Country Profile Part Five: Scotland Transportation

Water Transportation
Because Scotland is made up of many islands, travel by water is very important to the country. There are many ferry companies that connect the mainland and the many islands of Scotland. Major seaports in Scotland are located in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Cairnryan, Caithness, Gleneig, Gourock, Kilchoan, Mallaig, Oban, Scrabster, Troon and Ullapool.

Land Transportation
Scotland's rail network consists of 350 railroad stations with 2776 kilometers of track. More than 78.3 million passenger journeys are made on Scotland's railway network each year. More travelers in Scotland are turning to train travel due to the increases in gas prices and the congested roadways. Freight trains are used often in Scotland for the transportation of goods as it produces only 10% of the emission produced by road based transport, in addition to being safe and competitive. Below is a map of the main railroad routes in Scotland.

Scotland's road network is highly developed. There are six main motorways in the country with three main trunk roads connecting the motorways to other parts of Scotland. Below is an image of the road network in Scotland showing the motorways in blue and the trunk roads in green.

Air Transportation
Scotland has four international airports. The Edinburgh Airport is Scotland's busiest airport, it is beginning to service longer flights. The Glasgow International Airport, Aberdeen Airport, and Glasgow Prestwick International Airport are Scotland's three other international airports. Combined the four airports serve 107 international destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.

There are ten small airports that service the Highlands, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, mostly used for short flights and operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.

Below is an image of all the airports in Scotland. The international airports are shown in red.

Country Profile Part Four: Scotland Internationally

International Trade
EXPORTS: The five sectors that account for almost two thirds of Scotland's total exports include food and beverages, chemicals, business services, Electronics and instrument engineering, and mechanical engineering. As far as food and beverages are concerned, Scotland exports 36 bottles of whiskey every second, salmon to 60 countries every year, and beef and lamb to chefs all over the world. Other important exports include textiles, oil, gas and fuel-based equipment and renewable energy equipment and technology. Scotland's top export markets are the U.S., Netherlands, France and Germany. Growing export markets include Australia, China, India, Japan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
IMPORTS: It was more difficult to find information on Scotland's imports. It seems the country's major imports include polyester, cows, electronics, paper, and cars. Cows may be imported into the country to produce beef, which is a major export of Scotland.

Exchange Rate
Scotland's currency is the British Pound Sterling, used by all of the U.K., British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories. Currently 1 Pound Sterling is equal to 1.55 USD. The pound sterling has hover around 1.60 USD for the last couple years after it reached almost 2 USD in 2008.

Immigration and Emigration
After the destruction of the clan system in 1746, there was a lot of emigration from Scotland in the 18th century. In the 19th century many Scots immigrated to Canada and the United States. Since the early 2000 more people from the elsewhere in the U.K. have moved to Scotland than Scots moving to elsewhere in the U.K. Scotland also recently switched from having a negative net migration to a positive net migration as indicated by the graph below.

Relations with Other Countries
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. The U.K. is part of the European Union, the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are allied with many European nations, like France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Also, other English speaking countries, like Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. The U.K. is involved in many peace-keeping operations around the world, as well as combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Scottish News #2

I read the article "Internet advertising up by 12.5%" in the Scottish magazine called The Scotsman, the article can be found HERE.

This article states that advertising spending on the internet increased by 12.5% in Britain in 2012. It states that this increase is because consumers are spending more time on smartphones and tablets. The total amount of pounds spent on advertising in 2012 was 5.42 billion.

This increase in internet advertising shows how markets can be adaptive to new technologies. These technologies allow them to grow and improve. With internet advertising, relevant ads can reach the consumer while they are surfing the internet. It also shows how the market is adapting to consumers preferences for spending time on smartphones and tablets. Advertisers are able to see where there advertisements will be seen the most and change there advertising mix to incorporate more online types of ads. If it is true that more people are spending time online, than these ads will reach more people.

The higher demand for internet advertisements is likely to increase the price and quantity of these types of ads. Because this is a substitute of other types of advertisements, the demand for these ads is likely to decrease causing the price and quantity of other types of ads to decrease too.

This increase in internet advertising indicates that the U.K. is utilizing new technologies. The markets in the U.K. are adjusting to find faster ways for advertisements to reach people. Business are able to adapt to consumer behavior and create a way to benefit from it. Some problems could arise from this shift. One problem is that with internet advertisements becoming more prevalent, consumers might be more likely to ignore them. Consumers may also become annoyed with these ads. The increased price of internet advertisements, may price some smaller business out of this market. Larger business and companies will benefit from this decrease in competition. Though the increase in internet advertisements may cause some problems to arise, it show that the U.K. has a market that can adapt and change to become more efficient.

Reinventing the Bazaar: Chapter 4

This is a response to chapter four, "Information Wants to be Free," in the book, Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets by John McMillan.

In the reading I found the following quote very interesting:

"The mere existence of choice does not in itself ensure that the market operates competitively. For there to be effective competition, buyers must be able to easily compare the choices... Information is the lifeblood of markets. Knowledge of what is available where, and who wants it is crucial. A market works badly if information does not flow through it."

Consumers being able to choose is a significant factor in defining price. Because a consumer can choose another seller, prices are competitive. In some markets the ability to choose another seller does not create a competitive market. I thought this quote was interesting because it shows how when sellers are able to withhold information from buyers, it is often to the sellers advantage. This is interesting in relation to tourists purchasing items in the Marrakech bazaar in Morocco. The tourists cannot easily find out where the cheapest priced items are and to search extensively for where these items are would be just as costly as buying the item from the first or second seller they encounter. Information about where the cheapest priced goods are located is not available in this market, allowing the sellers to have greater control over the price. The second part of the quote talks about how information and knowledge are so important to a successful market. With freer information, buyers are able to locate the goods and prices that best suit their needs, it is also to the sellers advantage to be located by these consumers. The greater the information available the more competitive and effective a market is.

The author talks quite a bit about transaction costs in this chapter. I understood transaction costs to be the costs associated with purchasing a good. This would not include the actual cost of the good, but things like time it took to compare the good to other goods and assessing the quality of goods. McMillan talks about how on the internet the cost of comparing the prices of the same or similar goods is very easy, making this transaction cost zero. In contrast to this he talks about how the internet makes it more difficult to ensure the quality of goods. The transaction cost of ensuring quality may be higher if a buyer wants to investigate buying from smaller online businesses. Internet consumers often reduce this transaction cost by buying from brands they know and trust to be of good quality.

With perfect information in a marketplace, all people in the marketplace know all the information about everything. But perfect information rarely is completely available in a marketplace, so let's consider the effects of imperfect information. Consumers would be greatly affected by imperfect information. If they are unable to easily compare prices, they will likely end up paying a higher price than necessary. They also are unable to ensure the quality of the goods they purchase, and may not be trusting of sellers. This mistrust is a disadvantage for the seller because buyers will be less willing to purchase goods, particularly from sellers they are unfamiliar with. The seller do have an advantage in that they can produce goods of worse quality than competitors and the buyer has no way of knowing this. They also have more control over the price because consumers have difficulty comparing prices. Though the sellers come out on top in some ways when information is imperfect, overall the market will be less successful, with fewer transactions occurring and many people unable to trust from whom they purchase.

A Fez with a Heart Response

A response to A Fez of the Heart: Travels around Turkey in Search of a Hat, by Jeremy Seal

One of my favorite passages from this reading is about how life changed so quickly in the city of Pomegranate. It talks about Halil, a successful hotel owner and son of a farmer.

"Halil know that there never were, nor will be, such differences in Pomegranate livelihood and lifestyle as existed between him and his father and their respective generations. There is a yawning gulf between their lives that cannot be closed, only recognized."

I found it interesting how quickly life can change for an entire city. Pomegranate was a simpler farming town, and then suddenly became a bustling tourist destination. Halil keeps all his father's tools on display in his hotel as well as pictures and even a pair of his pants. The reading mentions how mens tools became museum pieces before those who used them had died. I feel that this gap may often happen in towns and cities where there is beautiful scenery and interesting culture and tradition. Tourists want to visit to see these things, but eventually the real culture is lost and it is all geared toward pleasing the tourists.

Halil's display of his father's old things is likely good for his business. It gives his hotel a unique glance into the past of the town, which tourists will be eager to see. We also saw an increase in the number of places for tourists to stay; beginning at just twenty-five and growing to now be anywhere between twenty to a hundred thousand. This shows how a market will adapt. The people of Pomegranate realized money could be made in creating lodgings for tourists, making hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions increase. These tourists wanted to see the charming culture of Pomegranate and this was an emphasis the people of Pomegranate pushed.

In Scotland I see this happening as well. Loch Ness is a popular tourist destination in Scotland because of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. This legend is part of the culture of Scotland, but has now been turned into an object to attract tourists. Another thing that attracts tourists to Scotland are the many castles and ruins. These give insight into the past of Scotland, but have no real use today. They are kept because they are important to the history of Scotland, but they also give Scotland a unique historical aspect that draws tourists. Scottish culture is fairly well known, kilts, bagpipes, haggis, but this is not Scottish culture in its entirety. Those are just little traditions that make Scotland interesting to tourists. Though they do have some real use in Scotland, this use is engulfed in all of Scottish culture today. As tourists pick out their favorite bits of Scottish culture, they are unable to understand the country's culture as a whole.

Country Profile Part Three: Scotland Tourism

Importance of Tourism
The history, culture and scenery of Scotland make the country a popular tourist destination. Tourism in Scotland creates about 200,000 jobs in the service sector. Tourists spend an average of 4 billion pounds per year. Though most tourists are from other parts of the U.K., most common oversea tourists include the U.S., Germany, France, Canada and Australia (in this order).

Tourist Attractions
Scotland has many large, historic cities that are frequented by tourists and contain many exciting attractions and activities. Scotland has many cultural tourist attractions, such as the Highland Games, which have traditions unique to Scotland. Often tourists visit Scotland to discover their Scottish heritage. One of the most well know Scottish tourist attractions is Loch Ness, where many believe the Loch Ness Monster lives. The history of Scotland allows for many great castles and ruins, that also draw tourists.

Here is a list of the top 10 tourist attractions in Scotland: Tourist Attractions
Here is a site helpful for tourists in Scotland: Tourist Site

National Parks and Nature Preserves
Scotland has two National Parks:
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park
Cairngorms National Park

Here is a list of Scotland's Nature Reserves: Nature Reserves

Museums
Some of the biggest museums in Scotland are as follows:
The National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh)
Gallery of Modern Art (Glasgow)
Riverside Museum (Glasgow)
National War Museum (Edinburgh)
National Museum of Rural Life (Kilbride)
National Museum of Flight (East Lothian)

Country Profile Part Two: Scotland Economics

A Broad Overview of Scotland's Economy
GDP: 216 billion USD
GDP per capita: 43,492 USD
Life Expectancy
75.8 years for males
80.4 years for females
Poverty Rate: 15% (2010/11)
Literacy Rate: 99%
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%
Inflation: 3.5%

Natural Resources
The climate of Scotland is temperate, it is fairly changeable but is rarely extreme. Because of the different topography of Scotland rainfall is highly varied across the country reaching 180in in the western Highlands but only 34in in eastern Scotland. Scotland has significant coal and oil reserves and large deposits of zinc. A lot of the soil is rocky and infertile, but there is some arable land in the central lowlands and flat eastern coastal areas. Another important Scottish resource is livestock, mainly sheep. The rivers of northern Scotland provide significant quantities of hydroelectric power, with most of the U.K.'s hydroelectric power located in Scotland.

Labor
The labor force in Scotland is almost 3 million people. Scotland has universal public education available to all residents. The Scottish educational system emphasizes breadth in a range of subjects in stead of more in depth studies in one area, like in the rest of the U.K. After completing primary and secondary school, students can decide to continue studying at a university. Scotland has 18 institutes of higher education including 15 universities.

Capital
Scotland has a very large fishing industry. Other main industries in Scotland are electronics, textiles, whisky and tourism. Because of the natural reserves of coal and oil, these industries are also fairly successful, but hydroelectric power is on the increase. The Scottish government invests a decent amount of money into the infrastructure of the country. The roadways and railway system are very extensive. Below is a picture of major railways throughout Scotland.