Google
Tuesday 
November 28, 2023 

AmosWEB means Economics with a Touch of Whimsy!

AmosWEBWEB*pediaGLOSS*aramaECON*worldCLASS*portalQUIZ*tasticPED GuideXtra CrediteTutorA*PLS
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE: A scientific society whose main mission is to advance science and innovation throughout the world. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS for short) publishes one of the most respected scientific magazines called Science. The association and magazine have nearly 140,000 individual and institutional subscribers, plus 272 affiliated organizations in more than 130 countries, serving a total of 10 million individuals. The American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1848 to represent all disciplines of science and to support scientific exchange and discussion of science and society issues.

Visit the GLOSS*arama


PRIVATE SECTOR:

The combination of households and businesses into a single group. It is termed the private sector to indicate that decisions are made by private individuals (either consumers or producers) in pursuit of their personal self-interests. The contrasting phrase is public sector, in which decisions are made by governments on behalf of the public.
The private sector is comprised of the household sector and the business sector, but excludes the government sector. While the private sector, in essence, includes every member of society, it does not include everything that everyone does. The private sector is best specified from a functional perspective--by what people do, not who they are. People are part of the private sector when they are buying goods, working in factories, running companies, and engaging in market exchanges. However, they are part of the public sector when they are serving in elected public offices, working in the military, or working for a government agency.

Two Sectors

The private sector includes the household sector and the business sector.
  • Household Sector: The household sector includes the entire, wants and-needs-satisfying population of the economy when that population is engaged in eating, breathing, and consuming. This sector includes everyone seeking to satisfy unlimited wants and needs, when they are busy seeking to satisfy unlimited wants and needs.

  • Business Sector: The business sector contains the private, profit-seeking firms in the economy that combine scarce resources into the production of wants-and-needs satisfying goods and services. The key economic function of the business sector is the production of goods and services.

An Ongoing Allocation Debate

A distinction between the private sector and the public sector reflects the two basic methods of answering the three questions of allocation--markets and government. The private sector relies on markets and the private ownership and control of resources for voluntary allocation decisions. The public sector relies on government decisions that are involuntarily imposed on the economy that (in theory at least) are made on behalf of the public.

The terms private sector and public sector reflect the ongoing debate over the degree of government involvement in the economy. Some debaters (liberals) say that a lot of involvement is needed, others (conservatives) say very little is needed. While this debate is unlikely to be concluded (EVER!), evidence to date indicates some government intervention can be useful, just not too much.

<= PRIVATE PROPERTYPRIVATIZATION =>


Recommended Citation:

PRIVATE SECTOR, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2023. [Accessed: November 28, 2023].


Check Out These Related Terms...

     | public sector |


Or For A Little Background...

     | political views | liberal | conservative | normative economics | fifth rule of imperfection | first estate | second estate | third estate |


And For Further Study...

     | government functions | macroeconomic sectors | household sector | business sector | government sector | foreign sector | four estates | economic system | distribution standards | ownership and control | three questions of allocation |


Search Again?

Back to the WEB*pedia


APLS

BEIGE MUNDORTLE
[What's This?]

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time wandering around the downtown area hoping to buy either a how-to book on surfing the Internet or a computer that can play music and burn CDs. Be on the lookout for empty parking spaces that appear to be near the entrance to a store.
Your Complete Scope

This isn't me! What am I?

The portion of aggregate output U.S. citizens pay in taxes (30%) is less than the other six leading industrialized nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, or Japan.
"The marvelous thing about human beings is that we are perpetually reaching for the stars. The more we have, the more we want. And for this reason, we never have it all. "

-- Joyce Brothers, psychologist

D
Demand
A PEDestrian's Guide
Xtra Credit
Tell us what you think about AmosWEB. Like what you see? Have suggestions for improvements? Let us know. Click the User Feedback link.

User Feedback



| AmosWEB | WEB*pedia | GLOSS*arama | ECON*world | CLASS*portal | QUIZ*tastic | PED Guide | Xtra Credit | eTutor | A*PLS |
| About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Statement |

Thanks for visiting AmosWEB
Copyright ©2000-2023 AmosWEB*LLC
Send comments or questions to: WebMaster