How traditional, command, market and mixed economies decide what to make
Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
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Four made-up economies (made-up places, described for practice). Columns: Economy, Who decides what to make, How most prices are set, Who owns most farms and factories. Alder, Elders, following custom, By custom and barter, Families and the village; Bexley, A central planning office, Set by the office, The state; Corvan, Owners, answering to buyers, By buying and selling, Private owners; Dunmore, Owners and the government, Mostly by buying and selling; some set by law, Private owners and the state. The table says who decides and how. It does not say which economy is better.
Ari reads the table. Which description fits Dunmore?
- A market economy: owners decide and prices come from buying and selling, with no law involved.
- A traditional economy: custom decides what is made and how the harvest is shared out.
- A command economy: the government decides what to make and the planning office sets the prices.
- A mixed economy: owners and the government both decide, and some prices are set by law.
Bo asks how Corvan answers the question "for whom?" Which answer fits the table?
- Goods go where the planning office sends them, so the office decides who gets each good.
- Goods are shared out equally, so each family receives the same amount of each good.
- Goods go by custom, with elders deciding who gets each good, as the village has long done.
- Goods go to those who can pay the price, so prices and buyers' money decide who gets what.
Esme writes one claim from the table for a class discussion. Which claim does the table support best?
- In Bexley goods are cheaper than in Corvan, because the office sets lower prices than buyers do.
- In Alder prices are set by the elders, who also own the farms and factories for the village.
- In Bexley the office sets prices, while in Corvan prices come from buying and selling.
- In Corvan goods are scarcer than in Bexley, because owners answer to buyers and not to a plan.
Jun lists four claims. Which claim goes beyond what the table shows?
- Owners in Corvan and Dunmore both have a say in what is made.
- Bexley's state owns most farms and factories.
- Alder's prices are set by custom and barter.
- Corvan makes more goods per person than Bexley.
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Bicycles in Corvan (made up for practice). More families begin to want bicycles. Shops sell out of bicycles within days, and shoppers begin to offer more money for the ones left.
What signal tells makers in Corvan to make more bicycles, Kira?
- The government lowers the bicycle price, so that makers hear that more bicycles are needed.
- A planning office orders the bicycle factories to raise their output for the coming year.
- Prices rise as shops sell out, so makers see that making bicycles now pays more.
- Elders meet and decide how many bicycles the village should be given for the year.
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Bicycles in Bexley (made up for practice). The plan sets 100 bicycles a month at $120 each. Families now want 140 bicycles a month at that price. The office reviews its plan once a year.
What does Luz expect until the plan is next reviewed?
- Factories make 140 bicycles at once, because families now want that many at $120.
- A shortage of 40 bicycles a month, because the fixed price does not rise to call out more bicycles.
- A surplus of 40 bicycles a month, because the fixed price is higher than families want to pay.
- The price rises to $150 on its own, which brings the 140 bicycles that families want.
Card
Farming in Alder (made up for practice). Families have grown wheat the same way for many generations. Elders divide the harvest by long-standing custom, and the village swaps goods by barter.
How does Alder answer the question "how to make?" according to the card, Milo?
- By competition between farms: the farm with the lowest prices wins most of the buyers.
- By a vote of the families each year on which farming methods to try in the coming season.
- By inherited methods: families farm the way earlier generations did, and custom guides the sharing.
- By the planning office's targets: farms must meet quotas that the office sets for each village.
Use this
Four made-up economies (made-up places, described for practice). Columns: Economy, Who decides what to make, How most prices are set, Who owns most farms and factories. Alder, Elders, following custom, By custom and barter, Families and the village; Bexley, A central planning office, Set by the office, The state; Corvan, Owners, answering to buyers, By buying and selling, Private owners; Dunmore, Owners and the government, Mostly by buying and selling; some set by law, Private owners and the state. The table says who decides and how. It does not say which economy is better.
Noah asks who owns the factories in Bexley and what follows. Which statement fits the table?
- Private owners hold them, and they choose what to make by looking for the largest profit.
- The state owns them, so the planning office can direct what the factories make.
- Families and the village hold them, and elders decide by custom what each one makes.
- The state owns them, but each factory manager chooses what to make without the office.
A classmate says Corvan is the best economy because owners decide. What can Ren say from the table?
- Right: the table shows owners decide in Corvan, which is why Corvan makes the better goods.
- Right: three of the four economies let owners decide, so the owner-led way must be better.
- The table shows who decides, not results, so it cannot rank the economies.
- Wrong: the table shows Bexley is the better one, because a planning office can look at the whole economy.
Card
Scarcity (made up for practice). In each of the four places, land, workers and tools are limited, while families want more goods than the places can make.
Which statement does Tala find correct for the four places?
- Bexley avoids the choice, since the planning office draws up one plan for the whole country.
- Corvan avoids scarcity, since prices rise until each family can buy the goods it wants.
- Each must still choose what to make, since resources are limited in any system.
- Alder faces no choice, since custom already settled long ago what the village makes.