Every society must decide how to organize economic activity, which involves trade-offs. Economists have developed economic system models to help us understand the benefits and costs we face when choosing to organize our economy in a particular way. Although no country adheres entirely to one economic system model, understanding the assumptions underlying a pure command system and a pure market system can inform our choices. The economic systems infographic contrasts command and market economies. Students will discover the three basic economic questions and how each system answers these questions, identify key advantages and disadvantages for each system, recognize some economic indicators that measure performance on broad social economic goals, and see how specific countries rank on a measure of economic freedom.
The infographic has an accompanying worksheet with questions and activities to help you use the infographic in the classroom to reinforce these important concepts.