The Spring Break Effect

The Spring Break Effect

Carson Abrahamson

Every year near Easter Time, students are forced to take a mandatory hiatus from their education, aptly titled “spring break”. Most students find themselves thoroughly depressed during this period as they miss their schooling dearly. Some try to mask this depression by traveling to faraway lands in attempt to fill the void left in their souls by the absence of tutelage. Such prime locations for spring break travelers see noticeable revenue generated by the influx of college and high school students who come to party, but the ultimate effect is highly overrated, except for the law enforcement industry.

With that being said, the amount of finances pumped into spring break destinations, most notably warm climate regions such as Texas and Florida, cannot be downplayed. Roughly 40% of all collegiate students in the United States vacation to some region, and they bring with them billions of dollars. Between Texas and Florida alone, nearly $1 billion is spent by the students looking to cure their spring break boredom. This money is mostly directed towards income for small businesses that pride themselves on selling cheap rooms or cheap beverages, and has led to an uptick in entrepreneurship. In Panama City, a popular Florida destination, positive business growth was posted for every year between 2001 and 2005 as the amount of total businesses rose from 634 to 779 across the same period.

Panama’s spring break gains are not all that they seem, however, as the lucrative amount of money spent does not translate to a proportional increase in tax revenue. Over the six week period that spring break occurs, around the months of March and April, a reported $170 million was spent by partiers, but the local government asserts that the very same months rake in the fewest tax revenues  of the entire year. The same goes for hotel receipts; July is the biggest winner when it come to earning the big bucks with regards to hotel spending. Such results are awfully counterintuitive, until one considers the actual spending habits of students; they are cheap. Often cramming innumerable quantities of people into the same room and consuming the cheapest beer that the human body can safely ingest, it’s no wonder that certain financial situations are not what one might expect.

Aside from hotel receipts and tax revenue, a mark is still left on the spring break towns’, most notably in the form of crime. For police men and women, business is booming when it comes to spring break. The month of March tends to be, by far, the most popular month for crime and citations, and that is almost certainly the result of the influx of hormonal and drunk college students. From February to March, crime in Panama city more than quadruples, and citations  increase almost twenty times over. Safe to say, law enforcement workers break a sweat when the spring breakers begin to arrive by the busload, but year round residents might get a kick out of the college aged antics.

Overall, it is clear that spring break partiers provide some form of stimuli to the local economy, but the impact is largely overrated. Aside from providers of cheap booze and cramped hotel rooms, the local economy is affected by dozens of factors that are more significant than the spring breakers. Furthermore, spring breakers bring a wealth of problems that overworked college students tend to provide. The fun of spring break is timeless, but it does not found great and illustrious cities.

  

Works Cited

"Spring Break & the Economy." Free Enterprise. N.p., 14 Mar. 2016. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Thompson, Derek. "2,000 Years of Partying: The Brief History and Economics of Spring Break." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Spring Break spending boosts economy SELENA YAKABENews Editor sdsucollegian.com | 0 comments. "Spring Break spending boosts economy." Sdsucollegian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Spring Breaking the Bank

Written by: Madyson Studenek

Spring Breaking the Bank

Spring break is the time for vacations for many high school students, or even grades who are younger. As soon as winter break is over high school students begin their countdowns to spring break and their next long period of time off. There is always a wide debate that parents go through on whether or not they should take a vacation during this time. Not to mention how crowded any place you go will be because of the sheer amount of people looking to get away this time of year. Some of the trade offs of travelling during another time of the year may be the missing work and school. Most students have off for a week around Easter or earlier and if you were to travel another time, there may be class time missed. Parents typically have Easter off and some have off for Good Friday and or the Monday after Easter. I do not think that so many families should go on vacation during this time, but rather another time of the year when it is less expensive to travel.

From Mexico to France so many families venture off on their destination vacations and spend countless amounts of money so that their kids can make memories in another place besides their hometown. Whether it is escaping the cold, or just visiting a new place, according to Barry Choi, more than 50% of college students venture off on a vacation each year. The demand increases every year for a bigger and better vacation than the last. Not to mention the opportunity cost of taking a vacation from missing work, to the actual cost of the vacation itself. Price level rises at this time of year because airlines, hotels, restaurants know when the travel season is. Families go out to eat for most meals which is a much higher price than cooking their own meals with food from the grocery store.

Many families try to find deals during spring break, but there isn’t always a way to save money, especially because of the sheer amount of people who travel during spring break season. According to Kaitlyn Mcavoy, a journalist for Spend Matters, “College students alone spend more than $1 billion every year on spring break”. While this is a convenient time to travel because of the lack of school, or work depending on when holidays fall, it seems ridiculous.

It makes much more sense for families, or even an individual in order to save money and increase your purchasing power so that you can either exercise your propensity to save or propensity to consume with the extra money that is leftover from making efficient economic decisions with travel plans. There are a few times of the year that are significantly cheaper than any other time of year, “The first two weeks of December (between the Thanksgiving and Christmas rush), most of January (after the New Year’s travel period), spring and fall (exception: the traditional “spring break” weeks in March/April)” (Seaney). The issue is that many people have already had off before this time or will have off soon leaving employers unlikely to grant requests for time off. Students would also be missing school during this time which is an opportunity cost.  The student could have a fun vacation, but they would be missing valuable instruction from the teacher that they will not be able to get back.

These are some of the comparisons for a week long trip for a family of four. According to CBS News, spring break typically costs around $1500 per person when it is domestic. ValuePenguin states that, a vacation that does not happen during spring break or around major holidays generally costs around $900 per person. An international spring break vacation can cost up to $3000 per person, whereas an international trip will cost around $2000 per person during a ‘low cost’ travel time of year.

If you must travel during spring break, check out these tips to try and save your money. Clearly there are various options as to when travelling would save money, and this way it could be something that fits you or your family’s schedule. In conclusion, the best way to travel on spring break: is to not, save your money and travel at another time during the year.

Works Cited

"Average Cost of a Vacation." ValuePenguin. N.p., 2017. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Choi, Barry. "Spring Break Costs 2017." Spring Break Costs 2017: Where to Go for Less | Skyscanner. Skyskanner Ltd., 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

GOBankingRates. "​The Cheapest - and Priciest - Spring Break Destinations." CBS News. CBS Interactive, 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Mcavoy, Kaitlyn. "Spring Break Spending Stats – How Much Do Our Beloved Beach Vacations Cost?" Spend Matters. N.p., 06 Mar. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Seaney, Rick. "Cheapest Time of Year to Fly | Dead Zones | Travel News." FareCompare. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Spengler, Teo. "Easy Ways to Save While Traveling on Spring Break." GOBankingRates. Toggle Navigation, 06 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Woman Have Children Later Due to Career

Gwennette Ross

A1/B1 Econ

Mrs. Staub

April 10th, 2017

Woman Have Children Later Due to Career

What does almost every woman have in common? As young children, we wanted or received baby dolls, often playing a mother roll was the dream for the future. What we didn’t know is the importance of money, and how we needed it to support a child. Now and days women are faced with difficult situations where if they are afraid to have children when first starting their career,then they would either have to have children before or after. The common struggle when you are trying to live and all American life but all that happens is the constant outflow from bills, rent or student loans and assuming they have graduated, now it's off to finding their dream job. With all that to think about more and more women choose to have babies after having their jobs.

Getting paid to spend those precious first months with your new arrival would be ideal, but only 39% of full-time American workers have access to paid family leave. Looking at the chat on the left you can see all the different countries that are being compared. They are assuming that are two parents so in the Unites State the average unpaid leave is 24 full weeks and that is a lot. Numbers like this makes women want to wait because they would like to have the thought of inflow while they are still spending time that they can with their new norms.

Why having kids later is a really big deal by Ellie Kincaid simply mentioned age. More and more women are waiting increasing the risk of  having children just because they aren’t able to balance both a job and a family. The chart above on the right shows the average first-time mothers has increased  3.3 years by 1980. Along with women's ages Ellie also says, ‘“If a woman has to choose between pursuing her career and starting a family rather than doing both at the same time, putting off having kids becomes more likely, in other words.’ ‘Age-related decline in fertility and the increased likelihood of miscarriages and pregnancy complications with age mean that waiting to have kids can put extra physical stress on a woman’s body and her baby’s — not a negligible effect.”’

When there are more and more women waiting to have children , the total factor productivity produced by these women, starting their jobs can increase growth in the long run. When they are fresh out of college and found a job they are already are going to know the new technologies and methods that are out there. They are normally going to be better equipped when they first get out of school rather than waiting because technology is increasingly updating often.

Work Cited

1. http://d35brb9zkkbdsd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/parentalleave-1.jpg
2. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-delaying-parenthood-and-having-kids-later-is-a-big-deal-2015-6
3. http://www.businessinsider.com/scientific-proof-paid-parental-leave-is-good-for-everyone
4. https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/maternity-and-paternity-leave-a-guide-for-expectant-parents/

Driverless Cars May Give The Economy Quite a Bump

Driverless Cars May Give The Economy Quite a Bump

Written By: Mikey Kirkbride

The future is upon us ladies and gentlemen. The testing of Autonomous Vehicles (AV’s) has started. It seems most major car manufacturers have begun the testing, even google is getting in on the fun. Some states have even started the licensing process for these vehicles, such as; California, Florida, and Nevada. Experts are also predicting that these cars will have a massive impact on the automotive industry by the year 2020. The real question is what kind of impact will it have on the economy, it may be more than just the initial revenue from the car sales. These cars are going to save the consumers a lot of money. A lot of this will be part of the fact that these cars will reduce a lot of the car accidents that happen. 40% of all fatal crashes are caused by either drugs, alcohol, or fatigue. This are all part of the human factor of driving. Take that away and there is an immediate reduction in accidents. The cars computer can’t be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and it can’t get tired. Also up to 90% of crashes are the result of human error rather than equipment malfunction of the car, so taking the human aspect out of driving will not only save lives, but also save money. A highly conservative estimate at 10% of the market being AV’s estimates 1,100 lives saved annually, 211,000 fewer crashes annually, and 5.5 billion dollars in economic savings. These cars are also able to better sense the movement of surrounding vehicles, leading to more efficient driving and braking, which will increase the fuel economy of these cars leading consumers to save more money in gas.

This graph shows several different scenarios of possible living conditions in the U.S. in for the future, and how autonomous cars will save the consumers money. Even in the bear case autonomous cars will save people almost one trillion dollars. That number is absurd. Even though it will still be a little while before these cars hit the market, and there will almost surely be a substantial transition period, these cars seem to be a no brainer for the economy.  

Works Cited

"Morgan Stanley — the Economic Benefits of Driverless Cars." RobotEnomics. N.p., 07 Dec. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Schiller, Ben. "Driverless Cars Sound Awesome, But The Actual Economic Impact Is Going To Blow Your Mind." Fast Company. Fast Company, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

The Corners of Brookfield

The Corners of Brookfield

By: Carly Van Altena

Recently Von Maur, a department store based out of Iowa, opened up in The Corners of Brookfield, last Saturday, April 8th. The Corners of Brookfield is a “lifestyle center” that will have stores, many new restaurants, such as Belaire’s Cantina, a Sendik's and apartments above all of the stores. This retail center will have a large economic impact on the Brookfield community, as well as the other malls and shopping centers around it. Whether this impact will be positive or negative is up for debate; some believe that it will boost the economy around it, while others believe that it was an unnecessary addition and will only divert business from the local mall, Brookfield Square. It is clear that the city decided that the opportunity cost of building The Corners was better than the money and time it would take to build it.

The picture above shows the plans for The Corners. It is going to feature a green space and Von Maur in the center, with surrounding retail shops and restaurants, and above those shops and restaurants will be over 200 apartments, there will also be a parking garage below The Corners to help with space and weather.

The Corners of Brookfield is projected to have many positive impacts on Brookfield’s economy as well as the area around it. It is going to have stores and restaurants that have a mix of local and national popularity, for example the much talked about Von Maur. Ideally, this will reach a more diverse customer base and will therefore draw in new business to the city. Subsequently, The Corners will have positive externalities on the surrounding businesses, because of the customers it will draw to the city. Additionally, the construction of The Corners generated more than 1,100 permanent new retail jobs and more than 300 temporary construction jobs. The lifestyle centers has a lot of growth opportunities, and an attractive outdoor area that accommodates all of Wisconsin’s seasons.With it’s versatility and job outlook it is easy to understand why the project has been so seen to be so popular for the area.

Though there is a positive outlook for the economy due to the addition of The Corners, there are also some concerns about the negative externalities The Corners could bring to the surrounding retailers and community. The Corners has the potential to take revenue and customers away from local retail shops and could therefore cause the malls and shopping centers lose tenants. With so many new customers being drawn to The Corners, the other retailers are bound to lose out on business and therefore will suffer, so that brings many people to question why the need for a new building when it is hard enough to keep retailers in business as it is.

The Corners of Brookfield has been a project that the city has been working on for years, and now that it is finally open there are a lot of economic factors to consider that went into the decision to build this lifestyle center. The abundance of new tenants that will be moving into the open stores, restaurants and apartments provide a lot of great job opportunities and will boost the economy in Brookfield. Additionally, the project alone created numerous jobs for construction workers and retailers. Though there are some negative impacts The Corners will have on the surrounding businesses, overall The Corners stand to do more good for the community than they will do harm, which is why the city deemed the opportunity cost of creating The Corners higher than that of the cost and potential negative externalities on the surrounding retailers.

Works Cited:

Gores, Paul. "The Corners of Brookfield Enters Dynamic Retail Environment." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. N.p., 09 Apr. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2017/04/09/corners-brookfield-enters-dynamic-retail-environment/100184312/>.

Lawder, Melanie. "Inside Look: The Corners of Brookfield Takes Shape." Bizjournals.com. 2017 American City Business Journals, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2016/10/29/inside-look-the-corners-of-brookfield-takes-shape.html>.

Staff Writer. "Commercial Real Estate Property News for Chicago and the Midwest."REJournals.com. REJournals, 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://www.rejournals.com/2015/03/17/progress-under-way-at-the-corners-of-brookfield-wisconsins-70-rsf-premier-lifestyle-center/>.

Movie Theatres: Why the Budget Breaker?

Movie Theaters: Why the Budget Breaker?

Jena Hicks

Anybody who has ever gone to a movie theater knows that whether you pay for a normal movie ticket, an Ultra-screen ticket, or one that offers premium seating, the real budget breaker and downside for most is in the concession prices. The majority of moviegoers opt for the “norm” choice of popcorn -- and this option, since 1999, has seen an increase in its average price by more than $3 and now has an estimated average price of at least $8.65 in relation to the price in 2016 (boxofficemojo.com). Despite this high price, consumers continue to purchase popcorn to go with their movie.

The question some are asking though: “Why do theaters make their concession stand prices so high?” When theaters sell tickets to their consumers, the majority of the money goes back to the movie producers. So, theaters receive very little profit from solely selling tickets and to compensate for the lost earnings, they increase their concession prices where they are able to collect the entirety of the profit and increase their revenue. According to Business Insider, of a theater’s total revenue, nearly 30% of it is brought in from selling their overpriced concession stand food and they continue selling it at these prices because they know that the movie-goers will continue to purchase it at the price because of demand. Theaters will sell their drinks and popcorn at an average of 11x the wholesale cost and gather 85% profit to receive the greatest benefit that they can (http://business.time.com).

In addition, movie theaters are able to bump up their prices and keep their buyers because within a theater, there is little to no competition. More than 45% of movie-goers at all ages will at least purchase popcorn when attending a movie. Therefore, theater concessions will supply more food for the consumers to purchase while discouraging any food to be brought in by attendees from outside. Movie theater companies, such as AMC, are banning the carrying in of any outside snacks in hopes of increasing revenue after seeing a decrease in the past (consumerist.com). This eliminates any competitors and pushes customers to purchase the goods that are available to them at theaters’ concession stands where they receive the majority of their revenue.

So is it completely necessary for movie theaters to have unreasonably high prices at their concession stands? In hindsight, yes, to keep the movie theater business going and our economy from dipping and falling. Within the consumer market, it can be hard to completely please both the consumers and the producers, or the attendees and the theaters in this case. The consumers don’t want the high prices that comes with the concession stand, but the theaters don’t want to go out of business. The trade-off is in the consumer's’ hands: purchase the concession food at a bit of a higher price or have no movie theater at all because suddenly it can not stay in business. The opportunity cost to continue having an outlet for entertainment seems very worth it especially if it can help the economy and keep businesses running.

Works Cited

Tuttle, Brad. "Movie Theaters Make 85% Profit at Concession Stands." Time. Time, 07 Dec. 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Cwalters. "AMC Theater Chain Bans All Outside Snacks." Consumerist. Wordpress.com, 03 Dec. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Liebenson, Donald. "Consumer Spending Trends: Concessions Are the Ticket for Movie Theatre Profits." Spectrum Group, 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Kuzoian, Sara Silverstein and Alex. "We Did the Math: Here's How Much Movie Theaters Mark up Your Popcorn and Snacks." Business Insider. Business Insider, 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

"Adjusting for Movie Ticket Price Inflation." Box Office Mojo. IMDb, 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Easter and Economics

Abigail Laskowski

Mr. Reuter

Economics

18 April 2017

Easter and Economics

Every holiday comes with its positive economic benefits; Valentine’s Day causes an increased flower revenue, Thanksgiving leads to more turkeys being sold, and Christmas, well, nearly all spending increases around Christmas. Easter is no different than these holidays, bringing more egg, candy, and clothing sales. It was calculated that consumers collectively spent approximately $16.4 billion on Easter-specific purchases during the holiday season in 2015, and even more in 2016 when calculations were around $17.3 billion (Tuttle).

Easter is one of the few holidays that families gather for a meal to celebrate. According to 24/7 Wall Street, 86.9% of families will spend an average of $45 on items for these meals. Along with purchasing extra food for meals, consumers also buy increased supply of eggs to follow the tradition of dying Easter eggs. Early preparation for increased egg sales cause farmers to produce about two and a half times as many eggs than their normal output (Brown). However, this increase in production can’t just happen naturally--producers increase their spending as well, expanding flock sizes or changing feed rations. These additional costs create a positive externality for businesses associated with the farmers, as the expansions will bring in extra revenue for the business.

Similar to many holidays, Easter also brings an increase in candy revenue. According to Time.com, consumers spend $2.4 billion just on candy for the holiday season; whether that’s from pre-Easter sales or post-Easter discounts is undetermined. Many companies will alter the products they supply to grab the attention of consumers, as well. Reese’s produces chocolate-peanut butter eggs, M&Ms are created in pastel colors, and Hershey makes mini chocolate eggs. These holiday favorites are a hit for consumer and contribute to the boosted sales of candy companies.

Easter isn’t all about the food, though. Clothing sales usually increase during the Easter season, too, as many consumers like having new outfits for church or other gatherings. About 50% of consumers are said to buy new clothes for Easter, according to 24/7 Wall Street. However, in recent years “Easter’s arrival did little to get people into malls to buy spring apparel” (Russell). In the graph below, a surplus is shown in both the months of March 2015 and March 2016 as the apparel specialty stores have more inventory than sales occurring. Following the assumed trend that clothing sales will increase, the graph around March 2014 shows fairly equivalent sales and inventory.

Overall, Easter, along with other holidays, play a huge role in changes occurring throughout the economy. These seasonal alterations in sales allow for companies to increase their total revenue, as well as change how much of certain products they need.

Works Cited

Brown, Eric. "4-week Easter Upswing Winding down for Egg Producer." The Fence Post. N.p., 04 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Ogg, Jon C. "2013 Economic Impact of Easter at $17.2 Billion, Likely Undercounted."247wallst.com. N.p., 01 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Russell, Judith. "Easter Did Little to Boost Apparel Retail Sales in March." Sourcing Journal. N.p., 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Tuttle, Brad. "Easter Sales: How Much We Spend on Chocolate, Candy, Peeps | Money."Time. Time, 25 Mar. 2016. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.