What are the top 3 countries in economic freedom
1
2 singapore
3 Switzerland
What is a way for a firm to identify potential growth opportunities?
Listening to changing customer demands and monitoring your environment
Explain the economic transformation in vietnam
- Moving from centrally planned socialist economy to a more market oriented system
- 1986 Vietnam was one of the poorest counties in the world
- Agricultural land privatized; state farm collectives dismantled
- Farm productivity surged, price controls rem
Different ways that countries vary by
- economic development
- cultural, education, and skill levels
- Political economic and legal systems -> political economy
- societal culture affects the political economy and the political economy shapes societal culture
Whats the key difference between a democracy and a republic
- Lies in the limits placed on government by the law, which has implications for minority rights.
- both forms of government tend to use a representational system
- Citizens vote to elect politicians to represent their interests and form the government.
-
Understand how the political systems of countries differ
Political systems: the system of government in a nation
- Can be assessed in terms of the degree to which they:
- Emphasize collectivism as opposed to ndividualism
- Are democratic or totalitarian
What is totalitarianism
Every aspect of peoples lives must be controlled to preserve order
What is pluralism
Both private and public groups need to balance each others power
Anarchism
Only individuals and private groups can preserve personal liberties
Political systems - collectivism
- A system that stresses the primary of collective goals over individual goals
- the needs of the society as whole are generally viewed as being more important than individual freedoms
- Can be traced to greek philosopher plato (the republic)
- today is s
Political systems - socialism
- modern socialists trace their roots to karl marx
- advocated state ownership of the basic means of production, distribution, and exchange
- the state then manages the enterprises for the benefit of society as a whole
Political systems - communists and social democrats
- in early 20th century socialism has split into communists and social democrats
Communists : socialism could only be achieved though revolution and totalitarian dictatorship
Social democrats : worked to achieve the same goals by democratic means
Many sta
Political systems - individualism
Def: individuals should have freedom over their economic and political pursuits
stresses:
- individual freedom and self expression
- letting people pursue their own self interests to achieve the best overall good for society
- Democratic systems and free
Political systems - democracy
Democracy : political system in which government is by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives
Representative democracy - elected representatives votes on behalf of constituents
Political system - totalitarianism
Totalitarianism: form of government in which one person or political party exercises absolute control over all spheres of human life, and opposing political parties are prohibited
In most totalitarian regimes:
- there is widespread political repression
-
Forms of totalitarianism
1. communist totalitarianism - advocates achieving socialism through totalitarian dictatorship
2. theocratic totalitarianism - political power is monopolized by a party, group, or individual that governs according to religious principles
3. Tribal totalit
Economic systems
- political ideology and economic systems are connected
- the market economy the command economy and the mixed economy
Market-based economic system
In countries where individual goals are given primacy over collective goods
State-owned enterprises and restricted markets
are common in countries where collective goals are dominant
Pure market economy
The goods and services that a country produces, and the quantity in which they are produced is determined by supply and demand
- supply must not be restricted by monoplies
- the role of government is to encourage free and fair competition between private
Command Economy
The goods and services that a country produces, the quantity in which they are produced, and the price at which they are sold are all planned by the government
- all business are state owned, and have little incentive to control costs and benefits
- becau
South koreas economy
Centralized, single party, and tightly controlled dictatorial command economy
Economic systems - mixed economy
A mixed economy includes some elements of a market economy and some elements of a command economy
- govt take over troubled firms considered vital to national interests
- airlines, utilities, military and special production facilities
- the number of mixe
Legal systems
The legal system: rules, or laws that regulate behavior, along with the processes by which the laws of a country are enforced
- a countrys legal system
- regulates business practice
- defines the manner in which business transactions are to be executed
Different legal systems
Common law - based on countries legal history, precedent, and custom
- found in most great Britains former colonies, including the US
Civil law - based on detailed set of laws organized into codes
- found in more that 80 countries including Germany, Franc
Legal systems - property rights and corruption
Property rights - the legal rights over the use to which resources is put and over the use made of any income that may be derived from that resource
Private action - theft, piracy, blackmail, and the like by private individuals or groups
Public action - p
1. What is meant by corruption? Explain how a corrupt political system affects the well being of a country. What are the implications of corruption for Nigeria?
Discussion Points: Corruption in Nigeria involves open and systematic plundering of the nation's state treasury. Bribery is also a regular part of business. In fact, the situation in Nigeria is so dismal that Transparency International ranked Nigeria one
With its huge oil reserves and large population, Nigeria was expected to emerge as a major player in Africa. Yet today the country is extremely poor with little expectation for an economic turnaround any time in the near future. Explain how Nigeria came t
Studies show that countries with high levels of corruption have lower inward foreign direct investment, lower levels of international trade, and poor levels of economic growth. Nigeria is a perfect example of this type of country. Political strife resulti
Clearly, Nigeria's corrupt government has been a major factor in the country's demise. In contrast, other countries including Finland and Canada expressly prohibit corruption. In your opinion, would Nigeria be better off following the example of countries
Discussion Points: Many students will probably suggest that even if Nigeria explicitly prohibits corrupt behavior, it is unlikely to have little effect on the real way of doing business in the country. Other students however, may note that Nigeria's newly
Legal systems - the foreign corrupt practices act
- illegal to bribe a foreign government official in order to obtain or maintain business over which the foreign official has authority
- all publicly traded companies must keep detailed records so that it is clear whether a violation of the act has occurr