The FDA’s role in the approval and subsequent review of Vioxx, a pain medication with- drawn from the market by its manufacturer after it was associated with heart attacks and strokes, is discussed in a case at the end of this textbook. In 2010, Congress established, as part of the Dodd-Frank Act (also discussed in Chapters 8 and 14), a new consumer regulatory body, called the Consumer Financial Pro- tection Bureau. The purposes and actions of this agency are described in Exhibit 15.B. The debate over whether government should become involved in protecting consumer privacy is discussed in the next section of this chapter. All seven government regulatory agencies shown in Figure 15.2 are authorized by law to intervene directly into the very center of free market activities, if that is considered nec- essary to protect consumers. In other words, consumer protection laws and agencies substi- tute government-mandated standards and the decisions of government officials for decision making by private buyers and sellers. Consumer Privacy in the Digital Age In the early 21st century, rapidly evolving information technologies have given new ur- gency to the broad issue of consumer privacy. Shoppers have always been concerned that information they reveal in the course of a sales transaction—for example, their credit card or driver’s license numbers—might be misused. But in recent years, fast-changing tech- nologies have increasingly enabled businesses to collect, buy, sell, and use vast amounts of personal data about their customers and potential customers. The danger is not only that this information might rarely be used fraudulently, but also that its collection represents a violation of privacy and might lead to unanticipated harms. Individuals are often unaware of how much information about themselves they reveal to others as they shop, interact with friends, play games, or look for information online. A variety of technologies make this possible. Many websites place cookies—or more power- ful Flash cookies—on a computer hard drive, to identify the user during each subsequent visit and to build profiles of their behavior over time. Web beacons embedded in e-mails and websites retrieve information about the viewer. In deep packet inspection, third parties access and analyze digital packets of information sent over the Internet, such as pieces of e-mails or Skype calls, to infer characteristics of the sender. Not just retailers, but also Internet service providers such as Comcast, search engine operators such as Google, and informational services such as Dictionary.com, also track their users. So-called data aggregators purchase and combine data about individuals collected from various sources and compile them into highly detailed portraits to be sold to retailers, service providers, and advertisers.15 An example of a data aggregator is Acxiom Corporation, based in Conway, Arkansas. Acxiom, called the “quiet giant” of the industry, has built the larg ...

1. The FDA’s role in the approval and subsequent review of
Vioxx, a pain medication with- drawn from the market by its
manufacturer after it was associated with heart attacks and
strokes, is discussed in a case at the end of this textbook.
In 2010, Congress established, as part of the Dodd-Frank Act
(also discussed in Chapters 8 and 14), a new consumer
regulatory body, called the Consumer Financial Pro- tection
Bureau. The purposes and actions of this agency are described
in Exhibit 15.B. The debate over whether government should
become involved in protecting consumer privacy is discussed in
the next section of this chapter.
All seven government regulatory agencies shown in Figure 15.2
are authorized by law to intervene directly into the very center
of free market activities, if that is considered nec- essary to
protect consumers. In other words, consumer protection laws
and agencies substi- tute government-mandated standards and
the decisions of government officials for decision making by
private buyers and sellers.
Consumer Privacy in the Digital Age
In the early 21st century, rapidly evolving information
technologies have given new ur- gency to the broad issue of
consumer privacy. Shoppers have always been concerned that
information they reveal in the course of a sales transaction—for
example, their credit card or driver’s license numbers—might
be misused. But in recent years, fast-changing tech- nologies
have increasingly enabled businesses to collect, buy, sell, and
use vast amounts of personal data about their customers and
potential customers. The danger is not only that this information
might rarely be used fraudulently, but also that its collection
represents a violation of privacy and might lead to unanticipated
harms.
Individuals are often unaware of how much information about
themselves they reveal to others as they shop, interact with

2. friends, play games, or look for information online. A variety of
technologies make this possible. Many websites place cookies—
or more power- ful Flash cookies—on a computer hard drive, to
identify the user during each subsequent visit and to build
profiles of their behavior over time. Web beacons embedded in
e-mails and websites retrieve information about the viewer. In
deep packet inspection, third parties access and analyze digital
packets of information sent over the Internet, such as pieces of
e-mails or Skype calls, to infer characteristics of the sender.
Not just retailers, but also Internet service providers such as
Comcast, search engine operators such as Google, and
informational services such as Dictionary.com, also track their
users. So-called data aggregators purchase and combine data
about individuals collected from various sources and compile
them into highly detailed portraits to be sold to retailers,
service providers, and advertisers.15
An example of a data aggregator is Acxiom Corporation, based
in Conway, Arkansas. Acxiom, called the “quiet giant” of the
industry, has built the largest consumer database in the world,
with an average of 1,500 data points on each of 500 million
people. It not only collects information from multiple sources,
but also analyzes it, placing individuals into categories such as
“savvy singles,” “flush families,” and “downtown dwellers.”
Acxiom’s customers include 47 of the Fortune 100 and such
well-known companies as Wells Fargo, Toyota, and Macy’s,
which pay for “360-degree views” of customers and prospective
customers.16
“It’s a digital vacuum cleaner,” said the executive director of
the Center for Digital Democracy, speaking of the data
aggregation industry. “They’re tracking where your mouse is on
the page, what you put in your shopping cart, and what you
don’t buy. A very sophisticated commercial surveillance system
has been put in place.”17
The main reason for all this tracking is to tailor commercial
messages to individuals. The term behavioral advertising refers
to advertising that is targeted to particular custom- ers, based

3. on their observed online behavior. For example, a shopper
might view a dress while browsing online for an outfit for an
upcoming event, and then later when checking a news site might
see an advertisement for the same dress pop up on her screen.
According to AudienceScience, a digital marketing technology
company, behavioral advertising was used by 85 percent of ad
agencies in 2011, and these agencies planned to increase their
spending on it significantly going forward. The reason most
often cited by survey respondents was that targeted ads were
simply “more effective.”18
Advertisements tailored to a user’s interests and preferences
have many advantages for both buyer and seller. The buyer is
more likely to receive messages that are relevant, and the seller
is more likely to reach prospective customers. For example,
Amazon tracks its customers’ preferences, so on subsequent
visits to the website it can recommend books, electronics, and
other products that a person might like—a potential benefit to
shoppers.
But the vast collection of information that makes behavioral
advertising possible also car- ries risks. For example, in a
practice called weblining, individuals may be denied opportu-
nities, such as credit, based on their online profiles. Some
people are simply worried that information collected for the
purpose of advertising might fall into the wrong hands, with-
out their knowledge or consent. Consumer Reports found in a
2012 survey that 71 percent of respondents were “very
concerned” about companies sharing information about them
without their permission.19
The dilemma of how best to protect consumer privacy in the
digital age, while still fos- tering legitimate commerce, has
generated a wide-ranging debate. Three major solutions have
been proposed: consumer self-help, industry self-regulation, and
privacy legislation.
• Consumer self-help. In this view, the best solution is for

4. users to employ technologies that enable them to protect their
own privacy. For example, special software can help manage
cookies, encryption can protect e-mail messages, and surfing
through interme- diary sites can provide user anonymity.
Individuals can learn about and use privacy settings on websites
they access. Specialized services, such as one called Privacy-
Choice, score various sites on how they handle personal data,
offering consumers tools for choosing which to do business
with. “We have to develop mechanisms that allow consumers to
control information about themselves,” commented a
representative of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a
civil liberties group.20 Critics of this approach argue that many
unsophisticated web surfers are unaware of these mechanisms,
or even of the need for them. A recent survey of Facebook
users, for example, estimated that 28 percent of them shared all
or almost all of their “wall” posts with the general public— not
just their “friends.”21
• Industry self-regulation. Many Internet-related businesses
have argued that they should be allowed to regulate themselves.
In their view, the best approach would be for compa- nies to
adopt voluntary policies for protecting the privacy of
individuals’ information disclosed during electronic
transactions. For example, the Digital Advertising Alliance, a
marketing trade group, developed an icon—a turquoise triangle
placed in the upper right-hand corner of some online ads—that
users could click to shield their behavior from tracking.22 One
advantage of the self-regulation approach is that companies,
pre- sumably sophisticated about their own technology, might
do the best job of defining technical standards. Critics of this
approach feel, however, that industry rules would inevitably be
too weak. After all, companies often made money from selling
personal information to advertisers, giving them a disincentive
to protect it.
• Privacy legislation. Some favor new government
regulations protecting consumer pri- vacy online. In 2012, the
Federal Trade Commission issued a comprehensive report on

5. protecting consumer privacy. The commission recommended
that businesses adopt a number of best practices, including
greater disclosure of how they collected and used consumers’
information, simple “opt out” tools, improved security, and time
limits on the retention of data. The FTC also recommended that
Congress consider enacting new
legislation addressing these issues.23 Consumer privacy
protections are generally stronger in the European Union than in
the United States. Under European data protec- tion laws,
people must be notified when information is collected about
them and be given a chance to review and correct it if
necessary. An Austrian law student recently used these rules to
force Facebook to give him thousands of pages of data about
him it had collected, and then used this information to press the
company publicly for stronger privacy protections.24
Any approach to online privacy would face the challenge of how
best to balance the legitimate interests of consumers—to protect
their privacy—and of business—to deliver increasingly
customized products and services in the digital age. The issue of
online pri- vacy is also explored in the discussion case that
appears in Chapter 12.
Special Issue: Product Liability
Who is at fault when a consumer is harmed by a product or
service? This is a complex legal and ethical issue. The term
product liability refers to the legal responsibility of a firm for
injuries caused by something it made or sold. Under laws in the
United States and some other countries, consumers have the
right to sue and to collect damages if harmed by an unsafe
product. Consumer advocates and trial attorneys have generally
supported these legal protections, saying they are necessary
both to compensate injured victims and to de- ter irresponsible
behavior by companies in the first place. Some in the business
commu- nity, by contrast, have argued that courts and juries
have unfairly favored plaintiffs, and they have called for
reforms of product liability laws. This section describes this
debate and recent changes in relevant U.S. law. The special

6. issue of whether or not food compa- nies and restaurants should
be held liable for obesity is profiled in the discussion case at
the end of this chapter.
Strict Liability
In the United States, the legal system has generally looked
favorably on consumer claims. Under the doctrine of strict
liability, courts have held that manufacturers are responsible for
injuries resulting from use of their products, whether or not the
manufacturers were negligent or breached a warranty. That is,
they may be found to be liable, whether or not they knowingly
did anything wrong. Consumers can also prevail in court even if
they were partly at fault for their injuries. The following well-
publicized case illustrates the extent to which businesses can be
held responsible under this strict standard.
Running head: INDIA AND UNITED STATES GDP
1
INDIA AND UNITED STATES GDP
4

7. India and United States GDP
Name
Course
Tutor
Institution
Date
GDP and GDP Per Capita
India is one of the fast growing economies in the world with
current gross domestic product of approximately $2.264 trillion
in 2016. The country has a gross domestic per capita of
$1,709.39 with annual gross domestic product growth rate of
7.1%. These statistics shows the fact that the Indian economy is
fast growing and has stabilized over the years based on the
annual gross domestic product growth rate. The United States
has a significant higher economic stability having a gross
domestic product of approximately $18.57 with GDP per capita
of $57,466. The GDP annual growth rate is at 1.6%. From the
figures it is clear that the Indian economy is growing very fast
despite a lower GDP per capita which is attributed to its high
population of approximately 1.3 billion people compared to the
united states population which is approximately 323 million
(World Bank. (n.d.).

8. Standards of living
The United States has a higher standard of living than India.
This is because United States has a higher GDP per capita that
is a measure of standards of living. Per capita GDP is measure
of the country’s total output in terms of goods and services
which is the gross domestic product divided by the number of
people in the country. United States has GDP per capita of
$57,466 compared to India’s $1,709.39 that is very small.
The rate of inflation
The recent inflation rate for 2017 in India was significantly
higher at the rate of 4.8% that was attributed to increase in
prices of common basic goods. Within the same period, United
States had an inflation rate of 2.1% that was slightly higher than
the required inflation rate of 2% (Oladosu et.al., 2018).
Growth rate and factors influencing economy growth
India has a very high rate of growth that averages 7.1% GDP
growth compared to the United States, which has low GDP
growth rate of 1.6%. As a result, the Indian economy is growing
very fast which has been boosted by the setup of different
industries as well as available cheaper costs of production,
which are positive influencing economic growth in India. The
focus on multiple industries within the economy has developed
a well-engaged environment where there is no over-reliant on a
single industry. The country has developed agricultural, fishing
and forestry industries through technological integration to
ensure high focus on economic growth (Lee & Yue, 2017).

9. References
Lee, J., & Yue, C. (2017). Impacts of the US dollar (USD)
exchange rate on economic growth and the environment in the
United States. Energy Economics, 64, 170-176.
Lynn, R., & Yadav, P. (2015). Differences in cognitive ability,
per capita income, infant mortality, fertility and latitude across
the states of India. Intelligence, 49, 179-185.
Oladosu, G. A., Leiby, P. N., Bowman, D. C., Uría-Martínez,
R., & Johnson, M. M. (2018). Impacts of oil price shocks on the
United States economy: A meta-analysis of the oil price
elasticity of GDP for net oil-importing economies. Energy
Policy, 115, 523-544.
World Bank. (n.d.). India. Retrieved from
https://data.worldbank.org/country/india
R
unning
head: INDIA AND UNITED STATES GDP
1

10. India
and
United States GDP
Name
Course
Tutor
Institution
Date
Running head: INDIA AND UNITED STATES GDP
1

11. India and United States GDP
Name
Course
Tutor
Institution
Date
Cuba:
Cuba is an archipelago whose borders are: North: Florida
Peninsula (United States), separated by the Straits of Florida.
South: Caribbean Islands, all bathed by the Caribbean Sea. East:
Separated from the Spanish island by the Windward Passage
between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. West:
Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), separated by the Yucatan Channel.
Cuba has about 11 million inhabitants. The white population,
which corresponds to the majority, is formed by the descendants
of Spanish immigrants, although there is also a high level of

12. miscegenation made up of whites, blacks and Chinese. Cuban
culture is a combination of Spanish and African traditions.
Popular music is the rumba and son, but also folk music like
Guajiro point and tap dance and traditional African dances. The
predominant religion in Cuba is the Roman Catholic
Christianity, but they respect other such as Evangelicals,
Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Methodists, Presbyterians, as
well as Parallel Santeria or Regla de Ocha, that has been
established and recognized as a religion. Cuba major exports are
sugar, cigars, rum, coffee and nickel and imports are its main
imports are oil refining, wheat, corn, poultry, concentrated
milk. The name of the national currency is the Cuban Peso and
the education is totally free.
Since the victory of the Cuban Revolution (1959), Cuba's
political system has been a popular democracy with a
communist ideology. For nearly fifty years, the country was
ruled by Fidel Castro, first as prime minister in 1959 and then
as president of the State Council, the highest executive body,
and the Council of Ministers in 1976, currently commanded by
his brother Raul Castro. The Republic of Cuba is member of:
ACP, ALBA, AOSIS, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC
(national committees), ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU,
LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation
since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU,
WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO.
References
(n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba
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