost of research and development. However, for many industries like supermarkets, it would be difficult to justify a monopoly as supermarkets have limited need for research and development. Thirdly, it is often assumed monopolies face less competitive pressure and so are likely to be x-inefficient. However, this is not always the case. A firm may gain monopoly power because it is efficient and dynamic; for example, Google, has monopoly power, but people wouldn’t consider it to be inefficient. The desirability of monopoly depends on the market and industry. As a general rule, competitive markets have several advantages over monopolies. However, in certain cases, monopoly may be justified, especially if these industries have very high fixed costs and there is a need of profit for research and development. In other cases, the government may need to allow the monopoly, but regulate the firm to prevent price increases (e. g. in case of privatised firms like water and electricity) 3. Explain how interdependence and uncertainty affect the behaviour of firms in Oligopolistic markets. Firms in oligopolistic markets can behave in numerous different ways. The kinked demand curve model suggests interdependence is very important. The model suggests that firms don’t have an incentive to increase prices because if they increased price, others wouldn’t follow suit and therefore they would be more expensive and lose market share. The Kinked Demand curve P P1 Profit max occurs at Q1 where MR = MC MC D=AR Q Q1 MR The kinked demand curve also suggests that there is little incentive for firms to cut prices because if they did, other firms would probably retaliate and cut prices as well (other firms wouldn’t want to lose market share). Therefore, for a price cut, demand is inelastic. Therefore, the kinked demand curve model suggests because of the interdependence of firms, prices will remain stable and firms will compete on nonprice competition. However, the kinked demand curve model makes a lot of assumptions which may not stand up in the real world. A firm cannot assume that others will respond to a price cut by also cutting prices. There is a great uncertainty; perhaps the firm wants to avoid a price war. Therefore, a firm may cut prices hoping that others won’t follow suit. This will happen if the firm is pursuing profit maximisation. Another model for oligopoly is collusion. In collusion firms seek to restrict output and increase price; this maximises profits for the industry. However, there is always the temptation for firms to exceed their quota and break the collusive agreements. If the collusive agreements are tacit, then there is no certainty that firms will stick to the agreement. Also, a firm may want to break the collusive agreement itself. They may think that other firms won’t retaliate so they can get away with it. It is this uncertainty which encourages firms to try and break the collusive agreement. Because of uncertainty about whether a price war may break out, firms may try to enter into collusive agreements. These could be informal agreements such as following the dominant firm and increasing prices at same rate. These collusive agreement and collusive practises are very desirable to insulate against uncertain prospects of a price war and consequent fall in profits. 4. Evaluate the view that only producers and not consumers, benefit when oligopolistic firms collude to try to reduce the uncertainty they experience. When oligopolistic firms collude, they are effectively acting like a monopolist. They are looking at the profit maximising price and output for the whole industry and setting output quotas accordingly. This will lead to higher prices and higher profits for firms. Because firms benefit from supernormal profits they can spend more on research and development. However, it could be argued that consumers may benefit from this investment. For example, in industries like automobile production and drug research, expensive investment is required to develop new engines and new drugs. Collusion is necessary to generate sufficient profits to finance investment. Although it means higher prices, consumers benefit in the long run because they get better quality products. However, there is no guarantee that firms will use profits for research and development into better products. They may simply give it to shareholders in the form of higher dividends. Alternatively, they may use the supernormal profits to fund predatory pricing in another market. This would be very bad for consumers. Under collusion, consumers face higher prices and a decline in consumer surplus, but they don’t benefit from any extra economies of scale. In monopoly, supernormal profit margins are justified because it is argued the monopoly is able to benefit from economies of scale which lead to lower average costs and therefore lower prices for consumers. However, in collusion, the consumer doesn’t benefit from economies of scale, but just faces higher prices. However, you could argue that collusion is essential to enable firms to survive. For example, there may be a bus industry which is struggling to survive. Without collusion one or two firms would go out of business. This would be bad for consumers because there would be less choice and less competition. Collusion may be necessary to keep the service going. Although prices may rise, this may be better in the long term because the service survives. However, there may be better ways to keep a bus industry in business. If necessary, the government could subsidise the industry. Collusion is not the best way to keep unprofitable firms in business. The merits of collusion depend on the industry in question. If the industry is already profitable, then collusion is unlikely to give any benefit to the consumer. The benefit will be the producers who gain more profit. However, in some industries collusion may give benefits to the consumer in the form of more funds for investment and better products or just enough profit to keep the firms in business. 5. Explain why contestable markets generally unction more efficiently than non-contestable markets. A contestable market is a market which has no barriers to entry or exit. This implies that sunk costs (costs which cannot be recovered on leaving) are zero or very low. This freedom of entry means that there is always the potential for new firms to enter. This threat of competition helps to keep prices low. If firms set prices too high, the supernormal profit wo uld encourage new firms to enter. The low prices help to increase allocative efficiency because prices will be close to marginal cost. A contestable market may also be more X efficient. The threat of competition means firms have more incentives to cut costs and remain efficient. Otherwise they will become unprofitable. For example, in a monopoly firms may have low incentives to be efficient and therefore, have no incentives to cut costs – leading to X inefficiency. A monopoly also tends to be productively inefficient, because it restricts output and keeps prices high, leading output which has high average costs. However, in a contestable market this will not happen. You could also argue that contestable markets enable some economies of scale (there doesn’t have to be 1,000s of firms like in perfect competition). This can mean contestable markets have greater efficiencies of scale. 6. Explain various barriers to entry to a market and how these barriers might affect market structure. A barrier to entry is a feature which makes it difficult or impossible for a new firm to enter the market. A common barrier to entry is the existence of economies of scale. If an industry has high fixed costs, then new firms will face higher averages costs than the incumbent firm. If a firm enters the market and sells Q1 then it cannot compete with firms who are already publishing at the MES with an average cost of AC1. Economies of scale can occur for various reasons such as technical, specialisation, managerial. They are common in industries which require large investment such as car production, airplane production. Brand loyalty is another common type of barrier to entry. If incumbent firms have a strong brand loyalty, it makes it difficult for new firms to enter. They would need to spend a large amount of money on advertising. Advertising is a sunk cost – they cannot get it back, if they have to leave the market. Therefore, it becomes a barrier to entry. Examples include soft drinks like Pepsi and coca cola. Sometimes barriers to entry can occur for geographical reasons. For example, only a few countries are able to produce diamonds. Being the first firm in the industry often leads to barriers to entry. For example, Microsoft was the first firm to dominate office software. This made it difficult for new firms to enter because everyone wanted compatibility with Microsoft. Google, was not the first search engine, but, now the internet is developed it would be hard for anyone to knock it off top spot because Google has built up a critical mass of support and is included in many packages automatically. Finally, barriers to entry might occur because it is difficult to get access to supplies. e. g. a new airline might not be able to get landing slots at Heathrow airport. 7. In the past, utility industries such as the postal service, electricity and gas, have been heavily protected by entry barriers. Evaluate the possible effects on efficiency and resource allocation of removing these barriers. Removing the barriers may encourage new firms to enter the market. If new firms enter the market it will become more competitive. A more competitive market will help to reduce prices as new firms try to gain market share. This should enable greater allocative efficiency. If a firm has a monopoly power, they are able to set prices higher than marginal cost. More competition will lower prices closer to marginal cost (although in these industries, marginal cost is often very low and fixed costs very high; therefore, perfect allocative efficiency is unlikely) Another benefit of competition is that firms may have greater incentives to offer a better service to customers. Firms will not just compete on price, but also non-price competition. For example, electric firms may offer special deals to insulate the house or create more energy efficiency. This greater competition will reduce x inefficiency in the industry. It is also possible that the threat of entry may encourage more innovation; helping to improve dynamic efficiency. However, there are potential drawbacks of deregulation. Firstly, many of these industries are natural monopolies. For example, the distribution of gas is a natural monopoly because of the high fixed costs. Therefore, there is a danger of creating a private monopoly, which charges higher prices. These private monopolies will need regulating. However, the regulators can make sure new firms have access to the network, therefore, even in an industry which was thought to be a natural monopoly can have competition, at least, in the retail sector. If new firms enter the market, competition may reduce the profitability of the industry. This may leave insufficient funds to finance investment in improving the network. Also, firms have a temptation to offer short-term price cuts rather than invest in the long-term future of the infrastructure. The customer may benefit in the short term, but loose out in the long term. However, you could argue, that firms exaggerate how much money they need for investment; the majority of profits goes to shareholders rather than gets invested. Firms may use resources to try and create barriers to entry or resources to keep existing customers; arguably this is an inefficient waste of resources. 8. Explain the meaning of price discrimination and the conditions necessary for price discrimination. Price discrimination involves selling the same good to different groups of customers for different prices. Third degree price discrimination involves selling to different groups. For example, OAPs may get cheaper train tickets than adults. Second-degree price discrimination involves charging different prices depending on the quantity bought. For example, the first 100 units of gas and electricity may be more expensive than subsequent units. First-degree price discrimination involves charging the maximum price that customers are willing to pay; it involves reducing all consumer surplus. It is rarely practical except in a Dutch auction. The first condition necessary for price discrimination is that consumers must have different elasticities of demand. For example, people travelling at peak time to get to work have a more inelastic demand and (like market segment A) so can be charged a higher price. Group B, which could be students, have a more elastic demand. Therefore, a lower price is charged. Secondly, it must be impossible to resell the good between the different markets. For example, it mustn’t be possible for an adult to use a child’s ticket to travel on the train. The firm must be a price maker. Price discrimination is not possible in perfect competition. Also the costs of implementing price discrimination ust be less than the benefits. 9. Evaluate the view that, because price discrimination enables firms to make more profit, firms, but not consumers, benefit from price discrimination. Price discrimination enables firms to increase the profitability of the industry. Firms can set a profit maximising price for different groups of consumers and therefore increase total profits. Therefore, some consumers will pay higher prices. For example, customers with inelastic demand – buying peak tickets will have a reduction in consumer surplus as firms increase their prices. Therefore some customers will lose out and pay a price higher than marginal cost (allocative inefficiency) However, some customers will benefit from price discrimination. The higher prices paid by inelastic customers can subsidise lower prices for other groups of consumers. For example, the high prices paid by customers travelling at peak time can help subsidies lower prices for old aged pensioners. Often people with inelastic demand (adults, people travelling peak time) have greater ability to pay than people with elastic demand (e. g. tudents, old people) Therefore, you could argue that price discrimination enables a fairer distribution of resources in society. However, it is not always possible to use price discrimination on the grounds of income. For example, an unemployed adult would have to pay full fare on the train. Pensioners who get cheap tickets could be quite well off. It could be argued that it is unfair firms make profit at the expense of consumers. However, profit can be beneficial for consumers. Firstly, firms may use profit to fund research and development. This enables dynamic efficiency and enables consumers to benefit from better quality products and services in the long term. This is important for some industries like pharmaceutical drugs and airplanes where a lot of investment is needed. However, it is debatable how much firms like supermarkets and cinemas would spend on research and development. Another potential benefit of profit is that it might enable a firm to stay in business, who otherwise would go out of business. For example, without price discrimination a train firm may not be able to survive. There might be no one individual price greater than average cost. However, through price discrimination, it can cover its losses and stay in business. In this case price discrimination is definitely beneficial for consumers. It is better to have higher prices than to have no service at all. Price discrimination also enables firms to spread demand more evenly over a season. It gives a reward to consumers who can travel out of season / off peak. This reduces overcrowding at peak times. 10. Evaluate different ways in which governments could make markets more competitive. To make a market more competitive requires a reduction in barriers to entry and encouraging new firms to enter the market. The first policy would be deregulation. This involves removing legal barriers to entry. For example, there used to be a legal monopoly for the delivery of letters. Removing this legal barrier enables new firms to enter the market providing choice and competition. However, there are problems. Firstly, these industries like mail delivery are often natural monopolies. This means the most efficient number of firms is one. For example, there are very high fixed costs in delivering tap water to every home in the UK. Therefore, deregulation of tap water would not encourage a new firm to enter because a new firm would never be able to compete and set up a network of pipes. The government could remove legal patents, for example drug patents. This would make the market for drugs more competitive. However, if the government abolished patents, it would discourage drug companies from investing in new medicines and alternatives. This would increase competition, but could leave the consumer worse off. The government could make sure the Office of Fair Trading investigates any potential anti-competitive practises. For example, if firms engage in predatory pricing or vertical price fixing agreements they will prevent new competitors from entering. If the government increased the penalties for predatory pricing (selling below cost), then new firms would have more confidence to enter. However, the OFT already have the potential to investigate, so it is doubtful whether increasing potential fines will make much more difference. Also, practises of vertical price fixing can be difficult to spot. If markets are dominated by monopolies; the government could consider breaking up the monopoly into smaller firms. For example, the US government considered breaking up Microsoft because it had too much market power. This could be an effective way to increase competition, however there are some problems. Firstly, the government may disrupt the smooth working of the firm. The new smaller firms may not be able to benefit from economies of scale. Also, there is the potential for the new firms to collude, because they share a common starting point. The last policy could be government subsidies for new firms to enter. For example, the government could subsidise firms to enter the gas industry and sell it. However, government subsidies require higher taxes and the government may have poor information about the best type of firms to subsidise. 11. Discuss the extent to which new technology, such as the internet, has increased or decreased the competitiveness of markets. The internet has become an important tool for business. It has changed the way people shop and buy, having implications for the competitiveness of markets. A competitive market implies several firms, with relative ease of entry, low prices and low profits. An uncompetitive market would be characterised by a few firms and higher prices. The internet has made it easier to find information about prices and costs. This has helped increased the competitiveness of markets. Consumers have easy access to relative prices; this existence of perfect information is a characteristic of perfect competition. Therefore many retail markets like selling books and DVDs are more competitive than before the internet. However, other markets are less influenced by the internet. For example, restaurants and clothing are market segments rely on traditional sales, rather than over the web. For many firms, the internet has helped reduced start up costs. This is because, with an internet presence, costs are much lower than buying a physical building. Thus for internet start ups, sunk costs (costs which can't be recovered) are much lower. However, it is only a few businesses that can rely on just an internet presence; there is still the need for factories and shops for the majority of businesses like manufacturing cars. In some businesses, the internet has created barriers to entry; for example, firms who dominate Google search rankings have a powerful barrier to entry. A new firm may find it difficult to enter because it is hard to get the good rankings which send a lot of customers. Google itself has generated strong brand loyalty, and a dominant market position, which is difficult for anyone to overcome. However, pay per click advertising is a way to get business from search results and it has lower overheads than traditional advertising. Improved technology such as the internet and better international travel means that markets are increasingly global in nature. This means firms increasingly face competition from abroad. For electronics and cars, markets are very global, increasing their competitiveness. However, globalisation does not always increase competition. The growth of strong multinationals has in a way helped push out smaller independent retailers with a corresponding decline in diversity and competition. Another issue is that in some markets, the internet has changed people’s patterns considerably. For example, many young people don't buy music, but download for free on internet sharing sites. This has changed the market much more than an increase in competition. However, it has meant the decline of several record shops and music publishing companies, leading to a higher market concentration in this area. Section - ­? Government Intervention 1. Discuss the impact of deregulation on the local bus industry in Great Britain Deregulation involves opening up a monopoly to competition. Often deregulation involves privatisation as well. For example, the bus industry in the UK, used to be run by a state monopoly (local council). However, after deregulation, new private firms can enter. The first impact of deregulation is the increase in number of firms and hence greater competition. As more firms enter the market, there is more price competition and therefore, price of bus tickets could go down. However, it is argued that prices haven’t fallen, but increased. This is because, firstly, the bus industry has large economies of scale. It is not practical to have several bus companies competing; the most efficient number of firms is 1 or perhaps 2. In the above diagram, the minimum efficient scale is 10,000 bus journeys a week. If the total demand was 10,000 then the most efficient number of firms would be one. If there were two or three firms then the average costs will be higher than if there was a natural monopoly. Also, with only one or two companies, there is not sufficient competition to reduce prices significantly. It is easy for two companies to collude, even tacitly. Also, before deregulation, bus companies were owned by local councils and low fares were often subsidised. However, the private companies want to maximise profits and often they find demand is inelastic so prices have risen. It is argued that more competition and the entry of private firms have created greater incentives for bus companies to offer better services. For example, since deregulation, there are more electronic bus stops, which give information on arrival times. This may be due to deregulation or just because better technology has made it more feasible. The problem with deregulating the bus industry is that it is simply difficult to have effective competition. Some would even argue the bus industry is a natural monopoly. It is argued two bus companies can be inefficient because they duplicate routes and cause congestion. However, others point to some gains from competition such as better quality buses and efforts to attract customers. 2. Evaluate the view that the government should give financial assistance to firms producing cars in the UK to increase their competitiveness. Government assistance could be justified on the grounds of market failure. For example, there could be market failure with UK firms under providing education and training schemes to their workers. When the workers are qualified, they may leave giving the firm no benefits but all the cost, therefore, because of the positive externalities involved, firms have little incentive to train and educate workers Governments could overcome this by paying for training schemes to increase labour productivity. The improved labour productivity will help the UK remain competitive and give long term economic benefits. The problem of this scheme is that it will cost money and there is no guarantee that it will be successful. For example, the government subsidies may be spent on training that does little to increase labour productivity; e. g. workers may be unwilling to learn or the firm may use the government subsidy to increase its profits rather than promote useful training schemes. Government assistance may encourage firms to be inefficient because they come to rely on government help. In the 1970s, the UK government gave a lot of financial assistance to British Leyland because it was losing money. However, the money did little to transform the company. If a company is losing money, it is probably due to bad management or producing the wrong kind of products. In this case it is unhelpful for the government to give assistance in the hope they become more competitive. In this case, the government assistance is encouraging inefficient firms to stay in business. It will be expensive for the taxpayer and have no real benefit. Governments often have poor information about the dynamics of industry. For example, the government may not know the best firms to subsidise or how to subsidise them. When it comes to increasing competitiveness it should be firms who have the best idea. If the banks are not willing to lend money to firms, it is probably because they don’t have a good business plan; therefore, the government would be advised to avoid it as well. However, government assistance could be justified if the problem was a lack of suitable finance. For example, in a credit crunch firms may be unable to gain sufficient finance for investment, even though this investment would be good. Therefore, government assistance could be justified. Here the lack of business finance is an example of market failure. Generally, cars have no positive externalities, they contribute to global carbon emissions, so governments might want to subsidise more environmentally friendly firms. However, the government might want to subside investment into low emission cars, which run on hybrid fuels. In a free market, there may be insufficient investment in this kind of technology because firms ignore the positive externalities of the low emission engines; therefore, this justifies government intervention. Governments could justify subsidising ‘green technology’ in cars, if they have sufficient positive externalities. This diagram shows how a government subsidy can increase output from Q1 to Q2, which is socially efficient. 3. Evaluate the view that government intervention can correct all the market failures caused by the effects of economic activity on the environment. Economic activity creates many negative externalities, which include damage to the environment. To some extent government intervention can overcome market failure and provide a more socially efficient level of economic activity. Economic activity may cause pollution. This damage to the environment is a negative externality and is ignored by the free market. Therefore, there is overconsumption of driving cars. In a free market equilibrium, at Q1, the marginal social cost is greater than the marginal social benefit. The diagram below shows that the free market equilibrium is Q1. However, at Q1 SMC is greater than SMB therefore there is overconsumption. However, the government can place a tax on the good, to make people pay the true social marginal cost. This shifts supply to S2 = S1 + Tax and reduces demand to Q2. This is socially efficient because the SMC=SMB at this output. Therefore, in theory the government have overcome the market failure. However, in practise, it is more difficult to achieve social efficiency. A tax on production may be ineffective in reducing demand if demand is very inelastic. There is scope for tax evasion e. g. a tax on disposal of toxic waste may lead to ‘fly tipping’ – illegal dumping which damages the environment. It is also difficult to measure the true external cost of economic activity. For example, the cost of global warming may be much higher for future generations; therefore, efforts to reduce demand now, may be insufficient. Also, some costs of growth may be unpredictable. e. . the Chernobyl disaster was not predicted and after the event, government intervention is too late. Also some economic activity is too damaging to just place a tax on the good. In this case it may be more efficient to have regulations, for example, saying that nuclear power shouldn’t be used at all. Another issue regarding the environment is that it requires global cooperation. For exampl e, the UK government may seek to limit carbon emissions. One policy may be a system of pollution permits. Here the government regulator gives firms the right to pollute a certain amount. If firms wish to exceed their pollution quotes, they have to buy more permits; this creates an incentive to reduce pollution and introduce new technology. In theory, pollution permits can provide a market-based system to reduce pollution levels. However, it may be difficult to implement; e. g. difficult to measure pollution levels. However, a more pressing difficulty is that carbon emissions are very much a global issue. If the biggest polluters, such as, China and the US keep increasing their carbon emissions, it makes the UK governments efforts’ relatively futile. 4. In some European countries, price controls are imposed upon pharmaceutical companies. Discuss the case for government intervention to control market prices. The first argument for government price controls is the idea of monopoly power. If firms have monopoly power in a market, they are in a position to increase prices. As the diagram below shows, this monopoly power enables firms to set prices (Pm) above marginal cost, which is allocatively inefficient (P>MC). In an ideal world, the government would be able to increase competition. But, in some markets, competition is not practical. In the case of Pharmaceutical companies they may get a pure monopoly because of their patent. In the example, of tap water, very high fixed costs mean competition is not practical. Therefore, monopoly power is inevitable and price controls are the only realistic way to prevent abuse of monopoly power and prevent allocative inefficiency. There are also issues of equity. In the case of drugs, it could be argued they should not be too expensive otherwise people cannot afford them. It is also the same with gas and water supplies. As an essential public service, it is important that they remain in reach of all income groups. Also, some goods like medicinal drugs may be paid for by the government. Capping prices on medicinal drugs will help to limit the government’s health care budget and therefore lead to lower taxes. However, there are arguments against price controls. If governments limit price, firms may not make sufficient profit to encourage more research and development. To develop new drugs is quite risky with no guarantee of success; therefore, it is essential to give firms sufficient incentive to develop them. Lower prices and lower profits could decrease dynamic efficiency. Also allocative efficiency may be an inappropriate measure given that the marginal cost of producing a drug is very low, but fixed costs are very high. There is also an element of potential government failure. For example, the government may not have sufficient information about the state of the industry to make an appropriate decision on price. Government could set prices which are too low and cause firms to leave the market. 5. Discuss whether the government should ever consider nationalising privatised industries? Nationalised firms are owned and run by the government. Privatisation is the process of selling the firms to the private sector; this means the firm will be run like a normal public limited company, rather than by the government. Several industries like rail, electricity, gas and telecoms were privatised in the 1980s and 1990s. There are several strong arguments for suggesting privatised firms are more efficient than nationalised industries. Firstly, it is argued that a private firm has a strong profit incentive to cut costs. A nationalised firm is not subject to the pressure of private shareholders, therefore it is more likely to be x-inefficient and productive inefficient. If the government nationalised privatised firms like BT and British Gas, it may result in greater inefficiency and therefore higher prices. However, private firms may make mistakes because shareholders encourage short termism and risk taking. In the case of the banking industry, risks were taken to make more profit, but the government had to step in to bailout the banks when they made losses. Governments can, in theory, take a longer-term view and avoid short-termism. However, governments may also be subject to political pressure, which encourages them to sacrifice long-term investment for short-term gain. Some industries like the banking have a great importance to the wider economy. If banks went under, it might cause loss of confidence in bank deposits; this could cause a mass withdrawal of money, leading to a fall in financial confidence. In this case, the government may have no option but to nationalise private firms. Here the motive is preventing a collapse in bank confidence. This argument is mainly relevant to the banking sector. If a car firm collapsed there would be less reason to intervene, apart from to protect job losses, which is an expensive way to prevent unemployment. One problem of privatised industries is that they were often in industries considered to be natural monopolies. For example, tap water and distribution of gas and electricity is essentially a natural monopoly. A natural monopoly, where industry demand is close to the minimum efficient scale (10,000 in above diagram) and therefore most efficient number of firms is one. Therefore, some privatised firms are a private monopoly and could exploit consumers through higher prices. This might be a reason to nationalise the firm. However, another option is regulation. Regulators can regulate price increases so we get the benefits of privatisation without the drawbacks of monopoly power. However, in practise, regulators may struggle to get right balance between protecting consumer and interests of firms. Regulators could suffer from regulatory capture and so they are too kind to the firm. Other industries, like rail could justify greater government intervention because they have many positive externalities, which mean the good is under-consumed in a free market. For example, rail travel helps reduce traffic congestion and pollution. Under privatisation, rail maybe under-consumed with too little investment. There is a stronger case for renationalising rail because a government can make allowances for the external benefits in offering public transport. However, an easier option maybe for the government to subsidise the private firm. The subsidy should, in theory, help to overcome the under-consumption in a free market and prevent the need to renationalise. Generally, privatised firms have better incentives to be efficient and respond to changing market signals. If the privatised firm is in a competitive market, for example, BT, there is no benefit to renationalising the firm because competitive pressures keep prices down. However, in an industry like rail, there may be a greater justification of renationalisation. In this industry, competition is not realistic so the government have created a private monopoly. Also, the external benefits to railways means that the government may need to have closer direction and subsidy to overcome market failure. Also the experience of the banks shows that sometimes, the government needs to nationalise firms for wider economic interest. Labour Markets - ­? Section Footballers receive high pay, while those in disagreeable occupations, such as road sweepers, are among the most lowly paid. 1. How does economic theory explain such differences in pay? Economic theory suggests that wages are determined by factors such as marginal revenue product, and the supply of labour. Jobs such as road sweepers do not need qualifications or specialised skills. Most people are able to do that job. Therefore the supply curve is elastic, meaning many are willing to work at relatively low wages. Cleaners – Elastic supply Low wages Footballers inelastic supply, higher wages However, jobs such as being a top footballer are highly skilled. Only a small % of the population is able to be a good footballer, therefore supply is inelastic. Because of the inelastic supply curve, footballers find it easier to bargain for higher wages. As well as differences in supply, footballers will have a higher marginal revenue product. Marginal Revenu e products depends on marginal product (the productivity of workers) and Marginal revenue of last good sold (this depends on the price of the good sold. Footballers can affect the revenue of their club significantly. Therefore, the MRP of footballers is high, a good footballer can make a lot of revenue for his team, in terms of advertising revenue and gate money; therefore because MRP is high, wages will be high. Road sweepers, however, do not have a high marginal revenue product. The council doesn’t gain extra income from cleaning the streets. It is seen as a service rather than revenue-generating job; therefore, it is seen as a job with a low MRP. Another reason could be that road sweepers face monopsonistic firms who are able to cut wages. Footballers have agents to help them get higher wages. Also public sector workers like road sweepers tend to be lower paid than private sector workers. 2. Assess the case for and against the government intervening to raise the disposable income of workers on low pay. The government could intervene through increasing minimum wages and / or offering means tested benefits. The two different strategies will have different effects. The first reason for raising the pay of low-income workers is to reduce relative poverty. Relative poverty reflects inequality in society. Often this inequality stems from unequal opportunities such as middle class parents can afford to get better education for their children so they get higher pay. By increasing incomes of the low paid, the government is helping to reduce inequality. Reducing inequality also has some practical economic arguments, as well as moral justifications. Income inequality could aggravate feelings of social alienation; this could cause problems such as crime, vandalism and tensions within society. Increasing the incomes of workers on low pay may create greater incentives for low paid workers to move from benefits to paid work. If wages are low, it may encourage people to remain on unemployment benefits and income support. Increasing wages, could save the government paying out benefits and reduce the poverty trap. Higher wages may increase worker productivity, motivation and loyalty to the company. This is known as the efficiency wage theory. It is argued if wages are too low, people don’t mind if they get made redundant. Higher wages increases worker loyalty and therefore productivity. Finally, workers low pay may be due to monopsonistic employers who want to exploit their monopoly power to pay lower wages than market forces. Therefore, if the government increases wages through minimum wages then it will not cause unemployment. However, there are practical problems to intervening to raise disposable incomes of workers. If the government increase wages by imposing a higher minimum wage, there is the scope for creating real wage unemployment. If wages rise, firms may not be able to afford the workers, especially if the job is traditionally low paid work in the service sector. However, this analysis assumes labour markets are competitive. In the real world, employers often hold a degree of monopsony power. This enables the employers to set lower wages and exploit workers. In this case, a minimum wage helps to overcome the effect of monopsony employers and won’t cause unemployment. If the government increase wages through offering means tested benefits then this may create a poverty trap. Basically, means tested benefits may discourage workers from working longer hours or getting better paid jobs. This is because the gain in income is limited due to the means tested benefits for low paid jobs. Also, means tested benefit may encourage firms to pay lower wages knowing that the government will top up the wages. A better solution may be to offer lower taxes for low paid workers. Another solution would be to offer benefits in kind, such as housing benefit and cheaper prescriptions e. t. c. This increases their disposable income without distorting labour markets. 3. Do you agree that if a trade union persuades employers to increase wages in a labour market, employment must inevitably fall in that labour market? Justify your answer? If the labour market is competitive, i. e. good information, many employers, then in theory an increase in wages above the equilibrium will cause a fall in employment. The diagram below shows that a rise in wages to W2 (through trade union pressure) causes a fall in employment from Q1 to Q2. If demand for labour is inelastic, then the fall in employment will be relatively small. Some labour markets may have inelastic demand if – labour is a small % of total costs or the workers are indispensable part of the production process. If demand for labour is perfectly inelastic then an increase in wages will not cause any fall in demand for labour. However, if demand for labour is elastic, then higher wages could lead to a big fall in demand for labour. There are other reasons why employment might not fall. Firstly, if the employer has monopsonistic power, it is able to pay workers a wage below the market equilibrium. The diagram bellows shows that increasing the wage from W2 to W3, will actually keep employment the same at Q2. If trades unions increase wages from W2 to W1, then employment levels will rise from Q2 to Q1. Arguably many employers in the UK have a degree of monopsonistic power; workers find it difficult to move and therefore employers can keep wages lower. This is especially the case in the service sector where workers work part time and have weak contracts. Another issue is labour productivity. It is argued that paying higher wages may increase the loyalty of workers to the firm; this is known as the efficiency wage theory, and if workers are more loyal they will have greater productivity. A more likely scenario is that trades unions argue for a productivity deal. This is when they bargain for higher wages in return for new working practises, which increase labour productivity. If labour productivity and MRP of workers increase then firms will be able to afford the higher wages. Another possibility is that if real wages increases, there will be an increase in aggregate demand causing higher output and higher demand for workers. On the other hand this increase in wages may just cause inflation. Also, on a micro level, higher wages in one sector will not affect the macro economy significantly. Empirical evidence in the UK, suggests that since the minimum wage was introduced in 1997, it hasn’t caused unemployment, this is despite the fact the minimum wage has increase faster than inflation. 4. Assess three labour market policies which might be used to increase the level of employment amongst incapacity claimants and lone parents on benefits. An increase in the minimum wage might increase the incentives for people to take a job rather than stay on benefits. If wages are low, there may be little incentive for people to take a job rather than stay on benefits. However, higher minimum wages may increase unemployment. Firms may reduce demand for workers because they cannot afford the higher wages. A NMW can lead to unemployment of Q3 – Q2. However, the UK minimum wage has been increased without any obvious fall in employment levels. This could be due to the fact employers have monopsonistic power and can afford to pay higher wages. Alternatively demand for labour may be inelastic. If demand is inelastic, the fall in employment will be small. Another policy is for the government to provide targeted training schemes for those on incapacity benefits. The government could train them in using computers and IT. This may enable them to work online from home. This makes them employable, despite their disabilities. However, it is not clear how successful these schemes would be. For example, even with better IT skills, it may be difficult to find jobs which enable you to work from home. Lone parents on benefits may not have time to take out training schemes because they need to look after children. Better child-care provision. If the government offer free or subsidised childcare, then lone parents will be able to go out and work, saving the government benefits. However, the cost of providing childcare may be as expensive as providing benefits. Also, the government cannot guarantee that lone parents will actually take out the opportunity to leave children in child-care. The real difficulty may be finding a job or the low differential between wages and benefits. . Discuss the impact of net migration on UK labour markets Net migration will increase the supply of labour, possibly causing wages to fall. This effect will be most noticeable in areas where migrants concentrate e. g. London and the South East. The effect will also be most noticeable in industries where migrants tend to work; this could be fruit pickers, builders or plumbers. However, although the supply of l abour increases, it is important to bear in mind, that an increase in the population will also cause an increase in economic growth and increase in demand for labour. The extra supply of labour should be met by the extra demand for labour. Therefore, the real wage rates could stay the same. The impact of migration also depends on the skills and qualifications of migrants. If the migrants don’t speak English and have low skills, they may struggle to find employment in the UK labour market. Therefore, it could cause a rise in structural unemployment. If the migrants do speak English and have skills which are in short supply, it can help deal with labour market shortages that do exist. For example, recently the government said it would be setting migration policy to allow workers with specific skills to enter; for example, maths teachers and nurses. This helps to fill gaps in the labour market. Note, it is unlikely to depress wages in these sectors because the wages are set by the government and not market forces. It is also possible, that migrants, especially if illegal migrants are more likely to work in the black market. For example, workers from low wage countries may be more willing to accept wages below the official minimum wage. This could lead to a bigger underground (unofficial) labour market and economy. However, there is no guarantee migrants will gravitate to the unofficial labour market, by nature it is hard to quantify. 6. Discuss the relative merits of welfare benefits and taxes for reducing relative poverty in the UK Relative poverty occurs when people receive an income significantly less than the average in society. For example, one definition may be a monthly income of less than 50% of the average monthly income. Welfare benefits include; job seekers allowance, income support, child benefit and pensions. The biggest cause of poverty is unemployment because relying on unemployment benefits gives a relatively low income; therefore increasing JSA would increase equality of distribution and make people on low incomes better off. However, there is a risk that higher benefits may increase voluntary unemployment; this is because income from benefits may be similar to the income from a job, therefore there becomes a disincentive to take a job. If higher benefits do discourage people from taking a job, it will increase cost of benefits to the government and also mean that people become economically inactive and lose motivation to work. However, it depends how much benefits were increased compared to the level of wages. It might be possible to increase welfare benefits but maintain an incentive to work. For example, if you take a low paid job, you could retain some income support. Also the minimum wage helps to increase the incentive to work in the UK. Income support or family credit involves giving means-tested top up benefits to those on low wages; this will help reduce income inequality. But, similar to unemployment benefit, there is a danger of creating a disincentive to work. However, at least meanstested benefits are cheaper than universal benefits. Also the government can try grade the means tested benefits, so there isn't a cut off point which discourages people working longer hours A higher state pension would also help reduce inequality amongst pensioners; however, it would be very expensive to increase the universal state pension, especially because there are increasing numbers of OAPs in the UK. Therefore, it may be more effective to target pensions to those who need it most, i. e. use means tested benefits. This could involve an extension of the govt minimum income guarantee for pensioners. The only problem of this is that it may discourage workers from saving for a private pension, because, they will not then get as much from the govt. A switch from regressive to progressive taxes would help improve income distribution, e. g. cutting cigarette tax and increasing income tax. A progressive tax takes a higher % of income from the rich. E. g. a top band of income tax could take 40% of incomes over ? 27,000. If the govt increased the top rate, this would cause a reduction in income inequality because it would reduce take home pay of high earners; also the revenue could be spent on increasing benefits to those on low incomes. However, this would cause problems because higher taxes may discourage people from working harder. Therefore, higher rate of income tax may cause lower AS and not increase revenue for the govt. However, the extent of this depends upon the income and substitution effect. For example, some people need to maintain a certain level of income; therefore, if taxes increase the income effect means that they need to work harder to earn more. It depends how much the tax rate is increased. Often it is the very wealthy who feel it is worth living in another country if tax rates become too high. Other policies, which may be more effective, could include an increase in the Minimum wage; this increases the wages of those on low pay. However, it may cause unemployment if the labour market is competitive. Also, it will not help the poorest on unemployment benefits. But, if labour markets are monopsonistic then a minimum wage will not cause unemployment. Also a min wage could increase labour productivity and incentives to get a job. Empirical evidence suggests a min wages does not cause unemployment. To conclude, it may be possible to reduce income inequality by increasing income tax rates and means tested benefits such as income support. However, there is a danger that if they are increase too much they may cause disincentive within the economy, this is something the govt will have to be careful about. There is a conflict between reducing relative poverty and damaging incentives to work. Policies are likely to be more effective if used in conjunction with general policies to reduce unemployment, which is one of the biggest causes of relative poverty. Section – Transport and Market Failure. 1. Discuss whether Cost-benefit analysis is a practical way to decide whether projects, such as new roads, should go ahead. Cost-benefit analysis is a way to evaluate potential projects and decide whether they are in the interest of the public. Cost-benefit analysis studies involve calculating the social costs and social benefits to a particular project. If the social benefits exceed the social costs, it is indicative that the project is desirable. The first stage of cost-benefit analysis is to identify all the different costs and benefits. These include the monetary costs such as materials to build road, and pay workers. But, also in building a road there are external costs, such as, damage to the environment, noise pollution and air pollution. These external costs are harder to identify and give a monetary value to. For example, you could ask people involved in project or living near road. However, it is difficult for people to give unbiased opinions and they are likely to put their own perspective onto the evaluation or survey. When a monetary value has been placed on all the benefits and costs, it becomes easier to decide whether the project should go ahead or not. The first problem encountered in using cost-benefit analysis is that it can be difficult to put a value on certain costs and benefits. For example, building a new airport may cause noise pollution, but it is hard to put an economic value on this. You could ask people, but this is unreliable and people may give different figures. Therefore, guestimates need to be used, but they may be wrong. A second problem is that it is hard to identify all potential costs and benefits. For example, building a nuclear power station it might be hard to know potential future problems. For example, the Chernobyl nuclear accident would be something not included in a cost benefit analysis. In any planni

Geneogram

THE COMMON PATTERNS THAT I SAW ON MY GENEOGRAM AND HOW IT AFFECT WHO I AM TODAY Upon making and completing my Geneogram, the first thing that I got to realize is that I am really lucky with my family. We might not have a lot of professionals just like other families but no one in our family, whether mother or father side has any mental issues or any addictions to anything. Also, there are no bitter misunderstanding within our family that might have resulted to any conflicts.Another common pattern that I saw is the common profession in our family. It is either engineering or nursing. This might explain as to why I chose engineering as a profession. It is visible that It is the common profession being practiced in our family. Another significant pattern that is visible is the number of children each of my Tito/Tita have. No one from any of my Tito/Tita has a number of children greater than three. This might explain why my mother and father only had two children of their own.Also, anoth er pattern that is visible is the age in which my cousins had children. My geneogram results shows that no one from my cousins became a parent before the reach 25. This might also in a way explain as to why I still don’t have children of my own today. THINGS TO HEAL / CHANGE IN MY GENEOGRAM PATTERNS Even though my geneogram is quite a normal, good geneogram of a normal family, there is one area of improvement that I saw. There might be little areas to heal or I wanted to change.That area is that we do not have a pattern our family that has a leadership or entrepreneurial background. Most of my family’s pattern shows that most of us became professionals. That might not be a bad thing for others, but it might be for me because I wanted to have my own business someday and if I were to look at my family’s geneogram there is no significant pattern that shows me that there is a leadership or entrepreneurial pattern. So I cannot get the said skill anywhere within my fa mily.But to clear things up, I love my family, I don’t want to change anything and I don’t want to give it up for anything in the world but just of academics sake, if I were to choose an area for improvement, I think that will be it. HOW CAN MY ANSWERS ABOVE HELP ME BECOME A LEADER IN MY WORKPLACE? Now that I have seen that what are the patterns and areas of improvement from my geneogram, more specifically the family members that does not have leadership skills. This might explain why I also lack leadership qualities in my office.I was offered on many occasions, from my previous and present work, to have an opportunity to be promoted and handle people. But I turn down those opportunities because deep in my heart I think that I am afraid to take the lead because I don’t have the said background from my family and does not feel comfortable leading people. And upon doing this geneogram, I got to realize that yeah, I am afraid to lead people because no one in my fam ily taught me that skill. And I think for me is the greatest area of improvement for myself and my career.

She Stoops to Conquer

————————————————- She stoops to conquer ————————————————- ————————————————- Characters * Charles Marlow  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The central male character, who has set out to court the young attractive Kate Hardcastle. A well-educated man, â€Å"bred a scholar†, Marlow is brash and rude to Mr. Hardcastle, owner of â€Å"Liberty Hall† (a reference to another site in London), whom Marlow believes to be an innkeeper. Because Marlow's rudeness is comic, the audience is likely not to dislike him for it.Marlow is sophisticated and has travelled the world. Around lower-class women Marlow is a lecherous rogue, but around those of an upper-class card he is a ne rvous, bumbling fool. Thus, his interview with Kate exploits the man's fears, and convinces Miss Hardcastle she'll have to alter her persona drastically to make a relationship with the man possible. The character of Charles Marlow is very similar to the description of Goldsmith himself, as he too acted â€Å"sheepishly† around women of a higher class than himself, and amongst â€Å"creatures of another stamp† acted with the most confidence. George Hastings  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ A close friend of Charles Marlow and the admirer of Miss Constance Neville. Hastings is also an educated man who cares deeply about Constance, with the intention of fleeing to France with her. However the young woman makes it clear that she can't leave without her jewels, which are guarded by Mrs. Hardcastle, thus the pair and Tony collaborate to get hold of the jewels. When Hastings realises the Hardcastle house isn't an inn, he decides not to tell Marlow who would thus leave the premises immediately. * Tony Lumpkin  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Son of Mrs.Hardcastle and stepson to Mr. Hardcastle, Tony is a mischievous, uneducated playboy. Mrs. Hardcastle has no authority over Tony, and their relationship contrasts with that between Hardcastle and Kate. He is promised in marriage to his cousin, Constance Neville, yet he despises her and thus goes to great effort to help her and Hastings in their plans to leave the country. He cannot reject the impending marriage with Neville, because he believes he's not of age. Tony takes an interest in horses, â€Å"Bet Bouncer† and especially the lehouse, where he joyfully sings with members of the lower-classes. It is Tony's initial deception of Marlow, for a joke, which sets up the plot. * Mr. Hardcastle  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The father of Kate Hardcastle, who is mistaken by Marlow and Hastings as an innkeeper. Hardcastle is a level-headed countryman who loves â€Å"everything old† and hates the town and the â€Å"follies† that come with it. He is ve ry much occupied with the ‘old times' and likes nothing better than to tell his  war stories  and to drop names, such as the  Duke of Marlborough, into conversations.Hardcastle cares for his daughter Kate, but insists that she dress plainly in his presence. It is he who arranges for Marlow to come to the country to marry his daughter. Hardcastle is a man of manners and, despite being highly insulted by Marlow's treatment of him, manages to keep his temper with his guest until near the end of the play. Hardcastle also demonstrates a wealth of forgiveness as he not only forgives Marlow once he has realised Marlow's mistake, but also gives him consent to marry his daughter. * Mrs. Hardcastle  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Wife to Mr.Hardcastle and mother to Tony, Mrs. Hardcastle is a corrupt and eccentric character. She is an over-protective  mother  to Tony, whom she loves, but fails to tell him he's of age so that he is eligible to receive ? 1,500 a year. Her behaviour is either over-th e-top or far-fetched, providing some of the play's comedy. She is also partly selfish, wanting Neville to marry her son to keep the jewels in the family; she's blissfully unaware however, that Tony and Neville despise each other, and that Constance is in fact planning to flee to France with Hastings. Mrs.Hardcastle is a contrast to her husband, which provides the humour in the play's opening. She loves the town, and is the only character who's not happy at the end of the play. * Miss Kate Hardcastle  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Daughter to Mr. Hardcastle, and the play's stooping-to-conquer heroine. Kate respects her father, dressing plainly in his presence to please him. The formal and respectful relationship that she shares with her father, contrasts with that between Tony and Mrs. Hardcastle. Kate enjoys â€Å"French frippery† and the attributes of the town, much as her mother does.She is both calculating and scheming, posing as a maid and deceiving Marlow, causing him to fall in love with her. * Miss Constance Neville  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Niece of Mrs. Hardcastle, she is the woman whom Hastings intends to court. Constance despises her cousin Tony, she is heir to a large fortune of jewels, hence her aunt wants her to remain in the family and marry Tony; she is secretly an admirer of George Hastings however. Neville schemes with Hastings and Tony to get the jewels so she can then flee to France with her admirer; this is essentially one of the sub-plots of  She Stoops to Conquer. Sir Charles Marlow  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ A minor character and father to Charles Marlow; he follows his son, a few hours behind. Unlike his son, he does not meet Tony Lumpkin in the Three Pigeons, and thus is not confused. He is an old friend of Mr. Hardcastle, both of them once having been in the British military, and is quite pleased with the union of his son and his friend's daughter. Sir Charles enjoys the follies of his son, but does not understand these initially. However, he is quite upset when his son t reats Kate as a maid. [1] ————————————————-Short summary of she stoops to conquer? Answer: She stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith. The play was initially titled as Mistakes of a Night and the events in the play, indeed, happen during the time frame of one night. Mr. Hardcastle, a rich countryman plans to marry his daughter Kate to the son of his old friend, Sir Charles Marlow. Hardcastle's second wife is determined in marrying her spoiled son, Tony Lumpkin to her niece, Constance Neville in order to keep her fortune, a casket of jewels within the family.But Miss Neville has plans to marry Hastings, a friend of young Marlow. While Hardcastle's family is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Marlow and his friend, Hastings, the friends stop at the village Inn to inquire their way. Tony Lumpkin, who is present there, realizes their identity and plays a joke by telling them that they are far away from their destination and asks them to stay at an inn, recommending Hardcastle house as the best Inn around there. Thus the friends arrive there and treat Mr. Hardcastle as mere Inn keeper.This enrages Mr. Hardcastle and is convinced that Marlow is not suitable for his daughter. On the other hand, Young Marlow who is nervous in the presence of ladies of his own social status, yet quite the quite opposite with lower-class women doesn't look properly at Kate on their first meeting. Kate realizes this and stoops to conquer him, by posing as bar maid and putting Marlow at his ease so that he falls for her in the process. However, he changes his mind when he realizes the truth behind Marlow's behaviour. The play concludes with Mr.Hardcastle realizing the truth behind Marlow's behaviour and changing his mind; Kate succeeding in her plan and getting engaged to Marlow; Tony Lumpkin discovering he is of age and receives his entitled money, whic h his mother hides from him. He refuses to marry Ms. Neville, who then gets her entitled jewels and gets engaged to Mr. Hastings. So all is well that ends well. Summary She Stoops to Conquer  opens with a prologue in which an actor mourns the death of the classical low comedy at the altar of sentimental, â€Å"mawkish† comedy.He hopes that Dr. Goldsmith can remedy this problem through the play about to be presented. Act I is full of set-up for the rest of the play. Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle  live in an old house that resembles an inn, and they are waiting for the arrival of  Marlow, son of Mr. Hardcastle's old friend and a possible suitor to his daughter Kate. Kate is very close to her father, so much so that she dresses plainly in the evenings (to suit his conservative tastes) and fancifully in the mornings for her friends. Meanwhile,  Mrs.Hardcastle's niece Constance is in the old woman's care, and has her small inheritance (consisting of some valuable jewels) held un til she is married, hopefully to Mrs. Hardcastle's spoiled son from an earlier marriage,  Tony Lumpkin. The problem is that neither Tony nor Constance loves the other, and in fact Constance has a beloved, who will be traveling to the house that night with Marlow. Tony's problem is also that he is a drunk and a lover of low living, which he shows when the play shifts to a pub nearby.When Marlow and  Hastings  (Constance's beloved) arrive at the pub, lost on the way to Hardcastle's, Tony plays a practical joke by telling the two men that there is no room at the pub and that they can find lodging at the old inn down the road (which is of course Hardcastle's home). Act II sees the plot get complicated. When Marlow and Hastings arrive, they are impertinent and rude with Hardcastle, whom they think is a landlord and not a host (because of Tony's trick). Hardcastle expects Marlow to be a polite young man, and is shocked at the behavior. Constance finds Hastings, and reveals to him th at Tony must have played a trick.However, they decide to keep the truth from Marlow, because they think revealing it will upset him and ruin the trip. They decide they will try to get her jewels and elope together. Marlow has a bizarre tendency to speak with exaggerated timidity to â€Å"modest† women, while speaking in lively and hearty tones to women of low-class. When he has his first meeting with Kate, she is dressed well, and hence drives him into a debilitating stupor because of his inability to speak to modest women. She is nevertheless attracted to him, and decides to try and draw out his true character.Tony and Hastings decide together that Tony will steal the jewels for Hastings and Constance, so that he can be rid of his mother's pressure to marry Constance, whom he doesn't love. Act III opens with Hardcastle and Kate each confused with the side of Marlow they saw. Where Hardcastle is shocked at his impertinence, Kate is disappointed to have seen only modesty. Kate asks her father for the chance to show him that Marlow is more than both believe. Tony has stolen the jewels, but Constance doesn't know and continues to beg her aunt for them. Tony convinces Mrs.Hardcastle to pretend they were stolen to dissuade Constance, a plea she willingly accepts until she realizes they have actually been stolen. Meanwhile, Kate is now dressed in her plain dress and is mistaken by Marlow (who never looked her in the face in their earlier meeting) as a barmaid to whom he is attracted. She decides to play the part, and they have a lively, fun conversation that ends with him trying to embrace her, a move Mr. Hardcastle observes. Kate asks for the night to prove that he can be both respectful and lively. Act IV finds the plots almost falling apart.News has spread that  Sir Charles Marlow(Hardcastle's friend, and father to young Marlow) is on his way, which will reveal Hastings's identity as beloved of Constance and also force the question of whether Kate and Ma rlow are to marry. Hastings has sent the jewels in a casket to Marlow for safekeeping but Marlow, confused, has given them to Mrs. Hardcastle (whom he still believes is the landlady of the inn). When Hastings learns this, he realizes his plan to elope with wealth is over, and decides he must convince Constance to elope immediately.Meanwhile, Marlow's impertinence towards Hardcastle (whom he believes is the landlord) reaches its apex, and Hardcastle kicks him out of the house, during which altercation Marlow begins to realize what is actually happening. He finds Kate, who now pretends to be a poor relation to the Hardcastles, which would make her a proper match as far as class but not a good marriage as far as wealth. Marlow is starting to love her, but cannot pursue it because it would be unacceptable to his father because of her lack of weatlh, so he leaves her. Meanwhile, a letter from Hastings arrives that Mrs.Hardcastle intercepts, and she reads that he waits for Constance in th e garden, ready to elope. Angry, she insists that she will bring Constance far away, and makes plans for that. Marlow, Hastings and Tony confront one another, and the anger over all the deceit leads to a severe argument, resolved temporarily when Tony promises to solve the problem for Hastings. Act V finds the truth coming to light, and everyone happy. Sir Charles has arrived, and he and Hastings laugh together over the confusion young Marlow was in. Marlow arrives to apologize, and in the discussion over Kate, claims he barely talked to Kate.Hardcastle accuses him of lying, since Hardcastle saw him embrace Kate (but Marlow does not know that was indeed Kate). Kate arrives after Marlow leaves the room and convinces the older men she will reveal the full truth if they watch an interview between the two from a hidden vantage behind a screen. Meanwhile, Hastings waits in the garden, per Tony's instruction, and Tony arrives to tell him that he drove his mother and Constance all over in circles, so that they think they are lost far from home when in fact they have been left nearby.Mrs. Hardcastle, distraught, arrives and is convinced she must hide from a highwayman who is approaching. The â€Å"highwayman† proves to be Mr. Hardcastle, who scares her in her confusion for a while but ultimately discovers what is happening. Hastings and Constance, nearby, decide they will not elope but rather appeal to Mr. Hardcastle for mercy. Back at the house, the interview between Kate (playing the poor relation) and Marlow reveals his truly good character, and after some discussion, everyone agrees to the match.Hastings and Constance ask permission to marry and, since Tony is actually of age and therefore can of his own volition decide not to marry Constance, the permission is granted. All are happy (except for miserly Mrs. Hardcastle), and the â€Å"mistakes of a night† have been corrected. There are two epilogues generally printed to the play, one of which sketche s in metaphor Goldsmith's attempt to bring comedy back to its traditional roots, and the other of which suggests Tony Lumpkin has adventures yet to be realized. Suggested Essay Questions 1.Explain the meaning and significance of the title  She Stoops to Conquer. Even without reading the play, the irony of the title is obvious, since the â€Å"she† in question is lowering herself in order to prove herself superior. In context of the play, the title could be argued to refer both to Kate's plan to trap Marlow and to Goldsmith's purpose of using â€Å"low comedy† to convince his audience to embrace it. The former is a good description of the irony of Kate's plan: in order to convince herself she is a worthy match for Marlow, she has to first convince him she is of a low class.However, the title also describes Goldsmith's purpose: he wishes to convince an audience to embrace this â€Å"low† or â€Å"laughing† comedy, and by indulging in it, he might convince them that it is superior to â€Å"sentimental† comedy. Regardless of which description one uses, the irony of the title expresses Goldsmith's view of humanity: while we pretend to be of impeachable high class, we all have a â€Å"low,† base side that we should celebrate rather than try to ignore. 2. How is Kate an example of moderation?Explain how her personality stands as the way of life Goldsmith most recommends. The play is organized into a series of conflicting philosophies: high-bred aristocrats vs. low-bred common folk; city life vs. country life; wealth vs. poverty, etc. Much of the absurdity that fuels Goldsmith's comedy comes from exploiting the way most people engage in contradictions even when they pretend to be examples of virtue. The best example is Marlow, and his bizarre contradictory attitudes towards women depending on their class.Kate stands at the center of most of these, and as such is the best depiction of Goldsmith's message. As a country girl wh o has spent time in town, she is an example of what Marlow calls â€Å"refined simplicity,† and knowing as much as she does about humanity, is able to also enjoy and be amused by the contradictions rather than disgusted by them (as most of the elder characters are). 3. In what ways is Tony Lumpkin a hero in the play? Use historical/social detail to explain why this heroism is unconventional. Tony Lumpkin would traditionally have been considered nothing but comic relief.Consider most Shakespeare plays, where the poor, common characters might have wisdom, but are primarily used to comedic effect, and are rarely engaged in the main plots. Tony is presented this way initially in  She Stoops to Conquer, but we quickly see that there is a great wisdom to his lifestyle, which prizes enjoyment of life over heavy considerations of it. When his parents discuss the way to live in Act I, Tony takes off quickly for the Three Pigeons, where he sings a song that expresses a desire for tru e life rather than the hypocrisy of overly-educated or overly-religious lifestyles.Tony perhaps has more agency than any other character in the play, setting in motion the confusions that ultimately allow everyone to be happy. The message, of which Tony is the best representative, is that by engaging in the confusions and contradictions of human nature, we can find our best happiness. 4. For a comedy,  She Stoops to Conquer  has a serious vein of commentary of class. Explain. In a traditional sentimental comedy, money would ultimately be shown to be irrelevant in the face of true love, so as to stress the characters’ virtue.Of course, the characters would have almost all been high-bred and money not a serious issue in their lives. In this play, there are characters, like Tony or Constance, who really do need money if they want a strong future. Even in what is perhaps the most cliche romantic subplot – that between Constance and Hastings – money becomes an in escapable force, and in the end they turn to the virtue of asking Hardcastle's permission not because of some innate virtue, but because they acknowledge that they will need money.In another way, Marlow's class contradictions are certainly meant to be amusing, but there is a serious criticism in the way that a class system has led him to despise what he enjoys. He considers himself inferior for his love of unpretentious women, and assumes that he ought to love a â€Å"modest† woman. Part of the lesson Kate teaches him is that the substance of a person is what matters, and not the way one gauges her behavior as high or low class. 5. How does the device of dramatic irony facilitate the play's major themes and comedy?The play is a masterpiece of dramatic irony, which is a device where the audience has information and knowledge that the characters do not. From the moment Tony plays the practical joke on Marlow and Hastings, the audience learns secrets that will grow more complica ted and hence create confusion that leads to hilarious situations. The best example is perhaps the way Marlow and Hastings treat Hardcastle, because they think him a landlord. Because we understand the details of the confusions, we understand the jokes whereas the characters only grow more offended.However, the behavior wrought by the dramatic irony reveals much of Goldsmith's view on humanity and class. The same example listed above is funny, but also shows the cruelty that comes from a rich man's entitlement. Throughout the play, much of the class commentary derives from the behaviors people show when they don’t' realize they are being judged. Kate exploits this to try and find out what kind of person Marlow actually is. 6. In what ways are the characters of the play comic archetypes? How does Goldsmith deepen these stock characters?At the beginning of the play, it seems as though all the characters fall into traditional comic patterns. Hardcastle is the old curmudgeon who hates modern life, Mrs. Hardcastle a vain old lady, the young men are handsome heroes, Kate is the pretty young heroine, and Tony is the comic drunkard. Very quickly, Goldsmith explores the depth of class, money and human contradictions by putting those qualities in broader contexts. Hardcastle turns out to be not entirely incorrect about the impertinence of the young (which he discovers because of Tony's trick), but turns out to be forgiving.Mrs. Hardcastle is frankly never deepened, and stays who she is throughout. Hastings remains a valiant young man, but Marlow is obviously full of absurd contradictions very much connected to the very aristocratic virtue that seems to define him in the beginning. And Kate, of course, is perhaps the deepest and fullest character of all, not a simple heroine to be won by the young man. 7. Does the play's ending undercut Goldsmith's attempt to write a â€Å"low† and not â€Å"sentimental† comedy? Explain. Mrs.Hardcastle perhaps speaks to Goldsmith's own concern over the ending when she remarks that â€Å"this is all but the whining end of a modern novel. † It is clear from both the prologue and his â€Å"Essay on the Theatre† that he wishes to write a play that mocks vice rather than praises virtue. And yet the ending of the play finds not only all the characters ending up happy, but happy because of very clear-cut lessons. In a way, even the most grievous characters (like Marlow, whose contradictions lead him to some rather unsavory behavior) are forgiven for their vices.However, one can argue that Goldsmith provides an entertaining end for his audience while not diving fully into the conventions. For one, Constance and Hastings's realization about the necessity of money adds a pragmatic reality to the otherwise sentimental end. Further, the play's end does not suggest that the absurd contradictions of humanity will go away, which could lead to the belief that such problems will never go away, eve n if the play wraps up nicely within its five acts. 8. Define what â€Å"town† and â€Å"country† mean in the context of this play, using characters as examples.There is a strong conflict between town and country set up from the very opening of the play, when Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle argue about the virtues and vices of town and country. The town is associated with several elements: wealth and pretension, education, style, and in the broadest sense, living life for itself. The country is associated with simplicity and a slower, more considered way of life. The characters who come from town are certainly to be admired, and would be by Goldsmith's audience.And yet they are shown to have serious faults, particularly in terms of their pretensions and cruelty towards Hardcastle when they think he is a landlord and not their host. Likewise, while the theatre audience at the time would probably consider the country characters to be overly simple, there is a great kindness reve aled in the way Hardcastle is willing to forgive everyone despite how he is treated. The best character overall is Kate, who shows a moderation in her way to find â€Å"refined simplicity† by embracing the best of both worlds. . Explain how much of Goldsmith's comedy relies on his ability to set-up a joke. Most of the comedy in  She Stoops to Conquer  comes from the deep dramatic irony wherein characters do not realize quite who one another are. However, for the audience to clearly understand all the complications, Goldsmith has to set up the details of the jokes to come. He does this masterfully in Act I. For instance, it is set up that the old Hardcastle home resembles an inn, important so that we believe Marlow and Hastings could believe as much.Further, the strange behavior whereby Kate dresses plainly in the evenings is important so as to understand Marlow's confusion over her class standing. Throughout the play, elements are introduced, or â€Å"set-up,† so t hat our expectations can be manipulated later. The use of the jewels, of Tony and his mother's relationship, and of who is lying to whom are all examples of set-ups that produce great comic dividends. 10. How can one make a Freudian analysis of this play?Though it is folly to suggest an explicitly Freudian intent in this play (since it was written so much earlier than Freud's day), the same could be said about  Oedipus Rex  or  Hamlet, both of which stand as seminal texts in Freud's theories. There are definitely Freudian undercurrents in the Oedipal complex suggested as existing between Tony and Mrs. Hardcastle, and more implicitly between Marlow and his mother. The former is expressed in Tony's professed hatred of his mother, though it is a hatred that makes him insistent on constantly waging war with her.If he truly despised her, he could simply blow her off, but he takes too much pleasure in wickedly tormenting her through his tricks and behavior. Many characters remark on how they spoil one another, which parallels a sort of destructive romantic relationship, all of which can be interpreted through a Freudian lens. In terms of Marlow, his strange behavior can be linked to a self-hatred, an inability to appreciate his own love of â€Å"immodest† woman and inability to speak to â€Å"modest† woman whom he feels he ought to appreciate.At one point, he mentions that his mother was the only â€Å"modest† woman he could ever speak to, which could suggest that their relationship has polluted him somewhat, led him to compare other women to her and hence to grow into a bumbler when attempting to woo them romantically. Quotes and Analysis 1. â€Å"Let school-masters puzzle their brain, With grammar, and nonsense, and learning; Good liquor, I stoutly maintain, Gives genius a better discerning. † Tony Lumpkin's song, Act I, pg. 6 This opening to Tony's song helps to establish one of Goldsmith's aims – to properly appreciate â €Å"low† behavior.Here, Tony sets two different lifestyles in opposition: proper life versus base life. While the play has a conservative streak that keeps it from entirely embracing baseness as the key to life, it does propose that moderation ought accept that a life of â€Å"good liquor† can grant us a perspective into human absurdity and folly, whereas a life solely dedicated to proper education would not provide such insight. 2. â€Å"So I find this fellow's civilities begin to grow troublesome. But who can be angry at those assiduities which are meant to please him! † Hastings, about Hardcastle, Act II, p. 8 Hastings speaks this to himself about Hardcastle, whom Hastings still thinks is the landlord. Hardcastle's attempts to speak with Hastings and Marlow are annoying the latter two. To some extent, the quote is a great indication of the dramatic irony that gives most of the weight to the play's comedy. However, it also touches on the confusion of class, be havior, and expectation that is central to the play's themes. What Hastings asks could be argued to be true of all aristocratic folk who are particular and picky about what is â€Å"acceptable† to their standard of living.Goldsmith suggests a view of humanity that is far more complex, contradictory, and nuanced, and finds amusing and absurd the nature of humankind that leads high-class folk to look down upon the fun part of life that is meant to please them. 3. â€Å"Pardon me madam. I was always willing to be amused. The folly of most people is rather an object of mirth than uneasiness. † Marlow, to Kate, Act II, pg. 20 Marlow speaks this in his first meeting with Kate, the conversation in which he cannot look her in the eye.This quote is very much a statement of Goldsmith's perspective on the world, and a defense of his purpose in vaulting â€Å"laughing comedy† above â€Å"sentimental comedy. † Part of what both defines Goldsmith's perspective and mark s Kate as the heroine is the ability to laugh at folly, rather than judging harshly a person's lapse from virtue. 4. â€Å"True madam; those who have most virtue in their mouths, have least of it in their bosom. † Marlow to Kate, Act II, pg. 22 Marlow speaks this in his first meeting with Kate, the conversation in which he cannot look her in the eye.It is a straightforward yet profound declaration about the hypocrisy and contradictions of people. While Goldsmith finds these contradictions and the absurdity engendered by them amusing (consider Marlow's different behaviors and how so much comedy comes from them), he equally finds the hypocrisy of sanctimony unattractive. It is this sanctimony that offends him about sentimental comedy, and which also infects his â€Å"high†' characters. The truth is that Marlow and Hastings love pub food over more refined fare, or that Mrs. Hardcastle's virtue hides greed for her son. . â€Å"It's very odd, I can read the outside of my l etters, where my own name is, well enough. But when I come to open it, it's all – buzz. That's hard, very hard; for the inside of the letter is always the cream of the correspondence. † Tony, about the letter that's arrived from Hastings, Act IV, pg. 45 Tony cannot read the letter that arrives from Hastings (bearing the news that Hastings is waiting for him in the garden). However, this quote produces a great symbol for one the play's themes: the absurd contradictions that truly define people.Where high-minded folks (and the sentimental comedy Goldsmith believes they prefer) tries to praise their superficial virtue, he believes that people deep down are actually full of contradictions and attractions to more â€Å"low† interests. In the same way that the outside of the letter is recognizable and suggests an easy identity, while the inside is more complicated and harder to read, so it is that the characters in Goldsmith's play are recognizable comic types at first but far more complex when investigated. 6. â€Å"Ha, ha, ha, I understand; you took them in a round, while they supposed themselves going forward.And so you have at last brought them home again. † Hasting, to Tony, Act V, pg. 53 Literally, the quote concerns the way Tony drove Mrs. Hardcastle and Constance around haphazardly so that they wouldn't be too far from the Hardcastle home. However, it is a great symbol for the structure of the play as well. At the beginning, everyone's goal is clear: Marlow and Kate are meeting to judge each other as potential mates; Hastings wants to see his beloved; and the parents are interested in securing favorable matches for their children.The one exception is Tony, whose conception of life is that fun and liveliness are the guiding principles. However, Goldsmith wishes us to see that such a philosophy is more than just hedonism, but rather can lead to greater happiness and truth. Because of Tony's tricks (the biggest of which is that which he plays on Marlow and Hastings), everyone has a crazy night of mistakes but ends up â€Å"home† again, grounded and happier than they otherwise would have been. 7. â€Å"Prudence once more comes to my relief, and I will obey its dictates. In the moment of passion, fortune may be despised, but it ever produces a lasting repentance.I'm resolved to apply to Mr. Hardcastle's compassion and justice for redress. † Constance, to Hastings, Act V, pg. 56 In Constance's idea of how she and her beloved should proceed, we get a glimpse of the pragmatism that keeps Goldsmith's play from ever veering into cliche sentimental territory even if the ending is somewhat a conventional â€Å"happy ending. † The truth is that, while in plays and entertainments lovers will happily choose one another at the expense of money, Goldsmith wishes us to see that in real life, fortune cannot be so easily written off for those who lack sufficient income.Constance cannot run off into the sunse t with Hastings – life requires money – and so she must apply to Hardcastle for help. It's a pragmatic truth that colors and deepens the play. 8. â€Å"I have lived, indeed, in the world, madam; but I have kept little company. I have been but an observer upon life, madam, while others were enjoying it. † Marlow, to Kate, Act II, pg. 20 Marlow speaks this in his first meeting with Kate, the conversation in which he cannot look her in the eye.Though Marlow is stammering, he touches upon one of the central questions of the play: whether it is better to stay removed from life, judging it, or to live in all of its complexity and absurdity? Obviously, Goldsmith answers with the latter option, though his full response values moderation more than a simple choice. The best option is to live life but also to be able to judge and laugh at it. Kate is able to do this because she appreciates both the country and the city way of life, whereas most other characters pay for vee ring too strongly in one or the other direction. . â€Å"Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no fibs. I procured them by the rule of thumb. If I had not a key to every drawer in mother's bureau, how could I go to the alehouse so often as I do? An honest man may rob himself of his own at any time. † Tony, to Hastings, Act III, pg. 29 Literally, Tony is explaining to Hastings how he was able to steal the jewels he passes on to them. But this quote further illustrates his philosophy of life, which espouses a more complex idea of virtue and vice than that assumed by the high-class characters.For Tony, a man is allowed to â€Å"rob himself,† which could mean more than just taking money or jewels, but also engaging in baseness for oneself (such as he does at the alehouse). In fact, to engage in our baser nature is not only acceptable but preferable since it acknowledges a truth of who we are. He would not go so far as to harm or â€Å"rob† others, as he says, meani ng he engages in such behavior not to harm anyone else, but just to enjoy his own life. Many of the characters play around with this theme, in coming towards their acceptance of their real human, base natures.Tony stands as the central proponent of this philosophy. 10. â€Å"Pshaw, pshaw! This is all but the whining end of a modern novel. † Mrs. Hardcastle, Act V, p. 59 Mrs. Hardcastle snidely makes this observation as both couples are arranging their happiness in the play's final moments. It is a useful observation to consider, since it also serves as a bit of commentary on the play itself, perhaps sculpted by Goldsmith to provide awareness that his play is veering into the very territory he professed it would eschew: that of the sentimental comedy that praises virtue rather than mocking folly.Whether or not his play is guilty of the trespasses it seeks to condemn is open to interpretation, but the fact that Goldsmith is deliberately confronting these questions of how to cra ft an entertaining, satisfying work while trying not to undercut his message and theme is undeniable, as this quote shows. He is aware that the end could be construed that way, and is attempting to address it. Having this complaint come from the least discerning character in the play shows that Goldsmith might believe a more discerning audience would see his ending is not quite so sentimental. She Stoops to Conquer is a master piece in using dramatic irony . Explain? The play is a masterpiece of dramatic irony, which is a device where the audience has information and knowledge that the characters do not. From the moment Tony plays the practical joke on Marlow and Hastings, the audience learns secrets that will grow more complicated and hence create confusion that leads to hilarious situations. The best example is perhaps the way Marlow and Hastings treat Hardcastle, because they think him a landlord.Because we understand the details of the confusions, we understand the jokes whereas the characters only grow more offended. However, the behavior wrought by the dramatic irony reveals much of Goldsmith's view on humanity and class. The same example listed above is funny, but also shows the cruelty that comes from a rich man's entitlement. Throughout the play, much of the class commentary derives from the behaviors people show when they don’t' realize they are being judged. Kate exploits this to try and find out what kind of person Marlow actually is. 2. discuss humor in she stoops to conquer The second play of Goldsmith ‘She Stoops to Conquer' was produced in 1771. This play marks a departure from the first play and practically introduces the reign of humour in comedy. The entire play with its fun and humour, its intrigues and sparkling dialogues, its mischievous tricks and roguish attempts by Tony Lumpkin deals a direct blow on the sentimental comedy. A piquant observation, elements of ingenious and new realism, a welling froth of pleasantry that nev er dries up, bathe even the rare movements when emotion could rise all go to make this charming comedy an unalloyed source of amusement.The principal characters of this comedy are Mr. Hardcastle who loves everything that is old; old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine etc. Mrs Hardcastle and Miss Hardcastle their daughter; Mrs Hardcastle’s son by a former marriage, Tony Lumpkin, a frequenter of ‘The Three Pigeons’, idle and ignorant, but cunning and mischievous, and doted on by his mother; and young Marlow, one of the most bashful and reserved young fellows in the world except with barmaids and servant-girls.Marlow’s father, Sir Charles Marlow has proposed a match between young Marlow and Miss Hardcastle and the young man and his friend, Hastings accordingly travel down to pay the Hardcastles a visit. Losing their way they arrive at night at ‘The Three Pigeons’, where Tony Lumpkin decides to play a prank on them. He directs th em to a neighbouring inn, which is in reality the Hardcastle’s House. The fun of the play arises largely from the resulting misunderstanding, Marlow treating Mr Harcastle as the Landlord of the supposed inn and making violent love to Miss Hardcastle, whom he takes for on of his servants.This contrasts with his bashful attitude when presented to her in real character. The arrival of Sir Charles Marlow clears up the misconception and all ends well, including the subsidiary love affair between Hastings and Miss Hardcastle’s cousin, Miss Neville, whom Mrs Harcastle destines for Tony Lumpkin. The play is a charming one in which the rough edges of the world are ground smooth, in which faults turn out to be virtues and mistakes to be blessings. Its characters are particularly delightful. Tony Lumpkin is a genuine child of the soil and is said to be a monitor.Tony Lumpkin is loved by the readers of the comedy for his pleasant fun and nice jokes. Mr Hardcastle is another charac ter whom we all like because he loves everything that is old. Mrs Hardcastle who appears more like a sentimental mother becomes pathetic because of the way in which she is treated by her son, Tony Lumpkin. Young Marlow and Miss Hardcastle come out as fine lovers and this pair of lovers is well matched by Hastings and Miss Hardcastle’s cousin. In ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ Goldsmith succeeds in introducing the humour of the finest type.The plot also is well-knitted and the characters have everything of comedy about them. The old mawkish sentimentality is driven out and sense of pathos is supplanted by mirth and delight. Tony’s treatment of his mother, particularly when he drives her round and round the house, would have been extremely pathetic. Goldsmith drives out pathos from the scene and makes it truly comic. Thus everywhere in ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ Goldsmith introduces the qualities of a true comedy. 3. She stoops to conquer is a comedy of m anners. DiscussThough it is only explicitly referred to in the prologue, an understanding of Goldsmith's play in context shows his desire to reintroduce his audience to the â€Å"laughing comedy† that derived from a long history of comedy that mocks human vice. This type of comedy stands in contrast to the then-popular â€Å"sentimental comedy† that praised virtues and reinforced bourgeois mentality. Understanding Goldsmith's love of the former helps to clarify several elements of the play: the low scene in the Three Pigeons; the mockery of baseness in even the most high-bred characters; and the celebration of absurdity as a fact of human life. . Compare between Marlow and Hasting? Marlow is a shy young man, who has a hard time communicating with ladies. He's a gentleman and considered to be honorable, but when put to the task of proposing to a young woman of quality†¦.. he becomes tongue tied and unable to speak. Note†¦.. he has no trouble speaking to those he believes are not up to his own standards. Hasting, on the other hand, is a confidant and well-spoken young man, no matter who he speaks with. He could charm just about any woman of any class†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. he might want to give marlow some lessons. Major ThemesClass While the play is not explicitly a tract on class, the theme is central to it. The decisions the characters make and their perspectives on one another, are all largely based on what class they are a part of. Where Tony openly loves low-class people like the drunks in the Three Pigeons, Marlow must hide his love of low-class women from his father and â€Å"society. † His dynamic relationship with Kate (and the way he treats her) is defined by who he thinks she is at the time – from high-class Kate to a poor barmaid to a woman from good family but with no fortune.Hastings’ and Marlow’s reaction to Hardcastle is also a great example of the importance of class—they find him impudent and absurd, because they believe him to be of low class, but his behavior would be perfectly reasonable and expected from a member of the upper class, as he truly is. Money One of the factors that keeps the play pragmatic even when it veers close to contrivance and sentiment is the unavoidable importance of money. While some of the characters, like Marlow and Hardcastle, are mostly unconcerned with questions of money, there are several characters whose lives are largely defined by a lack of access to it.Constance cannot run away with Hastings because she worries about a life without her inheritance. When Marlow thinks Kate is a poor relation of the Hardcastles, he cannot get himself to propose because of her lack of dowry. And Tony seems to live a life unconcerned with wealth, although the implicit truth is that his dalliances are facilitated by having access to wealth. Behavior/Appearance One of the elements Goldsmith most skewers in his play's satirical moments is the aristocratic emp hasis on behavior as a gauge of character.Even though we today believe that one's behavior – in terms of â€Å"low† versus â€Å"high† class behavior – does not necessarily indicate who someone is, many characters in the play are often blinded to a character's behavior because of an assumption. For instance, Marlow and Hastings treat Hardcastle cruelly because they think him the landlord of an inn, and are confused by his behavior, which seems forward. The same behavior would have seemed appropriately high-class if they hadn't been fooled by Tony.Throughout the play, characters (especially Marlow) assume they understand someone's behavior when what truly guides them is their assumption of the other character's class. Moderation Throughout the play runs a conflict between the refined attitudes of town and the simple behaviors of the country. The importance of this theme is underscored by the fact that it is the crux of the opening disagreement between Hard castle and his wife. Where country characters like Hardcastle see town manners as pretentious, town characters like Marlow see country manners as bumpkinish.The best course of action is proposed through Kate, who is praised by Marlow as having a â€Å"refined simplicity. † Having lived in town, she is able to appreciate the values of both sides of life and can find happiness in appreciating the contradictions that exist between them. Contradiction Most characters in the play want others to be simple to understand. This in many ways mirrors the expectations of an audience that Goldsmith wishes to mock. Where his characters are initially presented as comic types, he spends time throughout the play complicating them all by showing their contradictions.Most clear are the contradictions within Marlow, who is both refined and base. The final happy ending comes when the two oldest men – Hardcastle and Sir Charles – decide to accept the contradictions in their children. In a sense, this theme helps to understand Goldsmith's purpose in the play, reminding us that all people are worthy of being mocked because of their silly, base natures, and no one is above reproach. Comedy Though it is only explicitly referred to in the prologue, an understanding ofGoldsmith's play in context shows his desire to reintroduce his audience to the â€Å"laughing comedy† that derived from a long history of comedy that mocks human vice. This type of comedy stands in contrast to the then-popular â€Å"sentimental comedy† that praised virtues and reinforced bourgeois mentality. Understanding Goldsmith's love of the former helps to clarify several elements of the play: the low scene in the Three Pigeons; the mockery of baseness in even the most high-bred characters; and the celebration of absurdity as a fact of human life. Deceit/Trickery Much of this play's comedy comes from the trickery played by various characters.The most important deceits come from Tony, including his lie about Hardcastle's home and his scheme of driving his mother and Constance around in circles. However, deceit also touches to the center of the play's more major themes. In a sense, the only reason anyone learns anything about their deep assumptions about class and behavior is because they are duped into seeing characters in different ways. This truth is most clear with Marlow and his shifting perspective on Kate, but it also is true for the Hardcastles and Sir Charles, who are able to see the contradictions in others because of what trickery engenders.