US & World Economies

Socialism is an economic system in which citizens share ownership of the various factors of production. That ownership is acquired through a democratically elected government, a cooperative, or a public corporation in which everyone owns shares

Communism is an economic system where the group owns the factors of production. In countries, the government represents the group and the factors of production are labor, entrepreneurship, capital goods, and natural resources. Although the government doesn't legally own the labor force, the central planners tell the people where they should work.

An oligarchy is a power structure that allows a few businesses, families, or individuals to rule. Those few ruling members have enough power to create policies that benefit them to the exclusion of the rest of society.

A command economy is one in which a central government makes all economic decisions. Either the government or a collective owns the land and the means of production. It doesn't rely on the laws of supply and demand that operate in a market economy and it ignores the customs that guide a traditional economy.

A mixed economy is a system that combines characteristics of market, command, and traditional economies. It benefits from the advantages of all three while also experiencing some of the disadvantages.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization with over 180 members that works to stabilize the global economy.

A central bank is an organization that primarily manages a monetary system. The term often refers to the central bank for a country (or a group of countries like the European Union), but not every governing body uses a central bank.

Economic growth is an increase in the production of goods and services over a specific period. To be most accurate, the measurement must remove the effects of inflation.

Emerging markets are the markets of developing countries that are rapidly growing and industrializing.

A flat tax is a system that levies the same fixed percentage rate on every citizen regardless of their income. Most flat tax systems exempt those living below the poverty line. Some U.S. states use a flat tax system, as do several nations, including Russia, Latvia, and Lithuania.