Google
Thursday 
April 25, 2024 

AmosWEB means Economics with a Touch of Whimsy!

AmosWEBWEB*pediaGLOSS*aramaECON*worldCLASS*portalQUIZ*tasticPED GuideXtra CrediteTutorA*PLS
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: A private organization that seeks to maintain and strengthen the foundations of freedom through scholarly research, open debate, and publications. The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (as it is officially designated) promotes the principles of limited government, private enterprise, vital cultural and political institutions, and a strong foreign policy and national defense. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) publishes dozens of books and hundreds of articles and reports each year, and an influential policy magazine called The American Enterprise. The AEI is one of the largest and most respected "think tanks" in the United States. The AEI, which was founded in 1943, is located in Washington, D.C.

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, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 25, 2024].


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

BLUE PLACIDOLA
[What's This?]

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time touring the new suburban shopping complex hoping to buy either a lazy Susan for you dining room table or a set of serrated steak knives, with durable plastic handles. Be on the lookout for rusty deck screws.
Your Complete Scope

This isn't me! What am I?

Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen were the 1st Nobel Prize winners in Economics in 1969.
"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations. "

-- Steve Jobs, Apple Computer founder

T-BILL
Treasury Bill
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 ©2000-2024 AmosWEB*LLC
Send comments or questions to: WebMaster