What is a command economy?
Economic Systems
1. Answer the questions:
A. What types of economy do you know?
B. What type of economy does Russia have?
2. Match the words and translation:
| 1. command economic system | a. рыночная экономика |
| 2. market economy | b. плановая экономика |
| 3. mixed economic system | c. командная экономика |
| 4. planned economy | d. смешанная экономика |
Economics Wordbank
| 1. to consume - потреблять 2. to distribute – распределять 3. to decide – решать, принимать решение 4. a law – закон | 5. a marketplace - рынок 6. a price - цена 7. a wage - заработная плата 8. a government – правительство 9. competition - конкуренция |
3. Do the crossword:
Across
3. buy (goods or services)
7. the arena of commercial dealings
9. a single person (unit 1)
10. the group of people who governs a country or a state
Down
1. an activity when two or more firms try to sell more goods and get more clients 2.to make a choice or define what to do
4. bring (goods) to retailers or shops
5. the amount of money that you pay for something in the shop
6. a rule, set by the government to keep order
8. a fixed regular payment for work or services
4. World building:
A) Try to guess the meanings of the words in the table below
B) Fill in the gaps with the correct word form
1. This process … enormous amounts of energy.
2. The deal will reduce … in the aircraft market.
3. I … to buy a car next month.
4. Their … told them that they can’t use the park for the concert.
5. The … controls the economy.
6. We didn't understand how difficult it was to … a national newspaper.
7. He was a professor of criminal … at Harvard University.
8. I made a … about buying a car.
9. He admitted that there were problems with emergency food ….
10. Industrial countries should reduce their energy ….
| to distribute | to decide | law | competition | government | to consume |
| distribution | decision | lawful | compete | govern | consumption |
| distributional | decisive | unlawful | competitive | governing | consumer |
| distributive | decisively | lawyer | competitor | governmental | consumable |
| distributor | governor |
c) Correct sentences, there is a wrong part of speech in each sentence:
1. Consumer of goods in this country is on a high level.
2. The price is low because of heavy compete.
3. This company deals with distributional of cars.
4. The head of the department makes decisively about wages.
5. The firm distributor milk between city shops.
6. This company is a strong competition in the market.
7. The chief decision what to do in this case.
8. Consumption are those who buy goods and services.
Reading.
5. Try to answer the following questions before reading the text. Then read the text and check your answers:
a. Can you name the types of economy in Russia, the USA, China and some European countries?
b. What type economy was in your country 50 years ago?
6. Read the text again and say if the following sentences are True or False:
a. In a command economic system the government doesn’t control the economy.
b. The example of a command economy was the Soviet Union.
c. In market economies, individuals make economic decisions.
d. There are many countries that have a pure market economy or a pure command economy.
e. The government plays no role in the distribution of resources in countries with mixed economies.
7. Answer the questions:
a. Can you give more examples of command economies? Which ones?
b. Why doesn’t a pure market economy exist?
c. Who makes decisions in a command economy, a market economy and a mixed economy?
Economic Systems
What is a command economy?
In a command economic system or planned economy, the government controls the economy. The government decides how to use and distribute resources. The government regulates prices and wages; it may even determine what sorts of work individuals do. Socialism is a type of command economic system.
The classic example of a command economy was the communist Soviet Union. The collapse of the communist bloc in the late 1980s led to the demise of many command economies around the world; Cuba continues to hold on to its planned economy even today.
What is a market economy?
In market economies, economic decisions are made by individuals. The free interaction of individuals and companies in the marketplace determines how to allocate resources and how to distribute goods. Individuals choose how to invest their personal resources—what education to choose, what jobs to take, what goods or services to produce. And individuals decide what to consume. Within a pure market economy the government is entirely absent from the economy.
Most of the countries today have a combination of market economy and command economy. There are no countries that have a pure market economy or a pure command economy. Even countries like the USA have many laws such as anti-monopoly laws that restrict free competition, which is essential for a pure market economy.
What is a mixed economy?
A mixed economic system combines elements of the market and command economy. Many economic decisions are made in the market by individuals. But the government also plays a role in the distribution of resources.
Today, the economies of most industrial countries are considered mixed economies. In Western European nations the government usually plays a larger role in the economy than in North America.
Adapted from http://www.shmoop.com/ and http://www.enotes.com/