Describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies used by the Essay - 3

Describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies used by the Government and Central Bank of Brazil over the last two years - Essay Example een undergoing a phase of sharp economic slowdown as inflation in the country has continued to slide up the scale to touch its highest level in the decade, with 12 month rolling inflation index (ICPA) clocking in at 7.70%, significantly above the country’s Central Bank target of 6.5%. It must be noticed that this is the highest inflation rate prevailing in the country even since May 2005, when the rates touched 8.05%. Brazil’s Central Bank plays with the policy of interest rate of the country in a bid to control the inflation in the country, as well as regularize the country’s currency (Media, 2015). Just recently Brazil’s Central Bank raised its interest rates for the third time in a row to touch the 12.75% level. The main motive behind the increase in the country’s discount rate was to control the rising inflation engulfing the economic spheres of the country, along with being in line with the monetary tightening stance taken by the Central Bank. A look further into the past tells us that in line with the slowdown being witnessed in the Brazilian economy, the Central Bank had cut its growth prediction for the country by a phenomenal 90 basis points to 0.7%. Essential to notice here is the fact that such low growth figures are below are generally below what other Latin American economies have forecasted, with the exception of Argentina and Venezuela. Taxation has also been a key cause of concern in the Brazilian economy. Within the time span of the last two years the government had given incentives to many industries to stimulate demand, for instance by giving tax breaks to the auto sector. However, knowing where Brazil currently stands at the moment, the current Government will have to take some non-populist measures including abandoning the incentives provided to various industries. The last two years have also seen changes in the country’s investment environment despite various efforts taken by the government and the Central Bank to control the

What effect did Hollywood's 'Golden Era' and the Studio System have on Dissertation

What effect did Hollywood's 'Golden Era' and the Studio System have on Film Production today - Dissertation Example ‘Motion pictures evolved from stage presentations when portable movie cameras were invented. â€Å"Magic Lantern† shows were popular in the late 19th century, but they required an artist to design and perform a show. The show itself could not be duplicated, merely moved to another venue. Thomas Edison invented the Kinetoscope, a box with a hand crank with which to run film over a lamp, similar to a â€Å"peep show†. Its limitations were obvious; the design limited the audience to one viewer. Louis Lemià ¨re improved on the Edison technology with a hand held motion picture camera which could feed a film through a claw device. Once the film was shot and developed, the camera acted as a projector, and in conjunction with the magic lantern, large audiences could view the film together.’ (Sklar, 1993, p.22-5) ‘At first, films served to bring distant places or recorded acts to vaudeville and burlesque shows. These films were brief, often only a minute or t wo. Travelogues and news dominated early film. At the same time projected movies developed, mass production newspapers became popular. In many ways, early film competed against newspapers and only supplemented stage shows.Motion pictures’ advantages included realism, global appeal, reproducibility, visual reports and propaganda value.’ (Sklar, 1993, p.26-7) ‘The urban environment of the early 20th century consisted of immigrants and a faster paced lifestyle compared to the farm. Industrialization sped life up a bit. A two minute news film could be viewed at a commuter train station, and the viewer did not need to know the language since the films were silent or accompanied by a musical score.’ (Sklar, 1993, p.28) ‘In the beginning of the film industry, the artistry of camera work was as much the spectacle as the scene itself, and time did not a flow naturally. Modern films move a story forward temporally while the first films were more analogous to i nstant replays, showing the action from differing angles.’ (Sklar, 1993, p.33) ‘The Brighton School of Filmmakers, a British group, experimented with and developed camera angles, moving camera shots, close-ups and point-of-view shots. This innovative technology allowed films to tell more compelling stories, and â€Å"modern† cinema was born. ‘(Sklar, 1993, p.37) ‘When films told stories, they competed with live stage, vaudeville and burlesque. Rather than embrace this innovation, vaudeville and burlesque rejected the new technology and films moved to permanent movie houses, theaters known as nickelodeons.’ (Sklar, 1993, p.47) Now entertainment and news were combined to compete in the urban market. The very early film industry was confused. Harold Lloyd wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own productions. Mack Senate produced and directed his films, but often wrote them as the cameras were rolling, an advantage in silent films. Howard H ughes bought the RKO studios, but kept his office at Goldwyn’s. The Golden Age of Hollywood served to organize and industrialize film making. In the Henry Ford image of mass production, producers and directors were meant to turn out volume. As movie houses began to win the competition with stage performances, and innovation such as talkies emerged, many old vaudeville performers entered the film industry as a more profitable means of entertaining. ‘Notably the Marx Brothers and other ensemble casts became movie stars. Irving Thalberg of MGM studios market researched his audience reactions by sending the Marx Brothers on the road to perform their musical