TYPES OF ECONOMIES Before we delve into the history of the Middle East's economy, let’s review the types of economies in the world today. An economic system based on customs, beliefs, and traditions is called a traditional economy. People in this type of subsistence economy use methods their ancestors used to create self-sustaining societies. People in this economy have specific jobs to do to help make the community survive. Rather than using money, trade and bartering are preferable. Like other regions in the world, people in rural areas use a traditional economy, but there aren’t any countries that can be identified as having a purely traditional economy. In a command economy, the government regulates property, prices of products, wages, and just about everything else you can think of relating to running a business. The government determines what should be produced and who gets the profits. There aren’t many command economies left in the world. Saudi Arabia’s government has strong control over major economic activities, which puts it on the command side of the economic continuum. Iran, too, has an economy that puts it on the command side of the continuum, as the government owns a majority of the businesses. A market economy has little to no government interference, and it allows the markets to compete. It permits individuals to make economic decisions, like taking risks in new businesses. Profits will then go to those investors, as opposed to the government. Laissez-faire (French for “to allow them to do as they please”) reflects this type of model. There are no pure market economies in the world. A combination of the market and command systems is known as a mixed economy. In this type of economy, only some of the businesses or industries are controlled by the government. Most modern countries have mixed economic systems, where there is private enterprise and some govUsing information from the lesson and additional research, complete the graphic organizer linked below. Upload your final copy when finished.