Meaning & use
economic system
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Meanings
nouncountable
the way a country or region organizes how goods and services are produced, bought, and sold
Grammar: Countable: use 'a/an' or a plural — an economic system, economic systems.
Patterns
- a capitalist economic system
- a market economic system
- change the economic system
- under an economic system
The country moved from a socialist economic system to a market one.
In a traditional economic system, people trade goods directly without money.
Different economic systems answer the basic questions of what, how, and for whom to produce.
nounsingularformal
the whole set of rules and institutions that control money, trade, and work in a society
Grammar: Often used with 'the' to talk about the system as a whole: the economic system.
Patterns
- the economic system
- the collapse of the economic system
- reform the economic system
Many people lost their jobs when the economic system collapsed.
The report calls for major reforms to the economic system.
Word forms
| plural | economic systems |
|---|
Common combinations
- a market economic system
- In a market economic system, prices are set by supply and demand.
- a capitalist economic system
- The United States has a largely capitalist economic system.
- change the economic system
- The new leaders promised to change the economic system.
- the collapse of the economic system
- The war led to the collapse of the economic system.
- a mixed economic system
- Most modern countries have a mixed economic system with both private and state businesses.
Synonyms and how they differ
- economy
- More common and general; it can mean the system itself or the country's financial state. 'Economic system' focuses on the structure and rules.
- economic model
- Often used for a simplified description or theory, not the real system in a country.
Word family
- economy noun
- the system of trade and money in a country
- economic adjective
- relating to the economy
- economist noun
- a person who studies economies
- economically adverb
- in a way that relates to the economy
Commonly confused: economic system or economic vs economical? economic system or economic system vs economy?
economic system vs economic vs economical
'Economic' means relating to the economy (economic growth). 'Economical' means saving money or using little (an economical car).
economic system vs economic system vs economy
'Economy' can mean the whole financial activity of a country; 'economic system' is the organized structure behind it.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Market economic system' is the natural order: adjective + adjective + noun. Option B reverses the adjectives and changes the meaning. Option C uses 'economical', which means 'saving money', not 'relating to the economy'. Option D has the wrong word order and no article.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “economic system”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.