Introduction

Break-even analysis is a technique widely used by production management and management accountants. It is based on categorising production costs between those which are "variable" (costs that change when the production output changes) and those that are "fixed" (costs not directly related to the volume of production). Total variable and fixed costs are compared with sales revenue in order to determine the level of sales volume, sales value or production at which the business makes neither a profit nor a loss (the "break-even point").

The Break-Even Chart

In its simplest form, the break-even chart is a graphical representation of costs at various levels of activity shown on the same chart as the variation of income (or sales, revenue) with the same variation in activity. The point at which neither profit nor loss is made is known as the "break-even point" and is represented on the chart below by the intersection of the two lines:

In the diagram above, the line OA represents the variation of income at varying levels of production activity ("output"). OB represents the total fixed costs in the business. As output increases, variable costs are incurred, meaning that total costs (fixed + variable)

also increase. At low levels of output, Costs are greater than Income. At the point of intersection, P, costs are exactly equal to income, and hence neither profit nor loss is made. Fixed Costs Fixed costs are those business costs that are not directly related to the level of production or output. In other words, even if the business has a zero output or high output, the level of fixed costs will remain broadly the same. In the long term fixed costs can alter perhaps as a result of investment in production capacity (e.g. adding a new factory unit) or through the growth in overheads required to support a larger, more complex business. Examples of fixed costs: - Rent and rate - Depreciation

- Research and development - Marketing costs (non- revenue related) - Administration costs Variable Costs Variable costs are those costs which vary directly with the level of output. They represent payment output-related inputs such as raw materials, direct labour, fuel and revenuerelated costs such as commission. A distinction is often made between "Direct" variable costs and "Indirect" variable costs. Direct variable costs are those which can be directly attributable to the production of a particular product or service and allocated to a particular cost centre. Raw materials and the wages those working on the production line are good examples. Indirect variable costs cannot be directly attributable to production but they do vary with output. These include depreciation (where it is calculated related to output - e.g. machine hours), maintenance and certain labour costs. Semi-Variable Costs

Whilst the distinction between fixed and variable costs is a convenient way of categorising business costs, in reality there are some costs which are fixed in nature but which increase when output reaches certain levels. These are largely related to the overall "scale" and/or complexity of the business. For example, when a business has relatively low levels of output or sales, it may not require costs associated with functions such as human resource management or a fully-resourced finance department. However, as the scale of the business grows (e.g. output, number people employed, number and complexity of transactions) then more resources are required. If production rises suddenly then some short-term increase in warehousing and/or transport may be required. In these circumstances, we say that part of the cost is variable and part fixed. The analysis of a breakeven chart considers whether a venture runs at a profit or a loss. Sales above the breakeven point indicates that continued and profitable growth. The principle of break-even theory is that during the early stages of a business venture, total costs, both fixed and variable, exceed sales. As output increases, sales begin to rise faster than costs and, eventually, they become equal (breakeven point). If sales continue to rise and exceed total costs, the business achieves profitability. The tool assumes that all the goods which are produced will be sold and that costs, namely the price, will remain constant. Likewise, it also relies on the capacity in terms of output to remain unchanged. Breakeven charts are universally applied to simply and graphically illustrate and forecast a company's projected revenue, and to calculate the time for profitability to be reached. It is used by financial and marketing strategists to predict the effect that changes in price will have on the percentage change in sales over time.

NATIONAL INCOME
Definition National Income is defined as, the total net value of all goods and services produced within a nation over a specified period of time, representing the sum of wages, profits, rents, interest, and pension payments to residents of the nation.

Meaning & Concepts of National Income

National income is a measure of the total flow of earnings of the factor-owners through the production of goods & services. In a simple way, it is the total amount of income earned by the citizens of a nation. All incomes are based on production. In this sense, national income reflects the level of aggregate output. The term national income carries at least 2 meaning in economics. The total value of the level of aggregate output is called Gross National Product or G.N.P. G.N.P. is a measure of the total market value of all final goods & services currently produced by all the citizens of a nation within a period, usually a year. Importance & characteristics of National Income It measures how much people produce. It counts current production only. It counts the level of output with a market value. It relies on the market prices of goods & services as a measure GDP : (Gross domestic Product) The gross domestic product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living, though its use as a stand-in for measuring the standard of living has come under increasing criticism and many countries are actively exploring alternative measures to GDP for that purpose. Gross domestic product comes under the heading of national accounts, which is a subject in macroeconomics.

C - Private consumption Inv - Gross investment G - Government spending eX-i - Exports Imports

Whereas nominal GDP refers to the total amount of money spent on GDP, real GDP refers to an effort to correct this number for the effects of inflation in order to estimate the sum of the actual quantity of goods and services making up GDP. The former is sometimes called "money GDP," while the latter is termed "constant-price" or "inflation-corrected" GDP -or "GDP in base-year prices"

GNP (Gross National Product)

GNP is the total value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a particular year, plus income earned by its citizens (including income of those located abroad), minus income of non-residents located in that country. Basically, GNP measures the value of goods and services that the country's citizens produced regardless of their location. GNP is one measure of the economic condition of a country, under the assumption that a higher GNP leads to a higher quality of living, all other things being equal

Determination of GNP
GNP can be determined in three ways, all of which should in principle give the same result. They are - the Output or Value-Added approach, the income approach, and the expenditure approach. The most direct of the three is the Output approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the productive factors must be equal to the value of their product, and determines GDP by finding the sum of all producers' incomes The expenditure approach works on the principle that all of the product must be bought by somebody, therefore the value of the total product must be equal to people's total expenditures in buying things.

1: Output or Value-Added Approach

The total value of all final goods & services (i.e. outputs) can be found by adding up the total values of outputs produced at different stages of production. This method is to avoid the socalled double-counting or an over-estimation of GNP. However, there are difficulties in the collection and calculation of data obtained. It is from 1980 government started to collect data by this approach. In 1995, the government started to release GNP data.

2: Expenditure Approach
In economies, most things produced are produced for sale, and sold. Therefore, measuring the total expenditure of money used to buy things is a way of measuring production. This is known as the expenditure method of calculating GDP. Note that if you knit yourself a sweater, it is production but does not get counted as GDP because it is never sold. Sweater-knitting is a small part of the economy, but if one counts some major activities such as child-rearing (generally unpaid) as production, GDP ceases to be an accurate indicator of production. Similarly, if there is a long term shift from non-market provision of services (for example cooking, cleaning, child rearing, do-it yourself repairs) to market provision of services, then this trend toward increased market provision of services may mask a dramatic decrease in actual domestic production, resulting in overly optimistic and inflated reported GDP.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP )

GDP is an aggregate measure of the total value of net output produced within the domestic boundary of an economy in a specific period, say a year. Income from abroad = Income earned by local citizens from the provision of factor services abroad, Income to abroad = Income earned by foreign citizens from the provision of factor services locally, Net income from abroad = Income earned from abroad - Income sent to abroad G N P = G D P + Net Income from abroad Net Domestic Product (NDP): It is the net national product of the country excluding net export earnings. In other words, it is the net market value of all final goods & services produced within the country without taking into account the net export earnings

3: Income Approach

This method measures GDP by adding incomes that firms pay households for the factors of production they hire- wages for labor, interest for capital, rent for land and profits for entrepreneurship. Two adjustments must be made to get GDP: 1. Indirect taxes minus subsidies are added to get from factor cost to market prices. 2. Depreciation (or capital consumption) is added to get from net domestic product to gross domestic product. National Income = Wages + Interest Income + Rental Income + Profit

Per capita Income

Per capita income is the numerical quotient of national production by population, in monetary terms. It is a measure of the monetized production per person an economic aggregate such as a country, not of the actual distribution of income or current net wealth in that aggregate. This is what each individual would receive if the periodic income were divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per annum. When comparing nations per capita income reflects gross national product per person, but it is also used to compare municipalities within nations.

Per capita Income as a measure of wealth

Per capita income is often used as a measure of the wealth of a nation, particularly when comparing countries with substantially different levels of wealth, however, it has several weaknesses as a measurement. Economic activity that does not result in monetary income, such as services provided within the family, or for barter, are usually not counted. The importance of these services will vary widely between different economies, both between countries and among different groups within a country. As for the per capita income of the majority of the population, using the median income. Differing currency exchange rates between countries mean that a given amount of money (for example, one US dollar) has differing values in different places. The total income is compared between each country or state comparing the total income tells the average

income... hence we compare the average income which is the total income divided by the total population... the average income is called as per capita income, per capita income is measured as national income/total population of the country

Methods of calculating National Income

National Income calculation is not an easy task. For this, we have to collect more facts and figures. We have already seen that income is generated through production process. Normally we use this income for purchasing goods and services. When demand for commodities goes up, we have to produce more. Thus income leads to expenditure which again leads to increased production. See the following figure.

The

Figure 11.1 above shows, how production income and expenditure are mutually related.

Economic activity is directly related to these three stages. Based on this, three methods are used for calculating national income. They are: Production method Income method Expenditure method

You can calculate national income by following any one of these methods. Considering the nature and requirements of the economy one or more methods are used for calculating national income. Let us examine these methods separately. Production Method This method is based on the total production of a country during a year. First of all production units are classified into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Then we identify the various units that come under these sectors. We estimate the goods and services produced in each of these sectors. The sum total of products produced in these three sectors is the total output of the nation. The next step is to find out the value of these products in terms of money. The money sent by Indian citizens working abroad is also added to this. Now we get the gross national income. GNI = Money value of total goods and services + Income from abroad. This method helps us to find out contributions of various sectors to national income.

Income Method
Factors of production together produce output and income. The income received by the factors of production during a year can be obtained by adding rent to land, wages to labour, interest to capital and profit to organizations. This will be equal to the income of the nation. In other words, total income is equal to the reward given to various factors of production. By adding the money sent by the Indian citizens from abroad to the income of the various factors of production, we get the gross national income. GNI = Rent + Wage + Interest + Profit + Income from abroad. This method will help us to know the contributions made by different agents like landlords, laborers, capitalists and organizers national income.

Expenditure Method
National income can also be calculated by adding up the expenditure incurred for goods and services. Government as well as private individuals spend money for consumption and

production purposes. The sum total of expenditure incurred in a country during a year will be equal to national income. GNI = Individual Expenditure + Government Expenditure. This method will help us to identify the expenditure incurred by different agents. Any one of the above methods can be used for calculating national income. Production method = Income method = Expenditure method. Net National Product (NNP): It is the agreegate market value of final goods and services produced in a country in a year after deducting depreciation charges provided for the replacement of worn out capital assets. It should be noted that, in the competitive of the net national product depreciation charges should be deducted from the gross national product. This is necessary, because, in the process of production some capital assets are used up a part of final goods services produced has to be set apart as depreciation charges to the replacement of warm-out capital assets.

Difficulties/Limitations in calculating National Income

We have already seen that calculation of national income is a difficult process. Let us examine these difficulties. Inadequate statistical data: In under-developed countries since scientific methods of collecting data are not used, so accurate information is not obtained and NI is under estimated. Lack of trained staff: Most under developed countries do not have trained staff for data collection which leads to the problem of estimating exact NI. Illiteracy : Due to illiteracy, most of the producers do not maintain proper records of production, cost and income which leads to under estimated NI. Many sources of income:

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Some people get their incomes from many other sources It is very difficult to compute their income from different sources and in this way the exact figure of NI is mislead. No-cooperation of the people: In most of under-developed countries, people do not cooperate with data collecting staff. Non-marketed goods and services: In estimating the national income, only those goods and services are included for which the payment is made the unpaid or non-marketed goods and services are excluded such as production for self consumption, help or volunteer etc Under-ground economy: In under-developed countries, about 30% of the economy is under-ground the officially declared incomes are less than the actual incomes.

Other Limitations,
Price Changes A higher nominal GNP of a nation may not mean that the standard of living is better. If the prices increase at a high rate, the real GNP may even fall. Voluntary Services GNP figures do not include the contribution of the voluntary agencies which raise the general welfare, e.g. the Tung Wah group of hospitals. In this respect, the GNP figures underestimate the level of welfare. The voluntary work of housewives is also neglected by the GNP figures. It again under-estimates our welfare or standard of living.

Leisure It is also a source of welfare and raises our standard of living, e.g. the welfare enjoyed with a Chinese New Year Holiday. However, the monetary value is difficult to calculate. Illegal Activities Drug trafficking and illegal gambling are activities omitted in the value of GNP. It is difficult to determine its effect on the welfare of an economy. Undesirable Effects of Production

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GNP figures had not considered the effects of pollution, traffic congestion on the economy. They have lowered our standard of living. Problem of Comparison Output Composition Nations with the same GNP may have different living standard because their output composition may be different. In general, a higher level of consumer goods & services in the GNP indicates a higher current level of living standard. Distribution of Income & Wealth If income is obtained by a small rate of people in a nation, the general living standard is still low compared with a nation having a more evenly distributed income or GNP. Population Size A large population has a lower living standard even if its GNP is the same as that of a small population. The per capita GNP is more useful to compare the 2 nations. National Defense If a nation has spent a lot of resources in the production of weapons and so on, its living standard may not be improved. Time Technology will be improved over time. This may not be shown in GNP figures because there may be small changes in cost and price only. Besides, durable goods provide welfare to us over a period of time ( usually more than 1 year ). This cannot be shown by GNP figures within a year.

Significance of NI It seeks to measure the level of production in the country in one year. We can know whether the economy is growing, stagnant or declining by comparing it with the previous years . National income shows contributions by various sectors of economy. Living standard and economic welfare of the people can be compared with other countries.

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Economic Welfare and National Income INTRODUCTION:

Now we are doing a very interesting lesson which is related to the welfare of the economy. This lesson will give an idea about the economic welfare and its relationship with national income. Apart from this you will also be able to distinguish between economic welfare and non economic welfare. We all know that National income is treated as an index of the economic performance of a country. A country with higher level of national income and percapita income will be more advanced and developed than the country which has a low level of national income and per capita income. An increase in the national income of the country implies that there is increasing availability of goods and services in the country. More goods and services mean higher level of consumption and standard of living. Therefore it is believed that economic welfare depends on national income.

What is Economic Welfare?

Before knowing the relation between economic welfare and national income, it is essential to define economic welfare. Welfare is a state of the mind which reflects human happiness and satisfaction. In actuality, welfare is a happy state of human mind. Pigou regards individual welfare as the sum total of all satisfactions experienced by an individual; and social welfare as the sum total of individual welfares. He divides welfare into economic welfare and non economic welfare. Economic welfare is that part of social welfare which can directly or indirectly be measured in money. Pigou attaches great importance to, economic welfare because welfare is a very wide term. In his, words: "The range of our enquiry becomes restricted to that part of social (general) welfare that can be brought directly or indirectly into relation with the measuring rod of money."1 On the contrary, non-economic welfare is that part of social, welfare which cannot be measured in money, for instance moral welfare.

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But it is not proper to differentiate between economic and non-economic welfare on the basis of money. Pigou also accepts it. According to him, non-economic welfare can be improved upon in two ways. First, by the income-earning method. Longer hours of working and unfavourable conditions will affect economic welfare, adversely. Second, by the income spending method. In economic welfare it is assumed that expenditures incurred on different consumption goods provide the same amount of satisfaction, but in actuality it is not so, because when the utility of purchased goods starts diminishing the non-economic welfare declines which results in reducing the total welfare. But Pigou is of the view that it is not possible to calculate such effects, because non-economic welfare cannot be measured in terms of money. The economist should, therefore, proceed with the assumption that the effect of economic causes on economic welfare applies also to total welfare. Hence, Pigou arrives at the conclusion that the increase in economic welfare results in the increase of total welfare 'and vice versa. But it is not possible always, because the causes tl1at lead to an increase in economic welfare may also reduce the non-economic welfare. The increase in total welfare may, therefore, be Jess than anticipated. For instance, with the increase in income, both the economic, welfare and total welfare increase and vice versa. But economic welfare depends not only on the amount of income but also on the methods of earning and spending it. When the workers earn more by working in factories but reside in slums and vitiated atmosphere, the total welfare cannot be said to have increased, even though the economic welfare might have increased. Similarly, as a result of increase in their expenditure proportionately to, income, the total welfare cannot be presumed to have increased, if they spend their increased income, on harmful commodities like wine, cigarettes etc. Hence, economic welfare is not an indicator of total welfare.

Relation between Economic Welfare and National Income

Pigou establishes a close relationship between economic welfare and national income, because both of them are measured. in terms of money. When national income increases, total welfare also increases and vice-versa. The effect of national income on economic welfare can be studied in two ways:. I. Changes in size of national income and economic welfare

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II. Change in the composition of national income and economic welfare III. Changes in the distribution of national income and economic welfare. (i) The change in the size of national income and economic welfare: There is direct relationship between size of national income and economic welfare. The changes in the size of national income and economic welfare may be positive or negative. The positive change in the national income increases its volume, as a result people consume more of goods and services, which. leads in increase in the economic welfare. Whereas the negative change in national income results in reduction of its volume; People get lesser goods and services for consumption which leads to decrease in economic welfare. But this relationship depends on a number of factors. Is the change)n national income real or monetary? If the change in national income were due to change in prices, it would be difficult to measure the real change in economic welfare. For example, when the National income increase as a result of increase in prices, the increase in economic welfare is not possible because it is probable that the output of goods and services may not have increased. It is more likely that the economic welfare would decline as a result of increase in prices, It is only the real increase in national income that increases economic welfare. Second, it depends on the manner in which the increase in national income comes about. The economic welfare cannot be said to have increased, if the increase in. national income is due to exploitation of labour, e.g. to increase in production by workers working for longer hours, by paying them lesser wages than the. minimum. Thus, forcing them to put their women and children to work, by not providing then with facilities of transport to and from the factories and of residence, and their residing in slums. Third, national income cannot be a reliable index of economic welfare, if per capita income is not borne in mind. It is possible that with the increase in national income, the population may increase at the same pace and thus the per capita income may not increase at all. In such a situation, the increase in national income will not result in in-crease in

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economic welfare. But from this, it should not be concluded that the increase in per capita income results in increase in economic welfare and vice versa. It is possible that as a result of increase in national income, the per capita income might have risen. But if the national income has increased due to the production of capital goods and there is shortage of consumption goods on account of decrease in their output the economic welfare will not increase even if the national income and per capita income rise. This is because the economic welfare of people depends not on capital goods but on consumption goods used by them. Similarly, when during war time the national income and the per capita income rise sharply; the economic welfare does not increase because during war days the entire production capacity of the country is engaged in producing War material and there is shortage of consumption goods. As a result, the standard of living of the people falls and the economic welfare decreases. Often, even with the increase in national income and per capita income the economic welfare decreases. This is the case when as a result of the increase in national income, income of the richer sections of the society increases and the poor do not gain at all from it. In other words, the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. Thus when the economic welfare of the rich increases, that of the poor decreases. Because the poor are more than the rich!, the total economic welfare decreases. Last, the influence of increase in national income on economic welfare depends also on the method of spending adopted by the people. If with the, increase in income, people spend on such necessities and facilities, as milk, ghee, eggs, fans, etc., which increase efficiency, the economic welfare will increase. But on the contrary, the expenditure on drinking, gambling etc. will result {n decreasing the economic welfare. As a matter of fact, the increase or decrease in economic welfare as a result of increase in national income depends on changes in the tastes of people. If the change in fashions and tastes takes place in the direction of the consumption of better goods, the economic welfare increases, otherwise the consumption of better goods, decreases. It is clear from the above analysis that though the national income and economic welfare are closely inter-related, yet it cannot be said with certainty that the, economic welfare would increase with the increase in national income and per capita income. The increase or decrease in economic welfare as a result of increase in national in come depends on a number of factors such as

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the rate of growth of population, the methods. of earning income the conditions working; the method of spending, the fashions and tastes, etc. (ii) Changes in the composition of national income and economic welfare: composition of national income refers to the kind of the goods and services produced in the country. Change in the composition of national income may sometimes increase economic welfare and may at another time decrease it.

Changes in the distribution of national income and economic welfare:

Changes in the distribution of national income and economic welfare take place in two ways: First, by transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, and Second, from the rich to the poor. When as a result of increase in national income, the transfer of wealth takes place in the former manner, the economic welfare decreases. This happens when the government gives more privileges to the richer sections and imposes regressive taxes on the poor. The actual relation between the distribution of national income and economic welfare concerns the latter form of transfer when wealth flows from the rich to the poor. The redistribution of wealth in favour of the poor is brought about by reducing the wealth of the rich and increasing the income of the poor. The income of the richer sections can be reduced by adopting a number of measures, e.g., by progressive taxation on income, property etc., by imposing checks on monopoly by nationalizing social services, by levying duties on costly and foreign goods which are used by the rich and so on. On the other hand, the income of the poor can ,also be raised in a number of ways, e.g., by fixing a minimum wage rate, by increasing the production of goods used by the poor, and by fixing the prices of such goods. By granting financial assistance to the producers of these goods, by the distribution of goods through cooperative stores, and by providing free education, social security and low rent accommodation to the poor. When through these methods the distribution of income takes, place ill favour of the poor, the economic welfare increases. Pigou has expressed this in these words: "Any cause which increases the absolute, share of real income in the hands o(the poor, provided that it does not lead to a contraction in the size of national dividend from any point of view will, in general increase economic welfare."

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But it is not essential that the equal distribution of national income , would lead to increase ,in economic welfare. On the contrary, there is a greater possibility of the economic welfare decreasing if the policy towards the rich is not rational. Heavy taxation and progressive taxes at high rates affect adversely the productive capacity, investment and capital formation, thereby decreasing the national income. Similarly, when through the efforts of the Government the income of the poor increases but if they spend that income on bad goods like drinking, gambling etc. or if their population increases, the economic welfare will decrease. But both these situations are not real and only express the fears, because the government. while imposing different kinds of progressive taxes on the rich, keeps particularly in view that taxation should not affect the production and investment adversely. On the other hand, when the income of a poor man increases he tries to pro vide better education to his children and to improve his standard of living. Thus we arrive at the conclusion that as a result of the increase in national income, the economic welfare will increase provided that the income of the poor increases instead of decreasing and they improve their standard of living and that the income of the rich decreases in such ,a way that their productive capacity, investment and capital accumulation do not decline.

National Income 'as a Measure of Economic Welfare

GNP is not a: satisfactory measure of economic welfare because the estimates, of national income do not include certain services and production activities which affect welfare. We discuss below some of the factors which affect human welfare but are not included in the GNP estimates. Leisure, One of the important things that affects the welfare of a society .is leisure. But it is not included in GNP. For example, longer working, hours may make people unhappy because their leisure is reduced. On the contrary, shorter working hours per week may increase leisure and make people happy. More or less leisure enjoyed by the community as such may affect the total output of the economy. But the value of leisure is excluded from the national income estimates. Quality of Life, GNP estimates do not include the quality of life which reflects the community's welfare. Life in overcrowded cities is full of tensions. Roads are

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overcrowded. There is loss in time. Accidents occur daily which cripple or kill people. Environment becomes polluted. There are the problems of water, power, housing, transportation, etc. Crimes spread. Life becomes complex and the quality of life deteriorates. Consequently, social welfare is reduced; but all these stresses and strains of city life are not included in the national income estimates. Strangely, the efforts made by governments to remedy the ills of the city Life are included in the GNP because they involve public expenditure. On the other hand, in places where there is no congestion, people enjoy fresh air and the beauty of nature, the quality of life tends to increase. But this is not reflecte in GNP.

Non-market Transactions,
Some of the non-market transactions increase, welfare but they are not included in national income estimates. The services of housewives within the home and community activities such as religious functions, affect the welfare of the people but they are excluded from the estimates of GNP because no market transaction is involved in providing these services.

Externalities
Similarly, there are externalities which tend to increase or decrease welfare but they are not included in GNP estimates. "An externality is a cost or benefit conferred upon second or third parties. as a result of acts of individual production and consumption." But the cost or benefit of an externality cannot be measured in money terms because it is not included in market activities. "An example of an external benefit is the pleasure one man derives from his neighbours fine garden: An example of an external cost is environmental pollution caused by industrial plants." The former tends to increase welfare and the latter tends to reduce it. Since externalities are "untraded interdependencies", they are excluded from national. Income estimates.

Nature of Production
GNP estimates do not reflect the capacity of different goods to provide different levels of satisfaction to the community. The same amount of money spent on a nuclear bomb or on building a dam across a river adds equally to the national income. But they provide

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different levels, of satisfaction to the community. A bomb does' not increase welfare while a dam increases welfare.

Standard of Living
National income estimates also do not reflect standard of living of the community which determines its welfare. If more national expenditure is incurred on the production of arms and ammunitions and on capital goods and less on producing consumption goods, this difference is not reflected in GNP estimates. But the reduction in the production of consumption goods tends to decrease the welfare of the people, while the increase in the expenditure on armaments and capital good does not increase welfare. Keeping the above limitations in view, GNP cannot be used as a measure of welfare. However, a few economists have tried to broaden the definition of GNP so as to make it a measure of economic welfare. A pioneering attempt toward this direction has been made
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by Professors Nordhaus and Tobin in 1972. They have constructed a 'Measure of 'Economic Welfare' which they call MEW. Professor Samuelson calls it 'Net Economic Welfare', or NEW. According to Nordhaus arid Tobin, in MEW they have tried 'w measure all consumption that leads to human welfare. To estimate the value of MEW, they deduct from consumption certain items which do not contribute to welfare and add other items that contribute to welfare but are excluded from GNP estimates. The deductions which they make are of three types: (1) Those public and private expenditures that do not yield utility directly. They call them "regrettable necessities", such as government expenditures on national defence, police force, road maintenance, and sanitation services, and expenses by consumers on commuting (i.e., travelling regularly by train, scooter, car or bus between one's residence and place of work). (2) All consumer expenditures on durable household goods such as washing machines, cars, TV sets, etc. which yield utility over their lifetime. (3) Estimated costs arising from "negative externalities" which are dis-amenities arising from urbanisation" congestion and pollution. All these reduce human welfare.

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Having made these deductions, Nordhaus and Tobin add three items to consumption: They are: (1) the value of non-market activities; (2) the estimates of the value of the services of durable consumer goods actually consumed by the owners- both households and government; and (3) the estimates of the value of leisure. In estimating MEW, Nordhaus and Tobin devote more attention to the valuation leisure. For this they adopt two approaches: the opportunity cost approach and the intrinsic-value approach. The first approach is based on the principle that when a person chooses to enjoy more leisure, it is always at the cost of foregoing more income. An hour's leisure means an hour's wages foregone, They estimated that the value of leisure measured by the opportunity cost approach has been steadily rising over the years because of the steady rise in the real wage rate per hour over the years. The intrinsic-value approach measures the value of leisure in terms of the actual enjoyment (utility) provided by, say, an hour's leisure. By using such valuation devices, Nordhaus and Tobin estimated that the figure of MEW in the United States for 1965 was dollars 1200 billion which was twice the' GNP, for the same year. Their estimate of the growth of per capita MEW for the period 1929.65 averaged 1.1 per cent a year, as against 1.7 per cent a year for pet I pita GNP for the same period. The estimates reveal that there was mark able increase in economic welfare. At the same time, the regrettable necessities had also been growing rapidly. From the above discussion, it should not be .inferred that MEW is :ant to replace GNP It is at best an attempt to supplement GNP order to include non-market activities in the latter for relating it to economic welfare.

Limitations of National Income as a measure of National Welfare: National Income estimate considers only those transactions which are carried through money. It does not take into A/c the portion of output especially the farm output. If the portion of output kept for self consumption is also brought to the market, the national Income will increase, though the total output in the country has not really increased. So, increase in income does not result in increase in economic welfare.

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 The N.I. at current prices cannot be a proper indicator of the economic welfare of the community. This is because if the prices changes, the N.I. also charges. But the actual production of the economy does not change. So, if the income alone increases without an increase in production, economic welfare cannot increase. The per capita Income is a better index that the N.I. to measure economic welfare of a country. The per capita Income also is not a foolproof index of economic welfare. This is because, if the growth of population in the country is at a higher rate than the increase it the real national income of the country, the per capita income and the economic welfare of the people will decrease.

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Reference

http://tutor2u.net/business/production/break_even.htm http://www.lmcuk.com/management-tool/breakeven-chart

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18446513/Lecture-21

www.mbaskool.com/docs/doc.../1731-national-income-a-economic-... sjecnotes.weebly.com/uploads/5/2/5/1/.../welfare_economics.doc http://www.scribd.com/doc/36968959/Break-Even-Analysis www.scribd.com/doc/99319185/BEP-and-NI-EW-Original

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