What is the economic system of Belarus? The economy of Belarus is based on a mixed economy. The country’s economic system combines elements of a market economy and a planned economy.
In Belarus, the economy is composed of a private sector, consisting of individuals and businesses that make autonomous decisions based on self-interest, and a public sector, where the state determines the production and distribution of certain goods and services. No country is purely capitalist or purely communist.
What do the freedom indexes tell about the economic system of Belarus?
Now, to determine if a country is mostly a market economy or a planned economy, it is useful to examine some economic indexes. For instance, according to the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom, which measures the ability of every human to control his own labor and property, Belarus is ranked 135th globally and 45th in Europe indicating that the country has a primarily unfree economy.
In a similar way, the 2022 Freedom House index evaluates the state of political rights and civil liberties globally. Generally, market economies tend to align more with democracy and freedom, while command economies tend to be characterized by greater state control and fewer democratic and civil liberty protections. Belarus gets a score of 8/100, which qualifies it as Not Free. Belarus is a country where the government controls what people do for political reasons, and people have limited freedom to choose (what, how much, and how to produce, whether to buy or not, selling price, etc.)
The Link Between Public Sector Employment and the Economic System of Belarus
An indicator of the extent to which the State is involved in the economy is the number of public sector employees. In Belarus, according to ILOSTAT, the number of public sector employees as a percentage of the total workforce is 39.3% (2015). In the country’s mixed economy, the number of public sector employees as a percentage of the total workforce varies based on the specific policies and practices adopted by the State. Some economic activities are left to the private sector while others are under government control. The bigger the public sector the closer is the economy to being a command economy.
What does the biggest company in Belarus say about the country’s economic system?
The biggest company in Belarus should also be looked at, as well as whether it is a state-owned or private company. In this case, Naftan from Belarus is categorized as a mixed private-public sector company. It is owned and operated by both the government and private investors. It is a unique combination of public and private interests, allowing for a balance of public and private interests.
The historical factors that have influenced the economic system of Belarus
The mixed economy system of Belarus in the last century was caused by a combination of political, cultural, and economic factors. Politically, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the introduction of a market-based economy in Belarus. Culturally, the country’s traditional agricultural sector was supplemented by the emergence of a service-based economy. Then, the country experienced rapid growth in the early 2000s, which was driven by strong foreign investment and increased demand for Belarusian exports. These factors, combined, resulted in the current mixed economy system of Belarus.
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