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April 27, 2024 

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BANK OF THE UNITED STATES: This was actually two central banks that preceded the Federal Reserve System as the nation's monetary authority. The First Bank of the United States, under the design of Alexander Hamilton, commenced operations in 1791, almost immediately after the U.S. Constitution was written and George Washington became the first U.S. President. Its charter was not renewed and it ceased to operate in 1811. Financial instability resulting from the absence of a central bank over the next few years prompted the formation of the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. The Second Bank's performance, however, was somewhat more suspect. When it knocked heads with President Andrew Jackson, a strong critic of central banking, the Second Bank ceased to be in 1836.

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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.

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Recommended Citation:

PRIVATE SECTOR, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 27, 2024].


Check Out These Related Terms...

     | public sector |


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     | 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 |


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