What you’ll learn to do: compare and contrast different economic systems (capitalist, planned, and mixed)

If you were born and raised in the United States, then the only economic system you have lived within is a capitalist or free market system. However, just as there are differences in culture, politics, religions, and languages around the world, economic systems vary from place to place. Which economic system a country adopts is the result of complex historical, political, and social factors that play out over time. Each system has its supporters and its critics, but as a student of economics it’s important for you to have a basic understanding of the three most common types: capitalist or free market economies, planned (sometimes called “command”) economies, and mixed economies, which have the characteristics of two or more types.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

The learning activities for this section include:

• Reading: How Economies Can Be Organized
• Reading: Control of Economic Decisions
• Self Check: Economic Systems

Take time to review and reflect on this activity in order to improve your performance on the assessment for this section.