Presentation on theme: "Economic Systems Countries economic system deals with three issues: What goods and services should be produced? How should the goods and services be produced?"— Presentation transcript:
Economic Systems Countries economic system deals with three issues: What goods and services should be produced? How should the goods and services be produced? For whom should these goods and services be produced?
Systems are categorized by the ownership of resources and the governments involvement
Command Economies All activities of the economy are planned by the government This includes what is produced, the quantity of goods produced, and the prices at which they are sold. This is often called a communist economic system. Cuba and North Korea are examples
Market Economy In a market economy, decisions are made by consumers and companies about what, how, and for who items are produced Property is privately owned This is also known as a capitalist system An example of a market economy is the United States
Mixed Economy In a mixed economy, some parts of the economy are privately owned and some are owned by the government Typically the government steps in for companies who are considered vital to the country or necessary for the public good (ex: health care, transportation)
This is often referred to as a socialist system Examples of mixed economies include France, Italy and Sweden
Relationship to Political Systems Totalitarian political systems tend to have a communist/command economy Democratic political systems tend to have a capitalist/market economy
Privatization The trend today is toward market economies The process of transferring government owned and operated entities to private individuals is called “privatization”
Peru’s Privatization Peru wanted to involve its citizens, particularly low-income people In November 1994, the government launched a program designed to involve citizens in auctions of shares of formerly state-owned enterprises. With almost 50 percent of the population below the poverty line, 3,000 people bought out all the telephone company shares available in the fist auction in less than three hours.
In the second auction, 6,600 investors - - many of them lower-income -- bought out all available shares in 45 minutes. By 1994 18,500 people had participated in the three auctions held to date. The government aimed to involve half a million by 2000.
Results Highest real economic growth rate in the world in 1995. Poverty rate had dropped from 53.6 percent to 45.8 percent by 1995 Major tax and trade reforms have been enacted and the privatization program has sold off 51 state-owned enterprises, garnering $3.6 billion.
3 bases for the majority of legal systems around the world 1.Common law 2.Code/civil law 3.Islamic law (Theocratic law)
Common law Bases itself on tradition, past practices and legal precedents set by courts through interpretation of the statutes, legal legislation and past rulings
Code/Civil Law Code law is based on an all-inclusive system of written rules. There are three parts of rules: commercial, civil and criminal
Islamic Law This system is based on an interpretation of the Koran, an Islamic religious text. An example of how Islamic Law differs from American law is that Islamic law prohibit the charging of interest
Legal Disputes There are three types of legal disputes: Between governments Between a government and a company Between two companies First type can be handled by the World Court
International Court of Justice Judicial branch of the United Nations Located at the Peace Palace Hears disputes between governments and gives advisory opinions about issues to international agencies http://www.icj-cij.org/
International Dispute between companies Jurisdiction determined in three ways: 1. Is there a jurisdictional clause? 2. Where was the contract entered into? 3. Where were the provisions of the contract performed?
Jurisdictional Clause Statement in business that specifies whose legal system or laws will apply to a dispute. “That the parties in question hereby agree that the agreement is made in Colorado, USA, and that any questions regarding this agreement shall be governed by the law of that state, Colorado, USA.”
Dealing with Disputes Conciliation/Mediation Arbitration Litigation
Conciliation Ask a non-biased third party to step in and recommend what should be done. It is nonbinding, and can be either formal or informal. Recommended for disputes involving the Chinese because it is less threatening than arbitration.
Arbitration Preferred manner of dealing with disputes internationally Both parties select a third person to make a decision that will be honored by all Formal arbitration groups exist such as the American Arbitration Association, or International Chamber of Commerce
Arbitration clauses should be written into business contracts to make sure that both parties agree to follow the decision made by arbitrators. Arbitration clauses are recognized by courts and over 80 countries have signed an agreement to recognize arbitration awards.
Litigation Least preferred method of dealing with international disputes. Excessive costs, time delays and may create a poor image for all parties involved. Fair juries and collecting awards can also be an issue.
Chinese recommended settlement process Informal negotiation Conciliation Arbitration Litigation
Intellectual Property Intellectual property refers to works of the mind such as ideas, art, music. It can also be products such as a chemical formula or computer software. This is becoming one of the hottest issues in international business.
Types of intellectual property Patent – exclusive rights to a new product or process for an inventor Trademark – designs and names that are registered by a company Copyright – legal rights to a work by authors, composers, playwrights, artists or publishers
Examples of famous protected works and their worth in millions Coca-Cola = 65,324 IBM = 57,091 Microsoft = 57,089 McDonalds = 29,398 Harley-Davidson = 7,718 Published in BusinessWeek 9/6/2007
Brand values courtesy of Interbrand See the full report at http://www.interbrand.com/best_brands_2 007.asp BusinessWeek’s report is available at: http://www.ourfishbowl.com/images/pr ess_releases/businessweek_bgb07_artic le.pdf http://www.ourfishbowl.com/images/pr ess_releases/businessweek_bgb07_artic le.pdf
Protection Paris Convention of the Protection of Industrial Property, Madrid Agreement, and others have tried to make protection easier for international registration
Problems in Intellectual Property In the U.S., ownership is established by prior use due to our common law system Many code-law countries use a registration system, where the first company to register is the one who has rights
Piracy and counterfeit items are also a large problem
In a survey conducted by the IACC, Fortune 500 companies reported that they spend an average of between $2 - $4 million per year to combat counterfeiting. Some reported spending up to $10 million. IACC – International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition
The computer software industry as a whole is losing between $12 - $16 billion per year because of rampant piracy and counterfeiting. This amounts to more than 40 percent of all software industry revenues. In some countries, more than 90 percent of computer software are illegitimate copies.
Illegal videotaped copies of newly released films are often available for sale on the street even before the movies appear on the big screen. A recent film which cost a studio in excess of $100 million to produce, could be purchased on the street for a mere $10.00 before it was released in theatres.
Trademark counterfeiting robs the U.S. of $287 billion annually. It is a highly profitable tax-free cash business and it's lining the pockets of the same criminals involved in murder, drug trafficking, gun running and extortion. City of New York Office of Comptroller November 2004 Report on Counterfeiting in NYC
What's more, incidents of dangerous fake products turning up in the U.S. have spiked since the mid-1990s. Authorities found counterfeit baby formula at retail stores in 16 states, bacteria in fake shampoo and the FAA estimates that 520,000 counterfeit aircraft parts are installed on airplanes each year.
Marketing Laws Countries have different laws relating to promotion, product development, pricing, labeling and distribution Examples: In Germany, comparisons made between products must be proven In Canada, claims can not be misleading
Germany’s green dot program affects product packaging because all packaging must be accepted back by the manufacturer, distributor or retailer. Companies must check each country’s laws
Contract Law Issues Contract law varies widely between countries Civil law countries tend to be much shorter and less specific Common law countries tend to be much more detailed
Product Safety and Liability Safety standards vary greatly Liability laws also change by country as to how much a company can be held responsible for product problems
American laws which follow businesspeople Foreign Corrupt Practices Act National Security Laws Antitrust Laws
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Applies to any individual, firm or representative of an organization FCPA prohibits paying, offering, or promising to pay anything of value to any foreign official, political party or candidate for political office In order to assist firm in obtaining or retaining business
Political, Legal and Econ Impacts Systems in place impact economic development Gross National Income per head of population (GNI) Nation Master GNI chartchart
Broader concept is Human Development Index (HDI) Life expectancy, educational attainment, average income adequate to meet basic needs chart
Major Themes from text Innovation and entrepreneurship are engines of long-run economic growth Market economies have greater incentives for innovation and entrepreneurship Strong legal protection of property rights is conducive to economic growth
Democratic governments seem more conducive to long-term economic growth than dictatorships Trends has been toward democracy and toward market economy