What Is a Mixed Economic System?
A mixed economy describes the economic systems of many of the world's nations. A mixed economic system retains characteristics of free market and socialist systems, and often represents a compromise between the two.
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Features
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A mixed economic system includes elements of capitalism, such as private enterprise, as well as features of capitalism, including government regulation of economic activities and, in some cases, some government-owned enterprises, such as public utilities.
Types
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The mix of capitalist and socialist features in a mixed economic system varies across countries. Some nations' mixed systems lean more toward market-based capitalism, such as the United States, while others contain more socialist characteristics, such as some European nations.
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History
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The term "mixed economy" was coined in Great Britain in the years following World War II. Politicians in the British Labour Party favored elements of a mixed economic system, such as a national health care system.
Theories/Speculation
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Social democrats, located left of center on the political spectrum, advocate a mixed economic system as a compromise between pure forms of capitalism and socialism.
Considerations
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The exact mix of capitalist and socialist features in a mixed economy varies across nations, with some countries exhibiting more capitalist features and others retaining more socialist elements.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Mike Licht
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Features A mixed economic system includes elements of capitalism, such as private enterprise, as well as features of capitalism, including government regulation of economic activities and, in some cases, some government-owned enterprises, such as public utilities. The second reference to capitalism should be socialism....
