Microeconomics

ECON 208 – Microeconomic Theory

University of Saint Francis

Osawa, Juro & Mozur, Paul (2013, October 10). A Global War of Messaging Apps. Wall Street Journal, p.B5.

The article talks about how 2 Asian messaging apps are posting threats to the big U.S-based messaging apps. The first one is Line, which is based in Japan. The other one is WeChat, which is based in China. Wechat, developed by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings LTD., has about 300 million registered users in China and 100 million overseas. While Line said it has more than 250 million users and about 80% of these are outside of Japan. For many chinese users, WeChat is more than just a messaging app, it allows you to share ‘moments’, and to post status updates, like facebook. Line also features voice calls through the network, which is very important for people that don’t live in the same country and want to avoid carrier charges for international calls.

Rogers, Christina (2013, October 10). Does This Car Come in My Size?. Wall Street Journal, p.B1.

This article talks about how the carmakers are starting to make vehicles to fit better tall, and short people. Tall people do not like to be in a car that will bump their head or bruise their knees, while short crane their necks for better sight lines and sometimes strain comfortably reach the foot pedals. One way designers are addressing the problem is by trying to build in more flexibility. More cars, even those at lower price points now offer features like telescoping steering wheels, movable foot pedals, and seats that adjust a dozen different ways, including even lengthening and shortening the cushion itself.

Microeconomic Concepts/Concerns

Line and WeChat are definitely 2 of the biggest messaging apps to come to smartphones, they are not only to send messages, and they allow you to do a big variety of things that are facebook-like. While these 2 apps are still not popular in the U.S, when they get to be popular and...