Name: ______Date: ______

Types of Economics Systems Graphic Organizer

Communism / Socialism / Market System
Who owns resources?
Who decides how resources will be used?
What is the role of the government?

1. In a short paragraph, define the term economic systems. Then give two examples of different types of economic systems. Then, give at least 2 similarities and/or differences between the economic systems you chose.

2. In a short paragraph, choose which economic system you think is the most effective. Give the definition of the economic system you chose. Be sure to give specific examples of why they economy is efficient to support your answer.

Answer Key-

Communism / Socialism / Market System
Who owns resources? / Government owns everything / Government owns basic resources and the rest is privately owned / All resources are privately owned
Who decides how resources will be used? / Government officials decide / Government planners and market forces share the decisions / Market forces decide
What is the role of the government? / Government makes all economic decisions / Government makes decisions in only the basic industries / Governments role is limited—mostly to ensure forces are free to work

1.

Sample response:

An economic system is the way a society uses its resources to satisfy its people’s unlimited wants. Two examples of economic systems are market economies and command economies. Market economies are different than command economies because in a market economy, consumers and producers are in control of the resources in the economy. In command economies resources are owned and ruled by the government. A similarity in a command and market economy is that their goals are both to meet the needs of its people. But, a big difference is that command economies are often inefficient in this goal, while market economies are more efficient.

2.

Sample response:

I think the most effective economic system is the mixed economy. A mixed economy is an economic system that has elements of traditional, command, and/or market economies. I think it is the most efficient economy because they can take the best parts of each individual economic system and combine them. For example, in the United States, we use a lot of market economy characteristics but government is able to intervene in order to help people who cannot work like the disabled and elderly, provide its citizens with a military and even healthcare assistance. In a pure market economy, they cannot do this. It is a piece we take from command economies that help those who cannot help themselves. We are also able to have consumers buy what they want at low prices because of competition (a market economy characteristic) but still have government regulations to make things fair for all (a command economy characteristic). It is no wonder mixed economies are the most common in the world, as they are so efficient.