The basic problem of economics can also be presented as a problem of choice. Indeed, if each factor used to satisfy various needs is limited, then there is always the problem of alternative use and search for the best combination of factors of production, that is, the problem of choice. A reflection of this problem is the statement three main questions economy.

Three main questions of economics:

What? – problem of targeting.

– Which of the possible goods and services should be produced in a given economic space and at a given time? – How? production problem.

– With what combination of production resources, using what technology, should the selected goods and services be produced? – For whom? distribution problem.

– Who will buy the selected goods and pay for them, benefiting from them? How should society's gross income from the production of these goods and services be distributed? The fourth question, which also inevitably faces every society, is the question: How?

How to get rid of waste generated in the process of life, how to maintain the ecological balance in nature without reducing the level of consumption. This

recycling problem.

5. Production possibilities in the economic system and the problem of choice. The production capabilities of the economic system are limited by the scarcity of the resources used. Moreover, the limitation of all economic resources remains and even increases as society develops. This is due not only to the depletion of irreplaceable natural resources, but also to the fact that consumption constantly gives impetus to the development of production, that is, new goods and services are created, their quality characteristics change, which causes an increase in the need for consumer and investment goods. And each time society is forced to decide which of these goods to produce with available resources and on what scale.. And also, this model allows you to clearly demonstrate such fundamental economic concepts as limited resources, opportunity costs.

To build the model, we will plot the number of consumer goods (X) on the abscissa axis, and the number of means of production (Y) on the ordinate axis (see figure).

Means of production (Y)

Consumables (X)

O X B X C

The ABCD curve, called production possibilities frontier, characterizes the maximum possible volumes of production of means of production and consumer goods with full use of all available resources. Each point on this curve represents a certain combination of goods of these two types (for example, point B represents a combination of X B units of consumer goods and Y B units of capital goods.

The production possibilities frontier graph illustrates the fact that an economy that is fully utilizing productive resources cannot increase the production of any good without sacrificing another good. The functioning of an economy at the frontier of its production possibilities indicates its efficiency.

Based on this, the choice of the combination corresponding to point F is regarded as unsuccessful for a given society, since it does not allow it to effectively use production resources. Having chosen such a point, we would resign ourselves either to the presence of unused resources (for example, unemployment) or to the low efficiency of their use (for example, large losses, including working time). Production based on the choice of point E is generally unfeasible, since this point lies beyond the production capabilities of a given economic system.

Let's compare points B and C. By choosing point B, we will prefer to produce fewer consumer goods (X B) and more means of production (Y B) than by choosing point C (X C, Y C). More precisely, when moving from point B to point C, we will additionally receive Δ X = OX C – OX B units of consumer goods, sacrificing for this ΔY = OY B – OY C units of means of production. The amount of one good that must be sacrificed to increase the production of another good by one unit is called opportunity costs or costs of lost opportunities.

The ABCD curve is convex. This is due to the fact that one resource can be used more productively in the production of consumer goods, while others can be used as means of production.

If new technology, new technological processes are introduced simultaneously and evenly in all industries, then the production possibilities frontier AD will shift to the position of the dotted line A 1 D 1, the possibilities of producing both means of production and consumer goods with the same resources will increase approximately equally ( see fig.).

If innovations are carried out primarily in industries producing capital goods, the increase in the area of ​​production possibilities will be skewed to the right (see figure).

At almost all stages of human development, society faces the main question: “How and in what quantities, with limited resources, to maximize productivity?” To solve this problem, economic systems and their types were invented. Each of these systems solves this issue in its own way. They have pros and cons. Let's take a closer look. Evaluation of the economic system is an important nuance in state policy.

Concept of economic system

An economic system is a structure that unites all economic processes and production relations that exist in society. This concept should be understood as an algorithm, as well as a production structure, which, on the one hand, determines relationships with consumers, and on the other, establishes connections between producers.

It should be noted that the concept of “economic system” and its types strongly depend on which scientific school we are talking about. Some consider it using macroeconomic concepts, others - through human influence, others focus on what the mechanisms of the economic system are: systematicity and so on.

In any economic system there will be basic processes of production, distribution, exchange and consumption. In any of the existing systems there is a production process that is created using special resources. However, some elements in this matter are different. We are talking about what production mechanisms are used, the motivation of the manufacturer himself, as well as how difficult the nature of socio-economic relationships is.

Economic system and its types

The most important thing in the analysis of the described term should be called typology. The characteristics of each type of system have 5 main parameters by which they are compared with each other. Below, the types of economic systems and their characteristics are described in detail, but for now we will focus on more important information.

We are talking about the mechanisms by which the system functions: about social parameters, that is, about the amount of working and free time, about how labor protection and real income are implemented. The relationship between planning and market regulation is also taken into account. This should also include relations in the sphere of property, as well as technical and economic parameters. Thanks to this data, economists were able to identify the main economic systems. We are talking about traditional, market, mixed, and also command-planned.

Traditional type of economic system

This economic system was the very first. She was born in primitive times. At that time, the system was based on subsistence farming. Nowadays the traditional type is almost never found. It can sometimes be found in third world countries, as well as in some regions of America, Asia and Africa. In order to maintain this economic system, it is necessary to hunt and gather together with low-productivity farming, which is entirely based on manual methods of work. Almost no technologies are used here, if you do not take into account the most primitive ones. Trade is practically not developed, if it exists at all. The peculiarities of an economic system of this type lie only in its dignity.

The only advantage of this economic system is that there is no environmental pollution during operation. In addition, there is practically no impact on nature.

Command-planned

This system is also called centralized. It also refers to historical types of economic systems. At the moment it is impossible to find it in its pure form. It was previously found in the Soviet Union and was also used in some countries in Europe and Asia. Other types of economic systems and their characteristics allow us to conclude that this policy is completely unprofitable.

Now scientists highlight the disadvantages of the system more than its advantages. We'll look at them.

Firstly, the manufacturer does not have freedom, that is, how much and what to produce could only be decided by higher authorities. It is impossible to satisfy the large-scale economic needs of buyers. Some goods are in chronic shortage. A black market is emerging. Its appearance is a reaction to the nuances described above. It is also impossible to quickly and efficiently introduce new technologies into the process in order to increase production, and so on.

It is because of this that, as a rule, this economic system always remains behind competitors who work according to a different type, entering the global market. Although there is one of the few advantages: this system allows you to achieve social stability for every resident of the country.

Market economic system

Anyone who understands even a little about economics understands that the market is a rather complex system. It is now inherent in almost all countries in the modern world. It is also called capitalism.

The main function of the economic system is the principle of individualism, entrepreneurship, as well as competition, which arises in the presence of demand, supply and in the production of products. As a rule, the market is always dominated by private property, and the incentive to produce any goods is to make a profit.

Even with these advantages, such an economic system is not ideal. There are disadvantages, for example, income is distributed unevenly, social inequality and the vulnerability of some citizens are relevant. Also, the market economic system is quite unstable. It can cause a crisis. Natural resources suffer from it (due to the barbaric attitude towards them), and almost no one funds non-profit programs.

Mixed type

Economists identify a fourth type - mixed, which assumes that both the state and the private sector have an equal role in society. The function of the economic system is that the state supports unprofitable but important enterprises: they finance science, culture, unemployment, as well as many other functions, and the private segment is engaged in the production of mass goods and provides services necessary for everyone.

Examples of economic systems and types

You should definitely consider modern countries that work with one or another economic system. Since these data are unofficial, and it is impossible to judge for sure which economic system they relate to with 100% accuracy, economic figures are still trying to determine as accurately as possible the type of economy with which a particular state operates.

For example, Vanuatu, Barbados, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and other countries that are not very developed in this regard are still working with a traditional type of economy.

The planned one is more characteristic of the USSR; India also used this type until the beginning of the 1990s. In addition, Hitler's Germany worked with the same economic system.

Almost many countries that are currently leaders in the economy have a market type. These are the USA, Japan, France, Canada, South Africa and so on.

Mixed type in China and Russia. More details about the types of economic systems and their characteristics above.

Russia

Let us dwell in detail on Russia. At the moment, it is impossible to say exactly what economic type the state is working with, but professors from Moscow State University characterize the country’s politics as a “mutation of late capitalism.” Today it is customary to accept the economy of the Russian Federation as a transitional one; it should be noted that it is quite successful, since the market is developing at tremendous speed.

Transition economy

It would be fair to consider the transition economy as well. It combines changes within the current system and the acquisition of some characteristics from any other that exists.

At the moment, in order to create a transitional economic system to a market one, it is necessary to reform the public sector, introducing privatization and leasing of property. You should also pay attention to the creation of a market infrastructure that will satisfy the market and make production more efficient given the availability of certain resources.

It is important that it is necessary to develop small and medium-sized businesses, as well as encourage people if they decide to engage in entrepreneurship. You should work with producers who have different forms of ownership: private or state. You should also pay attention to the issue of pricing. Market mechanisms need to be introduced.

Results

The article discusses economic types, examples and features. It is important to note that the type of economic systems is an interesting question, given that many states do not announce what kind of mechanism they are working with.

A market economic system will be most effective, since it allows the economy to develop from the best side, and its shortcomings are gradually reduced to a minimum. If a country begins to enter the global market with its products, then it will be able to pull the entire country out of any situation, improve the economy and put people’s lives in order.

You also need to remember about business development. It is important to encourage all entrepreneurs who engage in it. By introducing such activities, it is possible to reduce the costs of producing widely demanded devices, but also to benefit from the functioning of this activity.

According to some sources, Russia is a country with a mixed economy, while others say it is a country in transition. The types of economic systems described above and their characteristics should already be clear to the reader. It should be noted that, one way or another, the market in the country is really very well developed, so it is unlikely that any problems will arise in the economic sphere in the near future.

1. Read the text and complete the tasks.

The telegraph, as you know, appeared long before the telephone and quickly became a popular means of transmitting information. But few people know that in the 19th century. there was an attempt to make a business in the trade of telegraph devices, promoting them to the market as devices for personal household use. Such a business did not take place, since each buyer of the device had to learn Morse code and acquire communication skills in this “non-human language.” Engineer A. Bell, seeing that society needed a means of communication, soon invented the telephone, providing a simple and natural way for people to communicate. With the use of the telephone, the communications business began to expand rapidly.

(Based on materials from the Encyclopedia for Schoolchildren)

How the main economic issues were resolved in this particular situation:

1) What to produce and in what quantity?

In large quantities, what the people need and conveniently.

2) How to produce?

Economically, with benefits for yourself and customers.

3) For whom to produce?

For people.

2. Explain the meaning of the concepts.

Economic efficiency is the ratio between the manufacturer's results obtained and labor costs.

An economic system is a set of organizational methods for coordinating the economic activities of people to solve the main issues of the economy .

3. Name several ways to improve production efficiency.

Optimization of technology, increase in personnel levels, etc.

4. Fill out the table using the textbook text.

5. Analyze the situations and determine the type of economic system.

1) In country W, the main wealth is land, which is owned by the community. The production process is carried out in accordance with the customs of our ancestors. Families produce everything they need for life on their own farms. Commodity-money relations are not developed.

Traditional economics.

2) In country N, all natural and economic resources are owned by the state. Planning and pricing issues are resolved centrally.

Command economy.

6. Compare market and command economies. Select and write down in the first column of the table the ordinal numbers of their similarities, and in the second column the ordinal numbers of the differences between a market economy and a command economy.

1) dominance of the state form of ownership
2) solving the problem of limited resources
3) production of goods and services
4) competition between producers

7. In the section “The Wise Speak” there is a statement by the American economist V. Leontiev (see p. 160 of the textbook). Analyze the author's words.

1) How do you understand the meaning of this statement?

A person does something on his own initiative and decides where he will take it. Private initiative is decisive.

2) Write down two or three social science terms that can be used to explain the meaning of this statement.

Independent choice, demand, supply.

3) Give some examples to illustrate this statement.

A man opened a store and runs it himself.

At all historical stages of human development, society faces the same question: what, for whom and in what quantities to produce, taking into account limited resources. The economic system and types of economic systems are precisely designed to solve this problem. Moreover, each of these systems does this in its own way, each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Concept of economic system

An economic system is a system of all economic processes and production relations that has developed in a particular society. This concept refers to an algorithm, a way of organizing the production life of society, which presupposes the presence of stable connections between producers on the one hand and consumers on the other.

The following processes are the main ones in any economic system:

Production in any of the existing economic systems is carried out on the basis of appropriate resources. Some elements still differ in different systems. We are talking about the nature of management mechanisms, motivation of producers, etc.

Economic system and types of economic systems

An important point in the analysis of any phenomenon or concept is its typology.

Characteristics of types of economic systems, in general, comes down to the analysis of five main parameters for comparison. This:

• technical and economic parameters;
• the ratio of the share of state planning and market regulation of the system;
• property relations;
• social parameters (real income, amount of free time, labor protection, etc.);
• mechanisms of system functioning.

Based on this, modern economists distinguish four main types of economic systems:

1. Traditional
2. Command-planned
3. Market (capitalism)
4. Mixed

Let's take a closer look at how all these types differ from each other.

Traditional economic system

This economic system is characterized by gathering, hunting and low-productivity farming based on extensive methods, manual labor and primitive technologies. Trade is poorly developed or not developed at all.

Perhaps the only advantage of such an economic system is the weak (almost zero) and minimal anthropogenic load on nature.

Command-plan economic system

A planned (or centralized) economy is a historical type of economic management. Nowadays it is not found anywhere in its pure form. Previously, it was typical for the Soviet Union, as well as some countries in Europe and Asia.

Today they talk more often about the shortcomings of this economic system, among which it is worth mentioning:

• lack of freedom for producers (commands to produce “what and in what quantities” were sent from above);
• dissatisfaction with a large number of economic needs of consumers;
• chronic shortages of some goods;
• emergence (as a natural reaction to the previous point);
• the inability to quickly and effectively implement the latest achievements of scientific and technological progress (due to which the planned economy always remains one step behind other competitors in the global market).

However, this economic system also had its advantages. One of them was the possibility of ensuring social stability for everyone.

Market economic system

The market is a complex and multifaceted economic system that is typical for most countries of the modern world. Also known by another name: capitalism. The fundamental principles of this system are the principles of individualism, free enterprise and healthy market competition based on the relationship between supply and demand. Private property dominates here, and the main incentive for production activity is the thirst for profit.

However, such an economy is far from ideal. The market type of economic system also has its disadvantages:

• uneven distribution of income;
• social inequality and social vulnerability of certain categories of citizens;
• instability of the system, which manifests itself in the form of periodic acute crises in the economy;
• predatory, barbaric use of natural resources;
• weak funding for education, science and other non-profit programs.

In addition, there is also a fourth type - a mixed type of economic system, in which both the state and the private sector have equal weight. In such systems, the functions of the state in the country’s economy are reduced to supporting important (but unprofitable) enterprises, financing science and culture, controlling unemployment, etc.

Economic system and systems: examples of countries

It remains to consider examples that are characterized by one or another economic system. For this purpose, a special table is presented below. The types of economic systems are presented in it taking into account the geography of their distribution. It is worth noting that this table is very subjective, since for many modern states it can be difficult to unambiguously assess which system they belong to.

What type of economic system is in Russia? In particular, Moscow State University professor A. Buzgalin described the modern Russian economy as a “mutation of late capitalism.” In general, today the country’s economic system is considered to be transitional, with an actively developing market.

Finally

Each economic system responds differently to the three “what, how and for whom to produce?” Modern economists distinguish four main types: traditional, command-planned, market, and mixed systems.

Speaking about Russia, we can say that in this state a specific type of economic system has not yet been established. The country is in a transitional stage between a command economy and a modern market economy.

The basic problem of economics can also be presented as a problem of choice. Indeed, if each factor used to satisfy various needs is limited, then there is always the problem of alternative use and search for the best combination of factors of production, that is, the problem of choice. A reflection of this problem is the statement three main questions economy.

Three main questions of economics:

What? – problem of targeting.

– Which of the possible goods and services should be produced in a given economic space and at a given time? – How? production problem.

– With what combination of production resources, using what technology, should the selected goods and services be produced? – For whom? distribution problem.

– Who will buy the selected goods and pay for them, benefiting from them? How should society's gross income from the production of these goods and services be distributed? The fourth question, which also inevitably faces every society, is the question: How?

How to get rid of waste generated in the process of life, how to maintain the ecological balance in nature without reducing the level of consumption. This

recycling problem.

5. Production possibilities in the economic system and the problem of choice. The production capabilities of the economic system are limited by the scarcity of the resources used. Moreover, the limitation of all economic resources remains and even increases as society develops. This is due not only to the depletion of irreplaceable natural resources, but also to the fact that consumption constantly gives impetus to the development of production, that is, new goods and services are created, their quality characteristics change, which causes an increase in the need for consumer and investment goods. And each time society is forced to decide which of these goods to produce with available resources and on what scale.. And also, this model allows you to clearly demonstrate such fundamental economic concepts as limited resources, opportunity costs.

To build the model, we will plot the number of consumer goods (X) on the abscissa axis, and the number of means of production (Y) on the ordinate axis (see figure).

Means of production (Y)

Consumables (X)

O X B X C

The ABCD curve, called production possibilities frontier, characterizes the maximum possible volumes of production of means of production and consumer goods with full use of all available resources. Each point on this curve represents a certain combination of goods of these two types (for example, point B represents a combination of X B units of consumer goods and Y B units of capital goods.

The production possibilities frontier graph illustrates the fact that an economy that is fully utilizing productive resources cannot increase the production of any good without sacrificing another good. The functioning of an economy at the frontier of its production possibilities indicates its efficiency.

Based on this, the choice of the combination corresponding to point F is regarded as unsuccessful for a given society, since it does not allow it to effectively use production resources. Having chosen such a point, we would resign ourselves either to the presence of unused resources (for example, unemployment) or to the low efficiency of their use (for example, large losses, including working time). Production based on the choice of point E is generally unfeasible, since this point lies beyond the production capabilities of a given economic system.

Let's compare points B and C. By choosing point B, we will prefer to produce fewer consumer goods (X B) and more means of production (Y B) than by choosing point C (X C, Y C). More precisely, when moving from point B to point C, we will additionally receive Δ X = OX C – OX B units of consumer goods, sacrificing for this ΔY = OY B – OY C units of means of production. The amount of one good that must be sacrificed to increase the production of another good by one unit is called opportunity costs or costs of lost opportunities.

The ABCD curve is convex. This is due to the fact that one resource can be used more productively in the production of consumer goods, while others can be used as means of production.

If new technology, new technological processes are introduced simultaneously and evenly in all industries, then the production possibilities frontier AD will shift to the position of the dotted line A 1 D 1, the possibilities of producing both means of production and consumer goods with the same resources will increase approximately equally ( see fig.).

If innovations are carried out primarily in industries producing capital goods, the increase in the area of ​​production possibilities will be skewed to the right (see figure).