Are you an economist?
Grade 11 HL 2
Post your views in the comment box.
Explain the type of economic system in the country that is allocated to you. Analyse and evaluate that specific system has been successful in solving the economic problem of the country.
Some selected videos:
3: Mixed and command economies rap
4. Capitalism and Socialism: Crash Course World History
5. Practice Quiz
4. Capitalism and Socialism: Crash Course World History
5. Practice Quiz
Word Count: 200 words
Due date for submission: Thursday Sept. 3rd 2015.
| 1 | Ananaya Poddar | Denmark | ||
| 2 | Anisa Tapia | Sweden | ||
| 3 | Anshula Kapse | Egypt | ||
| 4 | Anvita Diwan | Kuwait | ||
| 5 | Arjun Kyal | UK | ||
| 6 | AyushContractor | Finland | ||
| 7 | Anaisha Divwala | France | ||
| 8 | Komal Kadel | Luxembourg | ||
| 9 | Kushal Bafna | Germany | ||
| 10 | Nainika Patwari | USA | ||
| 11 | Nirali shah | Greece | ||
| 12 | PallonMistry | Malaysia | ||
| 13 | RadhikaAgarwal | Indonesia | ||
| 14 | Rahul Dalwani | Iran | ||
| 15 | Siddhant Dutta | Iraq | ||
| 16 | Sonthalia Navya | Israel | ||
| 17 | Yahsa Mehta | Italy | ||
| 18 | Yohan Jhaveri. | Japan | ||
28 comments:
Egypt’s economy has reformed a lot till present. It has changed in it’s nature, giving rise to certain positive sides as well as a downfall in various economic aspects. The economic history of Egypt shows that it was a strong centralized economy under President Gamal Abdel Nasser. One can say that it was controlled by the government and thus it was a command economy. It concentrated on the idea of import substitution which means that a country should reduce foreign dependency and replace foreign imports with domestic production from local industries. But in the 1990s, after the establishment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the participation of the country in the Gulf War coalition (which relieved the country of external debts), Egypt’s economy gained impetus and took a new turn. These conditions helped Egypt to grow into a market oriented economy. Today,Egypt is recognised as a mixed economy in the world. This helped the people to explore new markets and introduce fresh and foreign marketing concepts in the country.The economic problems faced by the country include unemployment shadowed by poverty and excess population. Another problem the country need to get rid of today, is “informal” economy which means unregulated economy. In spite of the country attempting to improve its economic problems in 2011 by initiating agreements and talks with the IMF but still remains bleak as atrocities like youth unemployment and poverty still persist till date.
Citations : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Egypt
http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/?fa=55604
Wonderful use of key terms, well done Anshula.
I appreciate your efforts to go through various sources before writing this mini essay.
I have made a post regarding MLA referencing, its is important to make proper citation in academic writings. We should also give some time to proof reading as well. I think more can be done for this topic.
Once again good work.
Keep
Sir, I did my research on Indonesia's economy and posted it, Thankyou.
thank you sir! i will keep your suggestions in mind when i write my next essay.
Analysis of Italy’s Economy
The Italian economy is basically a mixed economy, which is highly diversified industrialist. Italy is the fourth largest economy in Europe and twelfth largest by GDP.
The economic crisis faced by Italy is its public debt. Italy’s labour unemployment was also highly affected by the international financial crisis and it rose from 6.2% in 2007 to 12% in 2014. The labour force adds up to 25.7 million with exports rounding to $474 billion and imports to $435 billion.
Italy’s public debt is above 115% of GDP and government budget being -3.00% of GDP. Although the government of Italy had tried all possible ways to reduce government expenditure, the fiscal deficit had outdone 5% of GDP in 2009 and 2010.
However today, there is yet a huge public debt but it seems to be workable. Pier Carlo Padoan, Italy’s finance minister states “Let me remind you that we are not in 2011 anymore,” and “Today the [European] institutions are stronger and so is our economy.”
The economy seems to be finding ways to sort this economic problem and is making the investors assured of their debts being paid off soon.
Currently the problem isn’t solved but they’ve declared that they wouldn’t go on a path like Greece.
Work Citations
http://internationalliving.com/countries/italy/the-economy-in-italy/
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/29/italy-will-not-follow-greek-downturn-promises-finance-minister
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Italy
Analysis of Iran's Economy.
Iran has a mixed economy.
ran has the second largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) after Saudi Arabia.
Iran’sts economy is characterized by a large hydrocarbon sector, small scale agriculture and services sectors, and a noticeable state presence in manufacturing and financial services. Iran ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves and fourth in proven crude oil reserves. Aggregate GDP and government revenues still depend to a large extent on oil revenues and are therefore intrinsically volatile.
Over the last few years Iran has suffered from financial downfall and wasnt able to develop their economy and country as a whole rapidly.
Unemployment remains elevated and is expected to be a central challenge for the government. According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the unemployment rate was estimated at 10.3% in 2013.
In 2005, poverty was 1.45% in Iran using a poverty line of US$1.25 per day (PPP). World Bank projections estimate that only 0.7% of the population (or half a million people) lived under this poverty line in 2010, although a large proportion of people are living close to it. Indeed, raising the poverty line by US$0.5 (from US$2 to US$2.50 and from US$3 to US$3.50) could put 4%-6% of the population over 4.5 million people in poverty. This suggests that many individuals are vulnerable to changes in their personal disposable income and to the persistent rise in the cost of living.
The theocracy’s enlargement of the state’s economic role was to some extent an improvised response to circumstances. Yet the shift proved as consequential as any of its political, social and cultural changes. The state’s economic takeover could not blunt the impact of the revolutionary unrest and uncertainty in the short term. All sectors of the Iranian economy experienced a marked decline during the first several years of the revolution.
Due to its relative isolation from global financial markets, Iran was initially able to avoid recession in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.[34] Yet, following increasingly stringent sanctions imposed by the international community as a result of the country's nuclear program, oil exports fell by half, allowing Iraqi oil exports to overtake Iran's for the first time since the 1980s. In September 2012, the Iranian rial fell to a record low of 23,900 to the US dollar.
Citations
http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/revolutionary-economy
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/iran/overview
http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/economy/
Japan has the third largest economy in the world. Its GDP is $4.210 trillion USD in 2015. Japan's GDP fluctuates because of a very volatile currency exchange rate. Japan is part of the G7, a forum of all the leading economies in the world. After the Second World War, Japan's economy plummeted. Around 15-20 years after the War, Japan saw a very large economic growth and it finally recovered in 1966. Since 1990, Japan has been one of the most economically developed countries in the east, and it has maintained its position. Its GDP is larger than a majority of the western countries if not equal. Japan does not have adequate resources to support its growing economy, therefore a majority of their imports are fuels such as natural gas, petroleum and coal. It is the third largest exporter of motor vehicles. Along with automobiles, Japan exports motor parts, iron and steel. Japan's economic development is mainly due to private companies and entrepreneurs, but the government plays a large role in the progress of the country. Therefore, Japan has a mixed economy.
Economy Of Finland
Finland has a mixed economy . A mixed economy is a combination of a command as well as a market economy. The largest economy in Finland is the electronics industry, the vehicular industry and the machinery industry. Finland is a developed country with a large number of resources such as timber. In the technology market Finland ranked second largest to Ireland. In the past five years Finland has progressed at an average rate of 4.5% per year . According to the GDP Finland is one of the 15 richest countries in the world . Finland has a highly industrialized market. The inflation of Finland has not been high. Finland trades with Western. Countries. In the 1990s the economy of Finland fell into a recession . The largest sector of the economy is in services which is 65.7% . There are about 2500000 people in Finland with jobs whereas 232000 people are unemployed . In June Finland experienced a huge recession and it continued in July with hundreds of people out of jobs. The GDP of Finland in 2010 was 3% however In 2014 the GDP decreased to -0.1% . Finland has a commission that makes recommendations to help improve its economic stature. Since three years the economy of Finland has not been growing and is said to resume growth in the year 2015.
Kuwait can be generally classified as a mixed economy, having an open one. The GDP is currently at $200.062 billion with petroleum contributing to half of it. About 95% of the Government’s revenue comes from this petroleum. As Kuwait has about 10% of the world’s oil reserves, being the third largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is one of the richest Arab nations. It has a 0.8% growth rate and the unemployment rate is 3.1%. Kuwait is also the world’s largest investor, and its currency- the Kuwaiti Dinar is the highest valued currency in the world. However, the diversification of the economy is still an issue, as the opposition between the parliament and the Government and the positive fiscal situation prevents any implementation of economic policies. After the Iraqi invasion in 1990, several companies relocated to Dubai and Bahrain, and non-oil sectors significantly declined. Kuwait has no individual income tax. Taxes make up a small portion of government revenue, with most of it coming from oil, thus overall tax revenue is less than 1 percent of output of the country.
Citations-
http://www.heritage.org/index/country/kuwait
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/kuwait-economy.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Kuwait
An Analysis of the French Economy.
The French Economy, in the 18th century, was problematical. In terms of development France was rather backward compared to its other counter parts in Europe. Although there were a lot of coal deposits in the Northern area of France and it imported coal from England and Belgium and due to the lack of industries, it used less coal. The reason behind this was the government, at that point of time was authoritarian which the French business had to cope with.
During World War II, the French economy operated under a corporatist and a state-capitalist system. Due to the resistance movement all the sections of French society were united (conservative, socialist and communist). This united front continued after the war and there was a mutual agreement to promote a renewal of France and avoid economic stagnation. It was at this point of time that the Ministry of National Economy was created, with the agreement of all parties. In 1945, General Charles Degaulle, who was elected the head of government, went on to make coal mines, large banks, electrical and gas companies, Air France and Renault Auto into public enterprises.
In 2008, the French economy was weak. The GDP was going downwards (from 0.5% to -1.5%), exports plunged, rate of unemployment increased, households cut spending and companies collapsed. In 2009, slowly and steadily, the French economy started to rise from the second quarter and rose to a positive growth of 0.3% in 2009’s third quarter, the exports lead the GDP growth and thus the French economic activities increased again.
As of today, France has the third largest economy in Europe and sixth largest economy in the world. The chemical industry is the key sector of France which helps to develop other manufacturing activities which contribute to the economic growth. France is one of the most visited destinations in the world, which is a boost to its tourism, which plays a major role in contribution to the economic growth. In the report of Credits Suisse’s, France is one of the wealthiest European countries with 2.6 million-dollar millionaires.
Citations-
https://en.n.wikepedia.org//wiki/economy_of_france
www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/france0.htm
www.diva-portal.org/smaash/get/diva2:302360/FULLTEXT01.PDF
Sweden
Sweden’s economy is scored 23rd on the worlds freest economy index of 2015. Over the years the neutrality of the country and openess to trade and investment has helped them to accomplish an enviable standard of living under a mixed economy system. A mixed economy system features characteristics of both; socialism and capitalism. This type of economy allows the country a specific amount of government intervention and a balance of the intervention of private equities. Reforms over the past two decades reduced the role of government and introduced market mechanisms that set the foundations for today’s competitive economy
In Sweden, the government encourage the demand of locally produced goods while granting subsidies and passing legislation for producers. Private businesses like Electrolux, Ikea and H&M are flourishing and give the swedish economy a serious boost in the international market. The Swedish government have been quoted ensuring that there is an optimum allocation of resources since there is freedom of consumption and production. However wherever the possibility of mal-allocation arises, the state takes control and rectifies it. Thus the economy is relatively stable and efficient. Sweden is ranked 3rd out of 177 countries in Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index. This means that Sweden has major respect for its law although its judicial system is run independently.
There are however, disadvantages of this economy. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995 but rejected adoption of the euro in 2003. The public remains opposed to eurozone membership. The economic downturn in 2009 led to a slight increase in unemployment, There is a 9.1% unemployment rate that was measured in June 2013, which is rather high for a developing nation but unemployment levels appeared to be stabilizing in 2014. Sweden’s economy is not always stable. In the 1980’s, Sweden faced a economic crisis which in 2007, the United States Federal Reserve noted, "In the early 1970s, Sweden had one of the highest income levels in Europe; today, its lead has all but disappeared...So, even well-managed financial crises don't really have a happy ending”.
On the other hand Sweden’s exports in 2014, have increased and 70% itself goes to the EU. This improvement is expected to improve by 4.1% this year and another 5.6% in 2016, giving positive future expectations.
Citations:
http://country.eiu.com/sweden
http://www.heritage.org/index/country/sweden
http://www.thelocal.se/20150505/why-is-swedens-economy-brightening-in-2015
https://sweden.se/business/10-world-shaping-swedish-companies/
Analysis of the economy in USA
Although the United States is often regarded as a capitalist system, it is actually a “mixed economy.”
The US system does have a lot of freedom when it comes to private ownership and indivisual freedom. However, the government controls a large part of the economy. This situation has arised after the Great Depression in the 1930s, when the USA had a free market economy. The free market economy system failed largely because of mass unemployment. In the U.S. economic system, consumers, producers and the government make decisions everyday based on the price system. The dynamic interaction of these three groups makes the economy function. The market's primary force, however, is the interaction of producers and consumers, which is why it is called a mixed economy. As a rule, consumers look for the maximum output for what they spend, while producers want the best price and profit for their goods and services. Government, at the federal, state and local levels, seeks to promote the public safety, assure reasonable competition, and provide a range of services like justice, education, national defense, and roadways. Hence, a mixed economy system has been beneficial for the USA.
Bibliography:
http://www.uncg.edu/bae/bbt/capitalism/mixed_economy.html
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/economy-1991/how-the-united-states-economy-works/a-mixed-economy-the-us-system.php
Greece’s economy can be classified as a mixed, capitalist economy. It’s a developed country and an MEDC with its economy largely based in the service sector; which is 81% of its income source. Along with agriculture that contributes 3.4% to the economy, their industry heavily relies on tourism and shipping too. Even though Greek economy is now doing well; the country faced numerous economic issues over the last 6 years.
Despite the occurrence of World War 2 that devastated many countries, Greece experienced laudable levels of economic growth, which has been termed the Greek economic miracle. Their GDP was soon higher than the EU’s. This miracle lasted for 14 consecutive years but broke when the Greek economy collapsed in 2008. This recession caused the country to face high budget deficit and government debt problems. The Eurozone allowed Greece to hide their corrupt tax evasion processes but when these practices eventually came out, Greece was in insurmountable debt.
The causes of this crisis are as follows:
The government began spending money on non-growth sectors like the military and pensions, instead of growth stimulating sectors.
In order to be accepted into the Eurozone, Greece eliminated a lot of the government’s expenditure from their balance sheets. This false but ‘perfect’ balance sheet allowed Greece to enter the Eurozone, which stimulated great expenditure by the country. Greece soon began facing numerous problems; the public sector wages were more than the private sector paycheck, their retirement age was 58 causing the pension spending to rocket and tax evasion became the norm.
The output of the country increased by only 40% while expenditure elevated to 87%. The debt to GDP ratio caused great imbalance in the country.
A final revised calculation stated that the country’s deficit was an alarming figure of 12.7% of their GDP, which was the highest in the EU, clearly indicating that the countries expenditure was far higher than their revenue.
Solution:
The IMF and European commission issued the first two bailouts to help Greece pay its creditors while they scraped the little that they had to offer their citizens. However, this was at the cost of austerity. Greece had to cut down their spending, deep budget cuts increasing taxes and eliminating tax evasion.
The one question that follows is why is Greece still in economic debt?
This money was only supposed to buy time to stabilize their finances and make the necessary changes in the economy. However, their real problems still remain, with unemployment at 25%, living standards are way down and GDP growth rates were −3.1% in 2009, −4.9% in 2010, −7.1% in 2011, −7.0% in 2012 and −3.9% in 2013. In 2014 Greece reached its first positive but low growth rate of 0.7%
Citations:
http://www.theskimm.com/skimm-guides/greek-debt-crisis
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/070115/understanding-downfall-greeces-economy.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_government-debt_crisis#Causes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Greece
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Greek_Debt_Crisis_4?Page=51
Economy Of Iraq
The economy of Iraq is largely dominated by the oil industry, which accounts for upto 95 percent of the country’s revenues. Iraq has a mixed economy which is largely state - run. In the 1980s, oil exports were severely damaged due to the Iraq - Iran war. Numerous financial problems arose because of the heavy expenditure. Iraq suffered losses worth at least 80 billion dollars. After the US invasion in 2003, the oil production increased and eventually started exceeding what it had been even before.
Iraq has a population of 34.8 million and it’s GDP in the year 2013 was around 230 billion dollars and in the year 2014 was 220 billion dollars. In Iraq, the per capita income is around 7,400 dollars. Nominal GDP grew by 213% in the 1960s, 1325% in the 1970s, 2% in the 1980s, -47% in the 1990s, and 317% in 2000s. Iraq has an unemployment rate of 16 percent and a literacy rate of 79 percent. Inflation decreased considerably here ever since 2006 when the security conditions improved. High taxation (15% of the company’s/individual’s income) prevails in the entire country.
Improved security conditions and aid/investment from foreign countries led to the increase in Iraq’s economic activities. Apart from oil production, Iraq has a small, diversified economy including food processing and the production of various chemicals, textiles, leather goods, construction materials, and metals. There was a lot of improvement in sectors such as energy, construction, retail as well after the enforcement of proper security conditions in Iraq.
Persisting corruption, outdated infrastructure and shortage of skilled labour, hinder the economic growth of Iraq. A mixed economy has been extremely beneficial for the country. During difficult times such as wars, the government has managed to pitch in and make investments hence preventing the economy from failing. At the same time, the slight free market has enabled competition for the betterment of the goods and services provided.
Citations:
1. wikipedia.com
2. heritage.org
3. indexmundi.com
4. country-facts.findthedata.com
Good Yasha,
Can see many website you visited to complete this assignment. Some suggestions for you , we need to go in accordance to question like analyzing the economic problems their in terms of scarcity. Looking for the the solutions. You use lot of facts but we need to connect them well with the bibliography or footnotes. Please go for the post to see how we make the proper citation in the articles. I appreciate you try to express yourself at this platform by presenting analysis backed by the evaluation of your views.
good work.
Good, you are using lot many facts in your essay. Good to see you recognised the goods in surplus that can be trade with the rest of the world, but did not present some of the economic problems and how this economic system tries to solve those. I would like to suggest you please go for the post that is explaining how we use citations in the literary articles.
Good work, this is just starting.
Good try,
Article needs more attention from you. Some facts are presented but without citations. Its import to cite the work of others.
Its seems you wrote just for the sake of completing the assignment.
I cant see any enthusiasm in your work.
come on, well tried.
Good try,
Many facts but with out citations. Seems you were in a hurry to complete the task. Citations are very important, so please go for the post and understand it thoroughly.
Hope next time will lot of enthusiasm in writings with some creativity.
no name. how do i know who is writing.
Good work,
Nice to see that you went through various website to complete the assignment. You many facts to but did not cited them in appropriate manner. Please go through he post explaining the ways of citations
Good work,
You have gone through lot of resources to complete the task. This article is more on providing information. Some suggestions, good article emphasize more on analysis and evaluations.
You give the list of sources, please go through the blog post explaining the precise way of MLA citations in this blog itself.
Need to remember the due date.
Good start,
Lot of information is available on the US economy. It seems you were in hurry to complete the task. For your help I have made a post regarding the precise way of referecing.
Need to be careful of following the due dates for submission.
Good Nirali, lot of research from wide array of sources. You have provided lot of information in this mini essay.
Its seems you lose track from the question, we need to keep our self around the question and its key terms. Our all explanation , analysis and evaluation should be focused on the key terms answering command term. I suggest you to go through the MLA referencing methodology. I have made a post regarding that.
Happy blogging.
Anvita mention your post with your name.
Seems to be in hurry to complete this assignment that why you have finished it in few lines. Need to work on referencing appropriately.
Anvita mention your post with your name.
Seems to be in hurry to complete this assignment that why you have finished it in few lines. Need to work on referencing appropriately.
Thank you Sir. I shall keep the feedback in mind while doing my next assignment.
lot of information is provided on various microeconomic variables.
We need to be very careful when writing an essay based on research. Answer must flow in accordance to the requirement of the question. Where question is asking you analyse the economic system in the specific country like command or free market and how it works.
Due date was 3rd sept.
Many sources are mentioned but not in accordance to MLA referencing style. You can acquire knowledge about MLA referencing on this blog post.
I appreciate your hard work.
Some suggestions:
1) Keep focused on the specific demands of the question.
2) Strictly follow the referencing style (MLA). Can see the post on this blog.
3) It seems that you are in hurry to complete this task.
4) Difficult to see any work going near to A or B.
5) Command terms Analyse and Evaluate are too demanding and requires specific format to be followed.
6) Whenever you write a comment click on the box next to notify me, so that you will get mail when I make comment on your post.
Happy to see you have started at good level, wish you all the best because our next assignment will be the graded one.
Dont hesitate to ask me if any queries you have.
Waiting to see creativity and innovations here.
Happy Blogging.
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