Let's go to study!!
My study desk by the library
My notebooks and textbooks
After studying, let's go for a walk!!
Oh, here's a Japanese restaurant!! "ICHIBAN" means "Number 1!" This restaurant is near my apartment.
My supper
I like making macaroni salad.
The river near my university
To my surprise, there is a cicada in Milwaukee in summer.
At the front door of a house near my school
In the park near my school(they call it "Lake Park"), there is a golf course. We can play golf at $ 6.00(for standard). It is about 720 yen. ($1=120 yen.) For junior and senior, its cost is $3.50. This is, what is called, a discriminating price.
Small lecture on economics; In economics, discriminating prices is a kind of monopolistic pricing. This pricing is not from their warmth but their profit motive; They could make more money(or in other words they could maximize their own surplus) if they priced separately than if they priced equally. Monopolists face a downward-sloping demand curve and negligible marginal cost: They have a power to control their price in the market and it costs very litte for them to make another unit of their products.
Homework1; Find another examples of price discrimination in your life.
Americans seem to like playing golf as well as the Japanese. And it is much cheaper to play golf here than in Japan. I am jealous of Americans for playing cheaper golf!! Economics view; The reason for cheaper golf is, I think, due to the difference of valuation on golf between the people here and the Japanese. In Japan we have fewer amusements for adults than Americans have; The Japanese have fewer choices to play for adult amusement. In contrast they have more choices. Except for golf they can enjoy fishing, yacht, driving, jogging and walking in a rich natural environment here. Therefore playing golf is valued relatively lower here than in Japan. In sum, due to richer nature and more amusements in a natural environment, playing golf is much cheaper here than in Japan.
Homework2; Find another explanation for cheaper golf here.
At the lakeside
A nice date spot!!
Shells
The Lake Michigan looks like sea.
A really nice date spot!!
The lake really looks like sea.
A big tree
Many trees in the park. I like to take a nap here.
A church near the lake.
Starbucks. It's an originally American, but now a global company.
On the way to shopping
My breakfast
Oh, nice!!! Soy saurce!
4 comments:
Well, my last day at home. I am missing my family now though I am still at home!
Ah, it seems that life is not easy for you in your new school. Food is the first problem! That is true! From the photos you show me I could only say they are really not so good, not only for health, but also in taste. Food in American must be quite different from that in Japan, right? Some of their foods are really junk food! And, if I were you, there would another problem, the price! In my opinion, the price of food in USA may be cheaper than that in Japan, it's much higher than that in China, even in Beijing! Using the current exchange rate to change the price into CNY, the cost of food every day for me will be 6 times 3 times 7.5, namely 135 CNY, which is about 5 times that in PKU, a price that I've already thought high. So I can imagine a tough life for me in USA the time I go there for study. It's really a problem for me to considerate.
How about the price for renting a house there? And how much is your budget per month in your school living in such a life standard like yours?
By the way, I don't agree with your explanations on why golf in cheaper in USA than in Japan. If that is the reason, how would you explain why food is cheaper in China, since it is much more abundant in food in Japan and USA than in China!
Dear frostfire,
Thank you for your good point.
Yes, my life in Milwaukee is not easy for me. The food in American is very different from that in Japan. And as you said, many of their foods are greasy. They're really junk food! And, to be honest, I am also worried about the price of food.
Regarding the difference of the prices of food between in USA and in China, we must consider the problem on exchange rate. But if you decided to go to study in the US, I think you would get a scholarship from the US school because you write English very well and you are smart. Don't worry about yourself in the US.
The price for renting a house there is not different from that in Japan, I guess.
And let me explain why food is cheaper in China. As you said, it is much more abundant in food in Japan and the US than in China. But the prices of the food in Japan and the US are generally not lower than in China.
There are two reasons for that; One is a macroeconomic reason(on exchange rate). The other is a microeconomic reason(on governmental regulations).
First, one is related to the exchange rate between China and the US and Japan. The prices in China are much lower than in Japan and the US. This is because the currency circulated in China is evaluated relatively lower in the international exchange market than those in Japan and in the US.(In other words, Chinese products are evaluated reatively lower in the international market than the products made in Japan and in the US.) So the prices in China are lower. However China has become "a factory of the world" and the biggest exporter in the world. They made much money! At the same time, many Chinese began to buy many things from many other countries, especially Japan and the US. China also became the biggest importer. They paid much money. But now China has a large trade surplus. What is the meaning? China has made more money that it has paid. This is the reason that Chinese currency is appreciated. It is because many people in the world buy Chinese products.
The other reason for cheaper food in China is some govermental regulations on food in the market, but I don't know well. I hear Chinese government tries to keep the prices of food low.
Anyway we can say that one of the reasons for cheaper food in China is a relatively lower international evaluation on food in China.
Thanks dear Taro for your patient explanation. It is true that China is nowadays running a big trade surplus. And the implication is that Chinese products are relatively cheaper than Japan and USA. As a result, CNY is now appreciating. However, I shall point out that it is not suffient to answer this question. In fact, China's surplus recent years is in a large part caused by Japan, for Japan transmited a big amount of manufacture to China (and also other part of Asia) owing to its own advancement and adjustment of its manufacture. And this part of manufacture was the main cause of huge trade surplus of Japan in 1990s, which even made some frictions between the US and Japan.
Secondly, I think industry such as food production is very limited involved in international trade, so its price level will be insubstantially influenced by the international market. Even if I were to concede that international trade does play a role, it's far from enough. It's not reasonable to judge that CNY is THAT underestimated that the price level can be in such a large difference as 7 times with the USA and a even larger difference with Japan!
Dear frostfire,
You know very well about the present issues on the world economy.
As you said, China's surplus recent years is in a large part caused by Japan, for Japan transmited a big amount of manufacture to China.
One country's trade surplus may be one of the causes of appreciating its own currency. As a result, CNY is now appreciating.
This is an important question, the industry such as food production is certainly very limited to international trade, as you said. But it is not right to say that the food industry in China is not important in the international market. The food industry in China is still important. So the price level of the food will be substantially influenced by the change of international market.
And so the prices of the food in China are going up as the wage rate of the farmers and the CNY appreciate. In the long run, the demand on the food in China is being increased due to increasing population and livestock.
Anyway I need to do more research on the food in China. We can think of other reasons for cheaper food in China.
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