1.      Why does Fukuyama think that we are at “the end of history” and how is his idea relevant to comparative economics?

 

“The end of history and last man”, Fukuyama states that the twin crises of authoritarianism and socialist central plan has left and only one competitor will stand.

In Fukuyama view, the end of cold war is the beginning of the convergence of the entire world on American model economy, this is relevant to the comparison of economy: since he is not completely right, there are many varieties of market capitalism, all of those ate undergoing transformation.

 

 

 

2.      Are market economies necessarily capitalist and are command economies necessarily socialist/ Why or Why not?

 

No. It makes a big difference under socialism if ownership is predominantly by central government or by local governments. Anther possibility is ownership by organized religious groups. There are also “cross-forms”, market socialism like Yugoslavia and command capitalism like Nazi; all real economies are mixed economies, even if they can be categorized one way or another.

 

 

3.      Even though the U.S. economy is probably the most modern and market capitalist-oriented economy in the world, it contains element of a traditional economy. What are some examples?

 

U.S economy’s allocation decisions sometimes depend on customers, what has been done in the past, usually such customers or traditions are associated with a broader social context defined by a dominant religion. This way, decision making becomes embedded in the more general range.

 

 

4. Is market capitalism necessary for freedom? Why or why not?

 

I think there is  no state currently where all markets within its border are absolutely free, however, a market capitalism system do not have the level of freedom that some would prefer. Even in the US, which represents capitalism worldwide, has restriction upon the freedom of factor in the economy.

 

 

 

5 Distinguish between the Rawlsian, socialist, and pure communist views of how income should be distributed.

 

Rewls’s view is that the justness of a society is to be judged by how well off its poorest individuals, the maxmin criterion. This suggests substantial redistribution toward absolute equality, limited only by disincentive effects becoming so great that the poorest individual’s income drops

 

 

Karl Marx enunciated the ideal goal of pure communism as being “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” This does not imply complete equality of income, as people have different needs.

 

Most societies struggle with intermediate approaches of one sort or another, although very poor countries can not afford to do much redistributing, as there is not much to redistribute.

 

 

6. Considering table 1-1 and 1-2, what are some countries that exhibit characteristics or performances not in accord with the generalizations made in this chapter with regard to the systemic category into which they are placed? What are those characteristics or performances and how are they anomalous?

 

Some of the countries can be China, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast. Etc

Economies vary in their income redistribution, as well as in their political system and ideologies. In addition, there are many other elements, besides those listed in the handout that are important. Examples are such as the openness to the global trade and investment, its environment policies, as well as population densities and a lot more!

 

 

7. Based on table1-1, what are some examples of countries that have a somewhat higher HDI while having somewhat lower real per capita GDPs? How can this happen, and can you see evidence of this in the table?

 

One example of those with higher HDI and lower GDPS is Costa Rica, the reason I think could be 1. Problems in data garthering.2 life expectancy at birth.3. Measure of educational enrollment. Etc.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Based on table 1-2, do you see any patterns regarding the relationship between the EFI and the category of economic system? Does this make sense? Is there any pattern of relationship between the EFI and the HDI? Does this make sense?

 

Yes, regarding the relationship between EFI and the category of economic system. I see a pattern. Market capitalist has the most freedom. Command socialist has the least freedom. It sure makes sense! Between EFI and HDI? I suppose the pattern is the higher the EFI, the lower the HDI and vice verse

 

 

9. How have developments in the world since September 11, 2001, affected the way we analyze economic systems and their relationships with each other?

 

After9.11, throughout the Islamic world, the fundamentalist groups either has taken control of governments or is the leading opposition to existing governments. The subsequent war in Afghanistan made the entire world aware of the seriousness of this global movement.