Strength in Catastrophe - Literature Essay Samples

Humankind has the capacity to show extraordinary strength and compassion in times of catastrophe. Michael Mompellion in Geraldine Brooks’ â€Å"Year of Wonders† is a primary example of such a person, as despite his misguided religious beliefs he possesses a steely determination and desire to help those in need that renders his actions throughout the plague year commendable.Michael takes on the role of leader in the plague year, a job that comes with much hardship and despair. It is he that encourages the villagers to quarantine themselves from the outside world when they become aware of the plague’s presence, and he uses his sermons to preach this selfless suggestion to many reluctant villagers. He reasons that â€Å"because of us, hundreds (may) die who might have lived†, and through protecting outsiders from their village potentially saved the lives of hundreds of strangers. His constant usage of â€Å"us† and â€Å"our† throughout the serm on suggests he has the best interests of the villagers at heart and that he is purely altruistic in his intentions. As the plague year progresses, he continues to lead the villagers as he brings them together on a regular basis allowing them to stay connected to one another and share in their despair and grief when they most need support. He encourages the villagers to continue to â€Å"meet at the Delf† when they feared contagion, keeping them connected through adversity and consequently easing their pain. He is overall quintessential in ensuring the togetherness of the villagers, as he gently led them to each other through torrents of emotion and offered them support and comfort.Furthermore, Michael is a pillar of astutely comforting words and bottomless empathy as he soothes the dying fruitlessly throughout the text. At its very beginning he pledges that â€Å"none should die alone†, a sentiment that proves extremely difficult to follow through with, but he continue s to tend to the dying with his unyielding perseverance weighing on him to the point of collapse. He soothes those in bitter pain by reassuring those such as Jacob Merril that â€Å"if we slip and fall, He understands our weaknesses†. He attempts to save those lost in bitterness and resentment, including Anna’s very own father when he â€Å"tr(ies) to appeal to any shred of good left deep within him† in response to Josiah robbing those on deaths doorstep of their most precious possessions. In his quest to squeeze every ounce of good from each and every person and event in the plague year, Michael made many villagers horrific deaths a little less painful and appealed to the decency in many a lost soul.His most controversial decision in Year of Wonders was that to force his wife Elinor to remain abstinent in punishment for her premarital affair and consequent terminated pregnancy. From his perspective, â€Å"Elinor’s lust caused the loss of a life†, a crime so terrible in the eyes of God that by forcing her to live part of her life with her â€Å"lusts unrequited†, he was in fact desperately trying to save her soul so she would go to heaven. While such a punishment is repulsive to modern audiences, Michael believed he was in fact saving his beloved wife, acting in her best interests and assisting her in regaining the respect of God. The fact that he stuck firmly to his â€Å"resolve† despite the trials and stress of the plague year is most admirable. When she dies regretful and guilt stricken that he is no longer able to see light amongst the darkness of the plague. His misguided religious beliefs disintegrate with her death and he â€Å"feeds on the gall of (his) own grief†. Modelling himself off Anna’s own transformation, he rises from the depths of his despair and once again sees the importance of â€Å"bring(ing) life to others†, pledging to continue his caring, kind approach to the villa gers and overcoming seemingly insurmountable grief to do so. And so we see that Michael’s punishment of Elinor was an act purely of love, and watch him rise up from his anguish in a most admirable manner as a stronger and more balanced human being.Michael’s actions throughout the plague year all stem from a place of selflessness and care, as he is portrayed performing admirable deeds on a daily basis by soothing the dying and comforting grief stricken survivors. He has exceptional faith in the goodness of human nature and brings out the best in many. This is encapsulated when he declares, â€Å"the plague will make heroes of us all,† a statement that most certainly applies to him.

Incidents of the Life of a Slave Girl - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2096 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/09/19 Category Literature Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Harriet Jacobs Essay Did you like this example? In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs writes, Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women (64). Jacobs work presents the evils of slavery as being worse in a womans case due to the tenets of gender identity. Jacobs elucidates the disparity between societal dictates of what the proper roles were for Nineteenth century women and the manner that slavery prevented a woman from fulfilling these roles. The book illustrates the double standard of for white women versus black women. Harriet Jacobs serves as an example of the female slaves desire to maintain the prescribed virtues but how her circumstances often prevented her from practicing. Expectations of the women of the era, as stated in class discussions, resided in four arenas: piety, purity, domesticity and obedience. The conditions that the female slave lived in were opposed to the standards and virtues set by society. It resulted in the female slave being refused what was consider ed the identity of womanhood. It was another manner in which slavery attempted to eradicate the slaves value of themselves. Jacobs continually struggled to maintain these female virtues. Her belief in the ideas of piety, purity, domesticity and is highlighted in her admiration of one rare, benevolent mistress, The young lady was very pious She taught her slaves to lead pure lives The eldest daughter of the slave mother was promised in marriage to a free man; and the day before the wedding this good mistress emancipated her, in order that her marriage might have the sanction of law. (43) Piety was one of the subscribed to virtues. However, in order for one to be pious and obtain religious insight, it would be necessary to read the Bible. This would be an obstacle for the overwhelming majority of slave women as illiteracy was prevalent, Jacobs wrote, . .. it was contrary to the law; and that slaves were whipped and imprisoned for teaching each other to read (61). As Jacobs knew how to read and write, illiteracy was not an impediment. Yet, slaves were forbidden to meet in their own churches, another catch for the female slave attempting to keep the virtue of piety. Jacobs writes of the difficulties the slaves had in obtaining religious instruction after the Nat Turner insurrection, The slaves begged the privilege of again meeting at their little church Their request was denied (57). A slave would only be allowed to practice the religion of their masters, . .. the slaveholders came to the conclusion that it would be well to give the slaves enough of religious instruction to keep them from murdering their masters (57). A typical sermon would consist of Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters (57), this type of sermon had less to do with a womans piety than a slaves obedience. Nevertheless, Jacobs exhibits piety in many fashions, despite these disadvantages. When services begin in the home of a free colored man, Jacobs was invited to attend as she could read, regardless of the risk to herself Sunday evening came and, trusting to the cover of night, I ventured out (57). Jacobs practiced piety as the dictates of the period demanded at a great risk to her safety. She taught a man to read the bible and begs of missionaries to recognize the need to instruct slaves in biblical studies. (61). Jacobs did not only speak of piety, but through these examples, but put it into action and could fulfill this one aspect of the female gender identity. The practice of purity was the virtue most denied to a woman in slavery. Men of society constructed the conventions, established the importance of purity in women. Purity was praised and rewarded in free white women and stolen from black slave women. The system worked against protection of slave women from sexual abuse by their masters. Sexual abuse of slave was not viewed as a criminal offense because she did not count as a woman. Rather, she was property of the owner, who could dispo se of her body and he saw fit. Jacobs master explicitly stated, He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things (26). Sexual harassment was taken as a matter of course, I now entered my fifteenth year, a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl (26). Sadly, sexual abuse was accepted almost as a rite of passage for a female slave, that at a certain age, her purity would be stolen. A female slave could not expect to find safe harbor even from the other woman of the house, The mistress, who ought to protect the helpless victim, has no other feelings towards her but those of jealousy and outrage (26). As opposed to acting on behalf of the female slaves, the mistress saw the slave as the problem. Without any assistance, Jacobs consistently attempted to thwart her masters sexual attempts in order retain her purity. Importance of this purity is highlighted in the passage describing her rebellion to build a separate house where he could be alone with her, I vowed before my make that I would never enter it. I had rather toil on the plantation from dawn till dark; I had rather live and die in jail, than drag on from day to day, through such a living death. (46). Jacobs viewed the preservation of purity as passionately as any woman but slavery had placed her in circumstances that left her its certain loss. Enslaved women could not even maintain purity if subscribing to the idea of sexual relations occurring within a marriage, as it was typically denied by law or the owner. Jacobs had fallen in love with a free black man We became mutually attached, and he proposed to marry me. I loved him with all the ardor of a young girls first love. But when I reflected that I was a slave, and that the laws gave no sanction to the marriage of such 33) Jacobs is denied marriage to her lover by her owner, Never let me hear that fellows name mentioned again. If I ever know of your speaking to him, I will cowhide you both Ill teach you a lesson about marriage free niggers! (35-36). However, Jacobs will not allow it to totally destroy her sense of self as a woman. While she has suffered abuse and harassment and the hands of Dr. Flint, Jacobs remained determined that Flint would not succeed at last in trampling his victim under his feet,(46). As she is not permitted purity, Jacobs decided to take a white lover. If she were to be forced to give up her purity it would be at least . .. to a man who is not married It seems less degrading to give ones self, that to submit to compulsion (47). The quotes show Jacobs recognition of the sanctity of marriage has well certain personal standards. Jacobs possesses a sense of self, she feels that she deserves to choose her own lover. Regarding her lover she wrote, There is something akin to freedom in having a lover who has no control over you except that which he gains by kindness The wrong does not seem so great with an unmarried man, as with one who has a wife to be made unhappy (47). Jacobs used her own sexuality as a defense, since keeping her physical purity, a right to other women, had been denied to her. By choosing an unattached man, Jacobs explains that does retain a certain moral purity, as much as could be allowed in her situation The denial of a legal marriage and own a home with him ruled out the possibility for domesticity virtue to be achieved. The women in slavery were not married and living with their own husband and children. The master often used the female slave for breeding, the children taken from the mother and sold. Jacobs poignantly narrates this destruction of family through New Years Day auction of slaves, On one of these sale days, I saw a mother lead seven children to the auction-block. She knew that some of them would be taken from her; but they took all. The children were sold to a slave-trader, and their mother was bought by a man in her own town. Before night her children were all far away. I met that mother in the street, and her wild, haggard face lives to-day in my mind. She wrung her hands in anguish, and exclaimed, Gone! All gone! Why dont God kill me? I had no words wherewith to comfort her. Instances of this kind are of daily, yea, of hourly occurrence. (17) How could the female slave possibly exhibit domesticity in a system where such constructs were not permitted to her? Women in bondage lived in a society where their offspring were not their own, as children . .. follow the condition of the mother (37), they were but the property of the master to be taken and sold at his discretion. While domesticity was highly regarded for the white women, this was not applicable to a black slave my mistress, like many others, seemed to think that slaves had no right to any family ties (33). Yet, domesticity was one of the values that Jacobs most strove to maintain. She had the experience of a traditional family earlier in life speaking of how she had . .. lived together in a comfortable home; and, though we were all slaves, I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise (9). Other black women apparently esteemed domesticity, as Aunt Marthy stated Ah, my child, . Stand by your own children, and suffer with them till death. Nobody respects a mother who forsakes her children; and if you leave them, you will never have a happy moment (75). Family and the attempt to preserve some sort of domestic was supreme. Jacobs viewed her refuge in the garret as a means to keep some semblance of domesticity and family life by being near her children. She suffered in seclusion for seven years, residing in the garret that . .. was only nine feet long and seven wide. The highest part was three feet high (91). Jacobs did in the name of family, in yearning for domesticity, for through all her discomfiture she was able to take solace and even joy in at least being able to be near her children, But I was not comfortless. I heard the voices of my children (92). Jacobs pa ins illustrate how strong of a desire for the domestic family life that was denied. Even after obtaining freedom for her children and herself, she writes, The dream of my life is not yet realized. I do not sit with my children in a home of my own. I still long for a hearthstone of my own (156). A traditional family life remained Jacobs most desiderate dream which she partially obtained in her freedom, but not in the same manner that a white woman could enjoy. The one aspect of the ideal Nineteenth century female that most slave women were able to achieve was that of obedience. It was not the same obedience that the free woman was expected to subscribe to it was not obedience to her husband, God or family, but slave woman was expected full, unquestioning obedience to her master. This obedience was achieved by physical force and the slaves knowledge that they were nothing more than property. Obedience was the dictate Jacobs rebelled against. After the refusal of her request for ma rriage Jacobs recognizes her insolence to her master, I know I have been disrespectful, sir ut you drove me to it (35). Jacobs could not acquiesce when such an action would be the complete destruction of her body and soul. The institution of slavery was complete subservience and annihilation of a female slave as an individual being. To practice that kind of obedience, to be submissive, would be certain death to Jacobs, whether in the physical or spiritual sense. Jacobs disobedience occurred when her piety, purity and domesticity where threatened. Instead, Jacobs exhorted obedience to the precept of morality. Moreover, she adhered to obedience of what was considered moral and just for white women. The prescribed of ideas of what construed womanhood in the 1800s surrounded a purity, piety, domesticity and obedience. Those were most of the characteristics that were not permitted for the female slave to practice or acquire. Examining the experiences of Harriet Jacobs in Incidents of the Life of a Slave Girl, one witnesses that while Jacobs desired to practice the dictates of her time slavery forced her to often do otherwise Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Incidents of the Life of a Slave Girl" essay for you Create order

Music And Its Effects On Music - 1871 Words

In society, people have been commonly seen jogging, in cafes using earphones while working, cleaning, showering, exercising, dancing among many other things while listening to music. Music can be calming. Music can be uplifting. Music is universal. Music is a commonly discussed topic. But it is mainly discussed whether or not it is appropriate to use in an educational environment. Music is seen as a distraction. Some see it as an efficient medium to appease the mind. It is theorized that music creates out of the box ideas to life and improve critical thinking. Albert Einstein once said, â€Å"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.† In a high school environment, music can innovate a great many things for students. Incorporating music in students lives can positively benefit those students. Many studies have been centered around music. Psychologically, it is said that music calms the mind and provides an easier innovative way of thinking. As well as a means to placate the mind in stressful situations. It is argued and discussed that the type of music, and the lyrics, you listen to may have an effect on you as well. There are many theories and sayings. But overall music is something that can be used both positively and negatively. Music is used as a sound blocker from the rest of the world. For instance, in a toxic situation, music can be used to tune out negative sounds or situations. In a school environment, certain students areShow MoreRelatedMusic And Effect Of Music1322 Words   |  6 Pagesinvestigating state anxiety of college students who listened to music prior to an exam, and his findings suggests a significant reduction in state anxiety levels of these students (as cited in Davis and Thaut,1989). This study however focuses on the use of preferred music rather than pre-chosen music, which indicates that the music could have been from any genre. This is contrary to other studies which found that sedative background music specifically is what tended to reduce state anxiety (Davis andRead MoreMusic And Its Effect On Music1490 Words   |  6 PagesMusic Itself Does Not Distract You Music is prevalent, so that it is extremely easy to find a place or situation with music played on. Not only does people enjoy music when they dance or sing, throw parties, but also they enjoy music when they drive, study or work. In other words, people live with music and music is an everyday thing. They, contrarily, think that the pieces of music are distractors when they need to concentrate on their works. This is why, especially, most of parents and teachersRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On The Music Industry1500 Words   |  6 Pagesago it would’ve been unrealistic for artists to believe they could survive in the music industry without a record deal. Thankfully, that has changed and it’s now easier than ever to create and distribute music without a major record label. But there still isn’t a free-for-all market where the music maker can be as free as they want, and maybe not as easy as it should be to reach out to an audience. The fact that music often is received differently in our society depending on the genre, is somethingRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On Music Education1002 Words   |  5 Pageschildren wanting to play outside instead of practice violin music is proven to make you smarter. When a child particularly at a young age learns how to play an instrument preferably in a social setting is provides the brain of that child with extra dopamine, new neurological connections, better behavior, and higher test scores. Schools are turning to new programs to aid music education and there are many reasons to support their decision. Music has been proven over many studies to show a connection toRead MoreThe Effect Of Music On Music726 Words   |  3 Pagesto need to make a choice on the music. You can either hire a band to play live at your event, or employ a DJ to MC the festivities. Here are [] benefits explaining why you should consider using a DJ to spin your wedding tunes. Convenience Factor Setting up a live band and their sound system is a complex ordeal. There is usually some type of stage assembly, plus you’re going to need to fill the time gaps when a band needs a break. When you elect to have live music for your wedding reception, youRead MoreThe Effects Of Reggae Music On The Music1216 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many people who do not know about reggae music. I was one of those people who did not know the existence of the reggae music until I met this one beautiful girl. Julie, my beloved beautiful future wife, introduced me the reggae music. My first thought of this music was boring. After a while the more time I spent with her made me fall in love with the reggae music too. The love of the music gave me the curiosity of the music and why reggae music helped me with to relax and gave comfort as I listenRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On The Music Essay1988 Words   |  8 PagesThroughout the years, music has inspired people. Music touches our heart, m akes us cry, makes us laugh, and heals relationships-even love someone. It encourages us to move-we can march, dance, tap our foot, snap our fingers and sway back and forth. Music fills our minds with memories that can bring a smile or drive us into a deep sadness. Patriotism is displayed when people come together because of a piece of music. Brotherhoods united when the school fight school is played. It creates a bondRead MoreThe Effects Of Classical Music On Music931 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is defined as â€Å"good† or â€Å"real† music? How does an individual come to define that? Many would say that classical music is â€Å"real† music since it is the basis of music that is created today and it has lasted through time. It is still heard today, one of the first types of music to last. Others may strongly disagree; even though it has stood the test of time what actually makes this the sole definition of â€Å"good† music? It doesn’t, there really is not a true universal definition. There are multipleRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On The Music Industry1496 Words   |  6 PagesBefore sound recording were possible, music was enjoyed live by watching the performers performing on their instruments in front of you. When sound recording became possible, the way we enjoy music was not limited to watching the performers anymore. By looking at the development of sound reproduction and the devices that are capable of sound playback, we are able to take a look at look on how the production and consumption of music have been affected over the years in terms of portability, affordabilityRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On Music Throughout History1587 Words   |  7 PagesTechnology: The Effects on Music throughout History Music and technology aid one another. In a way a person can capture music they love through technology and then the electronic companies flourish due to the sale and popularity of these electronic devices. If a person wants to listen to music they can turn on a stereo or TV, choose a CD or DVD to play, or listen to a songs downloaded in ITunes. All of these devices are proof to show how technology is used to record, play, and change the way music is heard

Estimate a consumption function for the UK economy Example For Students

Estimate a consumption function for the UK economy Project: Estimate a consumption function for the UK economy explaining the statistical techniques you have used. Outline1 Abstract2 Introduction3 The Life Cycle Hypothesis (LCH) Abstract The purpose of doing this project is to estimate different consumption functions and to observe the relationships between consumption and a set of variables, such as household disposable income, house price inflation and inflation. I have extended my data to include the periods 1999 to 2001. I will construct and apply a model to such data and apply an appropriate set of tests to it. This project will be achieved using PC GIVE, which is a computerised statistical package. This will enable me to produce graphical analysis and present results in an appropriate manner. Introduction To address economic problem in context we separate an economys aggregate expenditure (Y) into four categories: consumption (C), investment (I), government expenditure (G), and net foreign expenditure, or exports less imports (X-M). The aggregate demand identity Y=C + I + G + (X M) Is used to represent these four elements. It is useful to make this kind of categorization, because different agents are responsible for each type of expenditure and therefore they must have different determinants. (William E.Griffiths, R, Carer Hill, George G. Judge, (1993) Learning and Practicing Econometrics, 1993 by John Wiley ; Sons, Inc, page 261) Consumption is the most important element in aggregate demand, it accounted for almost 70 per cent of GDP in 1989. It is thus very important to forecasters for them to be able to predict consumption correctly. Even a small percentage of error can result in a very large absolute error. For example, forecasters make an error of 1 per cent in predicting consumption, which seems to be insignificant. This will account for an error of 0.7 per cent of GDP. Therefore its accurate prediction is essential to the management of the economy. If we can model the aggregate consumption function, then we can go along predicting future consumption level and use fiscal and monetary policy to manage the economy efficiently. Another reason that consumption is so important is that the marginal propensity to consume is one of the factors determining the size of the multiplier. This is important in determining the effects of changes in investment and government spending. According to J.M Keynes, consumption and disposable income are related and this was accepted for many years. However, during the 1950s there appeared to be a discrepancy between the consumption function estimated from long run, short run and cross-section series of data. It also failed to explain some of the more interesting features of aggregate consumer behaviour and failed to predict certain periods of sharp fall in the proportion of personally disposable income consumed, such as in the early 1970s and early 1980s. Evidence suggests that the Keynesian consumption function could not resolve these problems and there was need for a more accurate consumption function. This led to many attempts to estimate an equation, which can predict consumer expenditure, such as the development of the Permanent Income and Life-Cycle Hypotheses, which, it was claimed, fitted the facts better than the simple Keynesian view of consumption. A consumption function describes the relationship between consumer expenditure and income. This research was given by Keyness initial conceptual break through in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (Keynes 1936). Main body of the project The consumption function was introduced in Keynes (1936) We shall therefore define what we shall call the propensity of consume as the functional relationship, between Y, a given level of income and C the expenditure on consumption out of that level of income The amount that the community spends on consumption depends (i) partly on the amount of their income, (ii) partly on other objective attendant circumstances, and (iii) partly on the objective needs and the psychological propensities and habits of the individuals comparing it The fundamental psychological law upon which we are entitled to depend with great confidence both a priori from our knowledge of human nature and from the detailed facts of experience, is that men are disposed, as a rule and on the average, to increase their consumption as their income increases, but not by as much as the increase in their income. That is Dc/Dy is positive and less than unity. (Keynes, 1936, p96) A simple Keynesian Consumption Function: Keynes argued that on average men increase their consumption as their income increases, but not by as much as their income. This means the marginal propensity to consume is less than 1. The proportion of income consumed tends to fall as income rises. He also suggested that a higher absolute level of income would widen the gap between income and consumption. From this statement the Keynesian consumption function has been derived: C = c0 + c1 Y C is consumption, or in other words consumer expenditure, c0 is a constant and represents autonomous consumption which is the sum of expenditure that is not influenced by real GDP; c1 is the marginal propensity to consume (m.p.c), which is a fraction of a change in disposable income that is consumed. (Michael Parkin Melanie Powell Kent Matthews, Economics Fourth Edition 1998, Addison Wesley), Y is national income. To find the estimates for c0 and c1 we can fit a regression line, or line of best fit, to the data. Using linear regression I obtain the equation below: An Author and his work A Kid in King Arthurs Court EssayAnother common approach to modelling permanent income is to assume that permanent income is a weighted average of all past incomes, with geometrically declining weights. Using a more complicated lag structure does this. The function obtained: Ct = 0.3175 + 0.5437yt +0.4309ct-1 The short run elasticity of consumption with respect to income is 0.5437. Observing the R2, it is 0.997; this is higher than all other consumption functions I predicted before. This indicates the predicted value of this log permanent income function fits the line better than all the other ones. The remained residuals fluctuate a lot throughout the period. It was quite small between the periods 1950 to 1974. However, the size of the error became larger between the periods of 1975 to 2002. The Life Cycle Hypothesis (LCH) The permanent income hypothesis discussed above is clearly better than the simple Keynesian model. However, it is still not very satisfactory and additional factors or variables need to be taken into account, such as inflation and house price inflation. Inflation should affect consumption because it reduces the real value of any debts. This means there is a transfer of resources from creditor to debtors. Government is the largest debtor and personal sector is a large net creditor. This means inflation reduces real income. The life Cycle Hypothesis (LCH) developed by Modigliani is very similar to the Permanent Income Hypothesis. It is also seen to be proportional to Yp, however, he stresses the age of the consumer also plays a part in determining their consumption over their lifetime. Such as young and very old households, tend to have low income and both have high propensity to consume. On the other hand, the high income groups containing a higher proportion of middle aged household tend to have a low propensity to consume. We could add inflation to the life cycle consumption function and we obtain an equation: ct = c0 + c1yt + c2ct-1 + c3?t ? is the inflation rate. However, one of the problems with this function is that standard consumer theory suggests that in the long run permanent income will be proportional to actual income, so consumption should be proportional to income. But in the long run we cannot expect consumption to be exactly proportion to income. This has led economists to use what are known as error correction mechanisms. This involves two components: in the long run we assume consumption is proportional to income, however in the short run consumers adjust their consumption towards their target level and this adjustment spread out over time. (Backhouse, R(1991) Applied UK Macroeconomics, Blackwell.) I obtained a consumption function: ?Ct = 0.0075 + 0.788?yt + 0.122st-1 0.0009?t s is the saving ration and it is obtained by y (income) minus c (consumption). Coefficient Std.Error t-value t-prob Part.R^2 Constant 0.00746478 0.004738 1.58 0.122 0.0492 DLHDY 0.787978 0.07590 10.4 0.000 0.6919 St-1 0.121970 0.05434 2.24 0.029 0.0950 INF -0.000931982 0.0004286 -2.17 0.035 0.0897 sigma 0.0138087 RSS 0.00915268714 R^2 0.754598 F(3,48) = 49.2 ** log-likelihood 150.984 DW 1.24 no. of observations 52 no. of parameters 4 mean(DLCON) 0.0288347 var(DLCON) 0.000717243 The predicted value does not always fit the actual data. The R2 is 0.75; it is not very high compared to other consumption functions. However, its DW value is 1.24, this is closer to 2. This means that residuals are random distributed, which means it would not be easy to model. Conclusions Consumption is the most important element over aggregate demand in the economy. The simple Keynesian theory suggested as income increases people only spend part of their increased income. The permanent income hypothesis and the Life Cycle hypothesis suggested that people base their spending on their future income. However, Life Cycle hypothesis stressed that the age of household also plays a part in determining their consumption. In this project I started by estimating the simple Keynesian consumption function using the data collected from 1948 to 2002. Then I introduced a number of additional factors, which should influence consumption. I used the log to minimise errors and lag structure to compare the difference between last years consumption to the current consumption. There are also other important factors, which influence consumption, such as house prices and uncertainties. If I were to do this project again I would include these factors in my estimated consumption function.