Key terms:

Political Economy- political, economic and legal systems of the country.

Political System-the system of government in a nation.
Collectivism- a political system that emphasizes collective goals over individual
goals.
Socialism- a political system that emphasizes state ownership of the basic means
of production, distribution and exchange (businesses).
Individualism - a political system that emphasizes individual freedom in economic
and political pursuits.
Democracy - a political system that emphasizes government by the people
exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
Totalitarianism - a political system that emphasizes the form of government in
which one person or political party exercises absolute control over all spheres of
human life, and opposing political parties are prohibited.
Market Economy
-All productive activities are privately owned
- Goods, services and their quantity are not planned by anyone
-Production is determined by supply and demand and regulated by the price
system
Command Economy
-Government plans goods, services and their quantity, prices
–All businesses are state-owned
–Government direct investments in the best interests of the nation as a whole
rather than in the interest of the private individuals.
Mixed Economy
-Certain sectors of economy are left to private ownership and free market
mechanisms, while other sectors have significant ownership and government
planning
Legal Systems
A system of rules or laws that regulates behavior and processes by which the laws
of a country are enforced and through which redress(correction) for
grievance(complaint\action) is obtained.

Common Law
A system of law based on tradition, precedent, and custom. When law courts
interpret common law, they do so with regard to these characteristics.
Civil Law
A system of laws based on a very detailed set of written laws and codes.

Theocratic Law
A system of law based on religious teachings.
Contract
- a document that specifies the conditions under which an exchange is to occur
and details the rights and obligations of the parties involved.
Contract Law
– the body of law that governs contract creation and enforcement.
United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
(CISG)
- a set of rules governing certain aspects of the making and performance of
commercial contacts between sellers and buyers who have their places of
business in different nations.
Property rights
-a bundle of legal rights over the use to which a resource is put and over the use
made of any income that may be delivered from that resource.
Patents
- grants the inventor of a new product or process exclusive rights to the
manufacture, use or sale of that invention
Copyrights
- exclusive legal rights of authors, composers, playwrights, artists, and publishers
to publish and dispose of their work as they see fit.
Trademarks
– designs and names, often officially registered, by which merchants or
manufacturers designate and differentiate their products.
Deregulation
- removal of Government description concerning the conduct of business

Privatization
– the sale of state-owned enterprises to private investors

Legal Systems
– laws protecting private property rights and providing mechanisms for contract
enforcement so that market economy could function well.