Name
Date
Comparative Economic Systems
Economic Systems:
The institutional
framework of formal and
informal rules that a
society uses to determine
what to produce, how to
produce and how to
distribute goods and
services.
What would life be like in the North Korean economy?
How would things be different in the economy of Chad?
Why is Liechtenstein so wealthy?
In this lesson, you will have the opportunity to compare these
three economies to the U.S. economy, and you’ll practice using
some tools that can help you to study any economy in the world.
1. Complete the data worksheet by using the CIA World Factbook at
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html


If you copy and paste answers – format text appropriately to ensure readability on final copy
(suggested 8 pt. Arial font)
2. Answer the seven reflection questions after gathering the data.
3. Complete the assignment online and post to your weebly website
Data Worksheet
Geography
Natural Resources – How many
and what types of natural
resources are available?
Land Use – What percentage of
the land is arable (capable of
being farmed)?
United States
North Korea
Chad
Liechtenstein
coal, copper, lead,
molybdenum, phosphates,
uranium, bauxite, gold, iron,
mercury, nickel, potash, silver,
tungsten, zinc, petroleum,
natural gas, timber
note: the US has the world's
largest coal reserves with 491
billion short tons accounting
for 27% of the world's total
arable land: 18.01%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 81.78% (2005)
Coal, lead, tungsten, zinc,
magnesite, iron, copper,
gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar,
hydro power
cotton, s orghum,
millet, pea nuts, rice,
pota toes, man ioc
(ta pioca ); cattle,
sheep, goa ts, camels
hydroelect ric
poten tia l, a rab le la nd
Arable land: 19%
Permenent crops: 1.7
Other: 79.22
arable land: 3.82%
permanent crops: 0.02%
other: 96 .16% (201 1)
arable land: 21.88%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 78 .12% (201 1)
Name
People
Life Expectancy at Birth – How
long are children born today
expected to live?
Date
total population: 78.11
years
country comparison to the
world: 49
male: 75.65 years
female: 80.69 years (2009
est.)
Total: 69.51
Total Fertility Rate – How many
children does each woman
have, on average?
2.05 children born/woman
(2009 est.)
country comparison to the
world: 126
1.99
Literacy Rate – What % of
people over the age of 15 can
read and write?
definition: age 15 and over
can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
Government
Government Type –How are
leaders elected?
Government Spending as
Percent of GDP (Budget
Expenditures Divided by GDP).
Find in Economy section
Military Spending as a
Percentage of GDP. Find in
Military section
Economy
Economy Overview – What are
the most serious economic
problems facing each of these
four nations? Summarize from
Economic Overview
GDP Per Capita – What is the
value of goods and services
produced per person?
Population Below Poverty Line
– How many people live in
poverty?
GDP Composition by Sector –
What % of GDP is industry and
services?
50
total population: 81.59
yea rs
country comparison to the
world: 1 2
male: 79.45 years
female: 84.29 yea rs
(2013 est. )
4.8 ch ildren
born/w oman (2013
est. )
1.69 ch ildren
born/w oman (2013
est. )
country comparison to the
world: 1 7 1
Age 15 and over
100% can read and write
15 and over- 35.4% of total
population
100%
Constitution-based federal
republic; strong democratic
tradition
Communist one man
dictatorship
Republic-vote?
GDP (PPP): $14.26 trillion
(2009 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.914
trillion
expenditures: $3.615 trillion
(2009 est.)
40 billion
$21 billion (20 12 est. )
country comparison to the
world: 1 2 9
$19.99 billion (2011
est. )
$19.89 billion (2010
est. )
$3.2 billion (2009)
NA
5% (2012 es t.)
country comparison to the
world: 6 4
0.5% (2011 es t.)
13% (2010 es t.)
No military- national police
North Korea has a struggling
economy, shortages of
crops and fuel, they receive
much aid from China. 11
billion in debt with Russia.
Kim Jong working on
economy.
Chad's p rima rily
agricultural econ omy
will con tin ue to be
boos ted b y major
foreign d irect
inves tment projects in
the oil sect or tha t
began in 2000 .
Highly industrialized, free
enterprise economy, second
highest capita income in the
world. 20% tax rate
$2,000 (2012 es t.)
$89,400 (2009 es t.)
country comparison to the
country comparison to the
world: 1 9 4
$1,900 (2011 es t.)
$1,900 (2010 es t.)
world: 2
$90,600 (2008 es t.)
$89,700 (2007 es t.)
$3.615 trillion / $14.26
trillion = .25 (25%)
4.06% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the
world: 28
Long-term problems include
inadequate investment in
economic infrastructure,
rapidly rising medical and
pension costs of an aging
population, sizable trade
and budget deficits, and
stagnation of family income
in the lower economic
groups.
$46,400 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the
world: 11
12% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 21.9%
services: 76.9% (2009 est.)
$1800
NA
Agriculture: 23.3
Industry: 42.9
Services: 33.8
80%
agriculture: 47.1%
industry: 9.2%
services: 43.7% (20 12
est. )
Hereditary constitutional
monarchy
country comparison to the
world: 1 7 9
$3.216 billion (2008)
$3.159 billion (2007
NA
agriculture: 8%
industry: 37%
services: 55% (2009 )
Name
Date
Labor Force by Occupation –
What
% of workers is in agriculture?
farming, forestry, and
fishing: 0.7%
Agriculture: 35%
Industry: 65%
4.293 Million
Industries – What are the
primary
industries?
leading industrial power in
the world, highly diversified
and technologically
advanced; petroleum, steel,
motor vehicles, aerospace,
telecommunications,
chemicals, electronics, food
processing, consumer
goods, lumber, mining
military p roducts;
machin e b uilding,
electric power,
chemicals; min ing
(coal, iron ore,
limes tone, magnesite,
graphite, copper, zinc,
lead, and precious
metals), meta llu rgy;
tex tiles, food
proces sing; tourism
oil, cotton textiles,
meatpa cking, b rew ing,
natron (s od ium
carb ona te), s oap,
cigarettes,
cons truction ma teria ls
Are the industries primarily
producing for consumer or
government consumption?
Determine this by assessing
the industries and their
consumers – answer not found
at CIA WorldFactBook
Mostly producing for the
consumer (private citizens)
Government consumption
because since they are a
communist gov’t nothing
goes through to the people
without going through the
gov’t
The people produce for
themselves a lot. It’s sounds
like they are getting away
from traditional living and
going into
Agriculture Products – What
are the primary agricultural
goods produced?
wheat, corn, other grains,
fruits, vegetables, cotton;
beef, pork, poultry, dairy
products; fish; forest
products
rice, corn, p ota toes,
soyb ean s, pu ls es;
cattle, p igs, p ork, eggs
cotton, s orghum,
millet, pea nuts, rice,
pota toes, man ioc
(ta pioca ); cattle,
sheep, goa ts, camels
wheat, ba rley, corn,
pota toes; livestock,
dairy products
Industrial Production Growth
Rate
-5.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the
world: 110
4.11 trillion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the
world: 1
NA
10.6%
NA
20.45 billion kWh
95 million
na
150 million (2008)
country comparison to the
world: 2
231 million (2008)
country comparison to the
world: 2
1.18 million
31, 200
19600
total: 226,427 km
country comparison to the
world: 1
total: 6,465,799 km
country comparison to the
world: 1
paved: 4,209,835 km
(includes 75,040 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 2,255,964 km
(2007)
5,242
Electricity Production
Communications
Telephones – Main Lines in Use
Internet Users
Transportation
Railways
Roadways (Paved and Unpaved
Highways
Airports with Paved Runways
Reflection:
total: 5,174
NA
agriculture: 0.8%
industry: 39. 4%
services: 59.9% (20 10)
electronics, metal
manufactu ring, den ta l
prod ucts, ceramics,
pharmaceu ticals, food
prod ucts, precision
ins truments, tou rism,
optica l ins trumen ts
23,000
NA
9 km
total: 25,554 km
total: 40,000 km
total: 380 km
country comparison to the
country comparison to the
country comparison to the
world: 1 0 1
paved: 724 km
unpaved: 24,830 km
(2006)
world: 8 8
note: con sis ts of 25,000
km of na tiona l a nd
regiona l road s an d
15,000 km of local
road s; 206 km of urb an
road s a re paved (2011)
world: 2 0 1
paved: 380 km (2010 )
39
Na
na
Name
Date
1. How can the presence or absence of natural resources and arable land affect a nation’s economy,
regardless of the type of economic system?
Well, if a country has a natural resource it can create jobs for people, because you need someone to extract it
and since its already existing in that country they don’t have to pay anything for it, just the price of managing
and extracting it then from there out its all profit.
2. How can life expectancy and literacy rates affect the quality of labor in the economy?
If you have educated and literate workers there is a way less chance of injury on the job site and you can
have people work for longer periods of there life because they have longer life expectancy.
3. How can fertility rates affect the use of scarce resources?
With more and more kids being brought into the world they need stuff as well as everyone else so that
resource is being used that much more.
4. How can GDP per capita and poverty rates indicate standards of living in each system?
If the GDP per capita is high and the poverty rates are low you can indicate a good healthy standard of living
where people have proper health care and housing for all. If the GDP per capita is low and poverty rates are
high you can indicate that the people there are rather poor and this could lead to lack of health care and sick
people thus a low life expectancy.
5. How can the size of the industrial/service sector and the agriculture employment rate indicate the
level of industrialization?
The size of the industrial/service sector and the agriculture can indicate how industrialized a country is.
6. How can electricity, communication, and transportation facilities indicate the potential for industrial
growth?
If a country has a sufficient electricity, sources of communication and transportation facilities then they have
maximum potential for industrial growth.
7. Considering the lack of natural resources, the labor problems, and the lack of capital and little
industrialization of developing countries, how can developing countries develop? (Hint: Look at
Economy - Overview for Chad).
Name
Date
Developing countries such as Chad can continue to gain profit on their oil sales, then continue to develop their
gov’t then set up programs to get people the health care they need and put people back into work there and
out of poverty.
8. Now that you have studied the economic characteristics of these three countries, define the terms
market-oriented, command, and developing economy in your own words. For each term, describe the
specific characteristics of the countries you studied that would help to support your definition.
The US and Liechtenstein are developed countries with developed economies. Liechtenstein claimed to be a
market oriented economy and the US is a mixed economy. Chad is a developing country they are just getting
oil fields extracted and starting to make their economy sufficient.