1 / 19

Economic Systems

This article provides an overview of traditional, command, and market economic systems, explaining how they answer the three fundamental economic questions. It also discusses mixed economies and highlights the advantages of market systems.

lmelissa
Download Presentation

Economic Systems

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Economic Systems

  2. Economic Systems • An economic system describes how a country’s economy is organized • Because of the problem of scarcity, every country needs a system to determine how to use its productive resources • Scarcity = not having enough of something • An economic system must answer 3 questions…

  3. Economic Systems • WHAT TO PRODUCE? (What kinds of goods and services should be produced?) • HOW TO PRODUCE? (What productive resources are used to produce goods and services?) • FOR WHOM TO PRODUCE? (Who gets to have the goods and services?

  4. Three Types of Economic Systems: • 1. Traditional Economy • 2. Command Economy • 3. Market Economy • * Most countries are… Mixed Economies! (Market + Command)

  5. Traditional Economy • An economic system in which economic decisions are based on customs and beliefs (hunting and gathering) • People will make what they always made & will do the same work their parents did • Exchange of goods is done through Bartering: trading without using money

  6. Traditional Economy • Who decides what to produce? • People follow their customs and make what their ancestors made • Who decides how to produce goods & services? • People grow & make things the same way that their ancestors did • Who are the goods & services produced for? • People in the village who need them

  7. Traditional Economy • Examples: • Villages in Africa and South America • the Inuit tribes in Canada • the caste system in parts of rural India • the Aborigines in Australia

  8. Command System Government makes all economic decisions & owns most of the property Governmental planning groups determine such things as the prices of goods/services & the wages of workers This system has not been very successful & more and more countries are abandoning it

  9. Command Economy • Who decides what to produce? • Government makes all economic decisions • Who decides how to produce goods and services? • Government decides how to make goods/services • Who are the goods and services produced for? • Whoever the government decides to give them to

  10. Command System Countries with communist governments have Command economies Examples: There are no truly pure command economic systems, but close countries are: North Korea, former Soviet Union, Cuba *Germany and Russia have moved away from having a Command economy since 1991. Now they have a Mixed economy.

  11. Market Economy • An economic system in which production and distribution questions are answered by prices and profits (supply and demand) • Most of the resources are owned by private citizens • Economic decisions are based on Free Enterprise(competition between companies) • Important economic questions are not answered by gov. but by individuals • Gov. does not tell a business what goods to produce or what price to charge

  12. Market Economy • Who decides what to produce? • Businesses base decisions on supply and demand and free enterprise (PRICE) • Who decides how to produce goods and services? • Businesses decide how to produce goods • Who are the goods and services produced for? • consumers

  13. Market Economy There are no truly pure Market economies, but the United States is close.

  14. In a truly free market economy, the government would not be involved at all • There would be no laws to protect workers form unfair bosses • There would be no rules to make sure that credit cards were properly protected • Many societies have chosen to have some rules to protect consumers, workers, and businesses (MIXED) • These rules reduce the freedoms that businesses have, but they also protect the workers and consumers

  15. Mixed Economy • Market + Command = Mixed • There are no pure command or market economies. • To some degree, all modern economies exhibit characteristics of both systems and are often referred to as mixed economies. • Most economies are closer to one type of economic system than another • Businesses own most resources and determine what and how to produce, but the government regulates certain industries

  16. Mixed Economy • Who decides what to produce? • businesses • Who decides how to produce goods and services? • Businesses, but the government regulates certain industries • Who are the goods and services produced for? • consumers

  17. Mixed Economies • Most democratic countries fall in this category (there are no truly pure Market or Command economies). • Examples: Brazil, Mexico, Canada, UK, US, Germany, Russia, Australia, etc.

  18. Economy Continuum Command Market UK US Germany Cuba Russia Australia

  19. Which Economic System Is Best? • Market system has proven to be best because it promotes the goals of growth, freedom, & efficiency • Citizens are free to own their own property and use it in the most efficient and profitable way • Command and Traditional systems sometimes offer more security, but are not nearly as strong in efficiency, growth, freedom, and environmental quality

More Related