الإنتاجية والاقتصاد القومي

Economic Planning

• Economic planning is a set of predefined and published documents, while a plan refers to the planning process itself.
• Planning is based on the philosophy of freedom, while the market system is based on the philosophy of intervention.
• Comprehensive plans, such as agricultural plans or parts of them, exist.
• A comprehensive plan encompasses one economic sector to achieve balanced national economic growth.
• Developing a plan requires only two steps: assessing national capabilities and identifying national goals.
• The Harrod-Domar model can be expressed as: M = Y / (S * (K / Y))
• In the Harrod-Domar model, M = national income, S = national savings, A = economic growth rate, K/Y = capital-output ratio.
• According to the Harrod-Domar model, the growth rate can be increased in two ways: reducing the savings rate relative to income or increasing the capital-output ratio.
• Monopoly refers to centralized control of businesses and the application of economic management by a small number of individuals.
• Government measures to combat depressions include income redistribution and reducing consumption rates for working groups.
• Private sector investment can be increased by raising taxes and interest rates.
• Measures to curb depressions include reducing consumption and limiting private investment.
• Raising new investment rates can be achieved by increasing interest rates and imposing high taxes on new investments.
• Structural planning involves profound and long-term changes in the national economic structure.
• Regional planning involves applying centralized control to the economies of regions and territories that are part of a country.
• Comprehensive economic and social planning aims to control and guide economic activity and all social components and resources.
• Remedial planning is the government's attempt to correct harmful economic trends.
• Planning and control are difficult for complex industrial organizations due to the complexity and interconnectedness of economic activities and systems.
• World War II disrupted the prevailing social order and caused a large number of countries to break away from the capitalist bloc.
• Expanding the area served by public financing expands the area subject to centralized planning and control.

Medium-Term Planning

• A medium-term plan lasts for five or seven years and is the most common and widespread type.
• An annual plan divides the medium-term plan into phases, typically one year each, to achieve goals in stages.
• According to the Harrod-Domar model, the savings rate and the inverse of the capital-output ratio are the factors that determine the growth rate.
• A plan is a set of binding decisions outlining the assessment of national capabilities and goals over a future period; it is not a final accounting.

Long-Term Planning

• A long-term plan lasts between ten and twenty years; its focus is on defining general national goals.

Other Economic Concepts

• Dr. Rafat al-Muhajoub's criteria for investment prioritization in development plans:
  • Project's contribution to national income.
  • Project's contribution to productive capacity in capital industries.
  • Expected profit margin as a criterion for feasibility.
  • Project's contribution to job creation.
  • Project's use of other local production factors.
  • Project's domestic financing needs.
  • Project's foreign currency requirements.
  • Project's foreign currency generation.
• Monopoly: Centralized control of businesses and economic management by a small group of individuals driving projects based on their own interests, leading to the deprivation and starvation of a large part of the population.
• Results of World War II on the spread of economic planning:
  • Warring nations prioritized production and consumption management.
  • Destruction of production facilities in several warring European countries.
  • Disruption of the prevailing social order and the separation of many countries from the capitalist bloc.
• Anti-inflationary measures:
  • Reduced consumption.
  • Reduced private investment.
  • Reduced government spending.
• Methods for increasing the investment rate:
  • Increasing interest rates.
  • Imposing high taxes on new investments.
• Characteristics of agriculture in developed and developing countries:
  • Developing countries:
    • Use of rudimentary methods.
    • Increased agricultural labor.
    • Low agricultural output.
  • Developed countries:
    • Use of advanced agricultural techniques.
    • Use of agricultural machinery.
    • Increased agricultural output.
    • Increased production costs.
• Considerations for directing agricultural policy:
  • Class differences between agriculture and other economic sectors.
  • Potential for conflicts between the goals of agricultural populations and societal goals.
  • Significant susceptibility of agricultural output to the law of diminishing physical returns.
  • Increased fixed capital in agriculture.
  • Strong dependence on environmental and biological conditions.
  • Financial limitations experienced by most agricultural workers.
  • Relatively higher transportation costs for many agricultural products.
  • Limited mobility of agricultural workers, hindering their transition to other professions.
  • Lack of awareness among many agricultural workers.
  • Difficulty in forming agricultural unions to confront powerful monopolies.
• Factors affecting demand for agricultural output:
  • Population growth.
  • Income levels.
  • Consumption patterns.
• General objectives of agricultural policy:
  • Increased efficiency:
    • Production efficiency: Using fewer inputs to produce a greater output.
    • Economic efficiency: Ensuring maximum profit from agricultural production.
  • Increased and stable farm income.
• Specific agricultural policy objectives that may suit a particular society but not another:
  • Expanding wheat production.
  • Improving agricultural marketing.
  • Adopting vertical farming methods.
  • Enhancing agricultural transportation.
  • Improving agricultural production inputs.
• Methods for achieving agricultural policy objectives:
  • Directly influencing prices via price controls.
  • Indirectly influencing prices through:
    • Limiting the area planted for certain crops.
    • Imposing taxes to increase production costs and prices.
    • Providing subsidies to decrease production costs and prices.
    • Controlling import/export volumes for certain goods.
    • Managing domestic consumption levels for key goods.
    • Competition with the private sector in certain markets.
    • Controlling agricultural financial markets.
• Characteristics of agricultural policy under Muhammad Ali's rule:
  • Direction and control.
  • Diversification of production.
• Principles underpinning Egyptian agricultural policy after the 1952 revolution:
  • Self-sufficiency.
  • Justice.
• Considerations for vertical agricultural expansion:
  • Limited arable land available.
  • High capital investments compared to horizontal expansion.
  • Prevalence with technological advancements.
• Problems with horizontal agricultural expansion:
  • Substantial investment requirements.
  • High interest rates on loans.
  • Low return on invested capital.
  • Prolonged economic maturation period.
  • Insufficient labor for reclaimed lands.
  • Water resources scarcity.
  • Poor transportation infrastructure.
• Rationales for horizontal agricultural expansion:
  • Preventing the decrease in per capita arable land.
  • Limiting agricultural cycles.
  • Raising individual income levels.
  • Redistributing land ownership.
  • Achieving high levels of food self-sufficiency.
  • Encouraging exports.
• Reasons for variations in price elasticity of demand for the same goods:
  • Variations in population.
  • Variations in real income.
  • Variations in environmental conditions.
  • Variations in customs and traditions.
  • Variations in substitute goods.
• Reasons for difficulty in transferring agricultural labor to other sectors:
  • Low skill levels.
  • Limited education levels.
  • Attachment to customs and traditions.
• Graphical analysis of price elasticity of demand under varying demand conditions: -Demand curve shifts completely from point 1 to point 2. -Elasticity of demand at point 2 is higher than at point 1.
• Graphical analysis of price elasticity of demand under varying supply conditions: -Supply curve shifts completely from point S1 to S2. -Elasticity of demand at point 1 is higher than at point 2.
• Graphical analysis of price elasticity of demand under varying market conditions: -Demand curves intersect at equilibrium point 1. -Demand curve shifts to point 2, with a change in market conditions; elasticity of demand for the market at point 2 is higher than at point 1.
• Constant output fluctuations occur when the elasticity of demand equals the elasticity of supply.
• Convergent output fluctuations occur when the elasticity of demand exceeds the elasticity of supply.
• Divergent output fluctuations occur when the elasticity of supply exceeds the elasticity of demand.
• Effects of a production tax when the elasticity of demand equals the elasticity of supply: -The production and consumer share the tax equally.
• Effects of a production tax when the elasticity of demand exceeds the elasticity of supply: -The producer bears the larger portion of the tax.
• Effects of a production tax when the elasticity of demand is less than the elasticity of supply: -The consumer bears the larger portion of the tax.
• Effects of a production subsidy when the elasticity of demand equals the elasticity of supply: -Both the producer and consumer share the subsidy equally.
• Effects of a production subsidy when the elasticity of demand exceeds the elasticity of supply: -The producer receives the greater proportion of the subsidy.
• Effects of a production subsidy when the elasticity of demand is less than the elasticity of supply: -The consumer receives the greater proportion of the subsidy.
• Effects of price increases on agricultural output: Increased prices lead to increased production.
• Effects of price decreases on agricultural output: Decreased prices do not impact production significantly.
• Achieving maximum production efficiency of input factors: -Occurs at the end of the first stage, when average production reaches its peak. -Price isn't considered in calculation.
• Achieving maximum economic efficiency of input factors:
  • Occurs during the second stage.
  • Price is considered in calculation.
• Effects of imposing a controlled price on a specific commodity: -Creates a new market (black market). -Price in the black market can be lower, equal to, or higher than the controlled price.