States and Markets in an Era of Globalization (Essay Sample)

STATES AND MARKETS IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION
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States and Markets in an Era of Globalization
Question one: The idea that all economies are the same is an ideological rather than scientific claim’. Do you agree?
Regardless of economies incorporating similar socialist and market economic characteristics, assuming that they are all similar is an ideological rather than scientific claim. One of the major reasons behind agreeing with the statement is because there a variation in each economic system. Economies are dependent on the economic systems, which define global market accessibility and innovation. High technical development (innovation) and an appropriate economic system improve international competitiveness and global market access (Larisa, Galina, and Stanislav 2018). An economic system is whereby the government and societies distribute and organize available goods, services, and resources across the country or geographic region. Economic systems regulate physical resources, labor, capital, and other factors of production. Economies varies since they encompasses many consumption patterns, decision-making processes, entities, agencies, and institutions that form a country’s economic structure. Therefore, the variation in economies can be explained based on different types of economic systems. There exist four different economic systems which differ in terms of income and wealth distribution. They include traditional, command, mixed, and Market economic systems.
The traditional economic system is composed of work, services, and goods. Based on the economic theory, the traditional system relies on people with few specialization and labor. Notably, some parts of the world still work using the system. Therefore, the globalization rate also differs. With such difference, it is not scientifically justifiable that all economies are the same. Most of the economies which use the traditional system are third-world countries. The predominant economic activities in these areas include traditional income-generating activities and farming (North 2016). In economies with the traditional system, few resources exist and must be shared among a large population. In any case, there are adequate resources in such economies, accessing them becomes a challenge. Traditional systems differ from others since surplus is low. Nevertheless, a reduced output is also noted in traditional economies. Therefore, the traditional economic system is a justification that not all economies are the same since it can scientifically be proved.
Secondly, differences in economies can be justified from the command economic system. Command economies comprise dominant central authority. In most cases, the government dominates the central authority. The government controls a larger portion of the system. It is majorly observed among communists groups. Command economies are unique from other economies due to increased surplus. According to economic theory, increased surplus promotes resource allocation and access (North 2016). The theory also stipulates that whenever an economy can easily access resources, the chances are high that it would lean on a command economic structure. Therefore, the government exercises control over all the resources. Some of the core resources under such an economy include oil and gold. Theoretically, a command system is effective so long as the government provides full authority. The uniqueness of such an economy is also evident in terms of rigidity. Changing such economies requires adequate scientific research. Therefore, it shows that economies are not the same and differ in terms of rigidity and accessibility.
The third reason which justifies that economies are not the same is market economic structure. It is a concept based on free markets. In this case, little government interference is experienced than in command economies. The government has a very little mandate over the resources. Theoretically, the regulation of the economy, in this case, is dependent on demand and supply. It is majorly theoretical since pure markets do not exist. In other systems, the government majorly uses regulations such as controlling monopolies which are not evident for the market-related economies (North 2016). Therefore, from a theoretical perspective, market economies improve growth, and it is identified as the highest among the economic systems. However, the economy is not similar to other economies since economic power is more privatized. In such economy, the source distribution and allocation are not equally conducted. Therefore, based on the provided evidence, arguing that all economies are ideological and not scientific.
Lastly, the type of economy which theoretically justifies the inequalities in economies is the mixed economic system. A mixed system comprises of both command and market characteristics. Therefore, it means that it is unique from the traditional economies. This type of economy entails dual types of economic control, both private and public. Globally, they are the most applied developed countries and regions. However, based on the scientific approach, a mixed economy is technical since it must balance government control and free markets. Therefore, the four varying economies include command, mixed, traditional, and market economies, scientifically approve that not all the economies are the same.
Besides the economic systems, the inequality in economies can be addressed through income and wealth distribution, the key aspects of economic theory. Economies depend on the rate of wealth and income distribution, which involves different individual consumption rates. Based on the Gini coefficient, a majorly used scientific and theoretical approach in measuring wealth distribution, it is noted that human capital is not equal due to differences in wealth distribution, economic global economic growth also varies. This is linked to the political factors observed in different parts of the world, such as instabilities and democratic breakdown.
Additionally, the variation observed in the wealth distribution also impacts the labor market. In the modern market, wages and market economies can be identified as major determinants for wealth distribution. In such economies, imperfect competition is heavily experienced. Some of the factors that also differ include acquiring new skills, education opportunities, and uneven distribution of market information. According to Malthusian (an economist and scholar in political economy 1766-1834), food production in different nations influences economic growth. This is because the original per capita is impacted (Peterson 2017). It means that since nations vary in food production, wealth distribution and income growth are also impacted, variation in the economies is also observed. Therefore, the economies tend to differ depending on the country’s resource reliability and accessibility.
Question two: Can all states become welfare states? Illustrate your answer using specific examples.
Not all states can become welfare states due to complex requirements which must be met. Welfare states are government forms in which there is authority of protecting and promoting social and economic well-being among the citizens. This is based on the concepts of public responsibility, equitable wealth distribution, and equal opportunities. Welfare states are a type of mixed economy in which both the government and private sector play a key role in resource and risk inequality control (Rehm 2016). Such states also play a key role in determining growth of both the educational and health sector of the country. A welfare state requires many interventions to solve specific problems that any other normal states cannot address. For a sustainable welfare state, there must be an effective labor market. For example, it requires the transformation of unemployment to employability, as observed in Imperial Germany, which focused on resource mobilization to ensure increased employability.
According to political theory and globalization, unemployment reduces the chances of state control. A welfare state must address the fluctuating economic cycle, which is not the case for environmental states (Gough 2016). With such fluctuations, unemployment is a critical problem and indicates vital strategies that must be put in place to ensure consistent growth. A welfare state must also incorporate different ideologies from the labor unions, employers and government. In most cases, states disagree on the suitable measures that can be put in place to ensure a uniform disparity and resolved economic fragmentations. Therefore, one reason that makes welfare state unattainable is the low economic growth attributed to poor employment among different countries. Such countries are unable to cater to all the requirements for the employment sector.
A welfare state can be defined theoretically based on four broad areas, including housing, food, education, health, and welfare. Therefore, the identified areas' requirements can be identified under strong state boundaries, diverse modes of delivery, and specific state activity such as management of the labor market. Based on the theoretical description, one sector that must be adequately addressed for a state to be determined as welfare state is the labor market's wage income. Therefore, with consistent wage income, there must be full employment. Not all states can access full employment due to rigid resource allocation and distribution. Therefore, with partial and increased unemployment, occupational welfare is not met, limiting sustainability.
Additionally, private provision is also a crucial sector for a country to be identified as a w...