Economics summative assessment, Script-

Rayaan Singh

Good morning to everyone present here today, we are all gathered here to talk
about economies. There are 177 countries in attendance with us today, all of us
following different economies and under the control of different governments.
One thing we do have in common however is the fundamental concept known as
scarcity, this raises the same question for all of us. How do we allocate the limited
resources we have, given the seemingly infinite demands and wants of individuals
in our world?

Our countries all follow different types of economies, one being a command
economy and another a market economy. Choosing one over another is up to the
government but we are here today to discuss the merits and challenges of them.

To begin with, let me restate the 3 most important questions when it comes to
running an economy. what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to
produce. These questions are answered by different entities depending on how
an economy is ran.

I will start by explaining command or centrally planned economies, a command

economy is an economy ran by the government. The main decision-maker and
forefront of the economy is the government. The government decides what
should be produced in order to meet the needs of its people. The government
determines how all resources will be used, assigning each citizen a task, and
finally, determines how all these commodities and services will be distributed
among its residents. A command economy benefits its citizens because the
government ensures that all individuals are employed. Furthermore, profit isn't
prioritized but rather the worker. It leads to more equality, theoretically. The
bottom line here is, Command economies, come with many advantages, which
include low or non-existent unemployment, speed in decision-making, equality
amongst citizens, and a focus on the worker as opposed to profits.
Although in theory the command economy looks like a brilliant idea, in practice it
falls short. Although command economy's advantages seem extremely promising,
it also has drawbacks. When an economy is completely governed by the
government, there is no competition, which inhibits innovation because there is
no incentive to improve on already successful products. Another drawback of a
command economy is that it uses resources inefficiently, which may result in
unmet needs among the population.

As we are here in North Korea, lets talk about its economy as it also an example of
a centrally planned economy. North korea have not yet liberated themselves to
the opening world and do not allow free trade, the transfer of capital and labor
freely outside their domestic territory. In economies like these, the government
still owns and operates the major share of the economy in the country which
could also turn into political distress and political crisis in the country. The
economic history of North Korea includes significant periods of stagnation
and crisis, with intermittent phases of recovery and some economic growth.
The regime’s priority to make Korea a defense economy has overshadowed
development, food production, living standards, and human rights.

Human trafficking, which involves many men, women, and children in forced
labour is a significant problem the nation is now dealing with. Furthermore,
foreign nations, most frequently those of China and Russia, acquire their
workers mostly from North Korea. The work that the government assigns to
North Koreans is imposed upon them; they are unable to change
employment; and, if they attempt to evade their forced labour, they will be
punished by the state.

Moving on to market economies. A market economy is one in which there are no

price controls or restrictions on the freedom of contracts, and all suppliers and
consumers are free to set their own prices. In a market economy, decisions about
investment, production, and distribution to consumers are driven by the price
signals produced by the forces of supply and demand.

Now that we all have an idea of the purpose of these economies and what they
provide, I would like to conclude by giving my reasoning as to which one is better
and why I as a student of economics believe that a free market economy goes a
lot further as an economy and is also the more successful form of economy.
Although known as a “free market economy” There are no known economies that
are completely free since governments are constantly involved in some form.
Government's ability to control business activities in a market economy is
constrained, nevertheless. It adopts most of its regulations to safeguard
consumers, the environment, market participants, and national security.

Unlike other types of economies, a market economy increases the efficiency of

businesses. Governments, in their limited roles, promote increased efficiency and
free and increased competition. Increased productivity is also associated with a
market economy. People require money to make purchases of products and
services in every economy. Workers in a market economy are more
motivated since they need to earn more money to meet their demands and
live comfortably. Motivated workers produce more for the economy in terms
of output and productivity. There is less worker motivation in a command
economy, when wages, levels of production, prices, and investments are
established by a central authority or government, because no matter how
hard they work, they will not receive more money.

To conclude and culminate my thoughts,

A market economy is one in which supply and demand, as well as other market
factors, principally the distribution of resources and prices of products and
services, are controlled. Since there is little government interference in market
economies, all management choices are made by private ownership. Greater
effectiveness, productivity, and innovation are produced by this economy type.

Thank you.