|
While the mere mention of economics may send you running, please explore the following links to information on Wikipedia and other sites- you will find that much of the information is very straightforward and makes a lot of sense.
There are many different types of economies, each driven by many factors. In the United States, we have an economy driven by capitalist principles, but heavily influenced by government regulation and taxation. Under a capitalist system, private individuals and companies engage in the provision of goods and services with the goal of making a profit. The government's goal is regulate and tax these individuals and businesses so as to maximize revenue and the public good without discouraging or undermining participation in the market.
The following are links to information about several types of economic models:
Capitalism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_capitalism
Socialism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism#History_of_socialism
Communism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism
The United States economy remains one of the most important economies in the world. Our markets drive much of what happens around the globe, good and bad. Economic news has been consistently positive for the past several years, despite what is often reported in the media and repeated by people who haven't actually looked at any statistics. For information about the U.S. economy, please explore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Economy.
Two key factors in determining economic strength are the unemployment rate and inflation. Please consider that the Unemployment Rate in January of 2007 was, seasonally adjusted, 4.6%. The average Unemployment Rate for all of 2006 also measured 4.6%. (http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm) The rate of inflation has held very steady at approximately 3%. (http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/Articles/Decade_inflation_chart.htm)
Inflation, in simple terms, describes the relationship between the costs of goods and services and the purchasing power of the consumer. When the costs of goods and services goes up and the purchasing power of the consumer goes down, there is some degree of inflation. deflation occurs when purchasing power goes up and the relative costs of goods and services decrease. High rates of either deflation or inflation generally indicate economic problems. Inflation has remained low and stable for the past 10-15 years. Please click on the following links for more information about inflation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation#Measures_of_inflation
Finally, a note about women and the economy. Historically, there have been many women who made significant contributions in the field of economics however women have not been major players. The American Economics Association has a committee to specifically address the concerns about the low numbers of women entering the field. (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/CSWEP/index.htm)
If interested, there has been some extensive writing on women economists. Consider reading:
"Engendering Economics: Conversations with Women Economists in the United States" at
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108072355
|