ECONOMY: The system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services that a society uses to address the problem of scarcity. The essential task of an economy is to transform resources into useful goods and services (the act of production), then distribute or allocate these products to useful ends (the act of consumption). Virtually all economies accomplish this task through a combination of decisions made through voluntary market exchanges and involuntary government rules and regulations.

     See also | economic system | three questions of allocation | institution | household sector | business sector | government sector | limited resources | unlimited wants and needs | ownership and control | resources | capitalism | private sector | public sector | private property | mixed economy | market-oriented economy | communism | socialism | pure market economy | pure command economy | first estate | second estate | third estate | fourth estate |

ECONOMY, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: December 5, 2024].

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Activities that provide direct satisfaction of wants and needs without the production of tangible products or goods. Like the related term good, a service is produced using society's resources and represents a fundamental aspect of the economy. Limited resources are used to produce the services that satisfy unlimited wants and needs in an ongoing effort to address the problem of scarcity.

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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time strolling through a department store hoping to buy either decorative garden figurines or a wall poster commemorating last Friday (you know why). Be on the lookout for high interest rates.
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