Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker

Comparison For Success On Economies
By Jacob Phillips
12^th grade

Most of the countries in the world are free to choose what kind of economic system they want to have. Every country has their own philosophies and ideas for their lifestyles and cultures. Thus different systems work better in different situations. 

Switzerland borders France, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy. The federal capital is Bern, and the largest city is Zurich. Switzerland has a highly successful market economy based on international trade and banking. Its standards of living, worker productivity, quality of education, and health care are higher than any other European country. Inflation is low, and unemployment is negligible. The economy is heavily dependent on foreign guest workers, who represent approximately 20% of the labor force. Agriculture employs less than 5% of the population, and since only 10% of the land is arable, the primary agricultural products are cattle and dairy goods. Mineral resources are scarce, and most raw materials and many food products must be imported. Tourism, which adds significantly to the economy, helps to balance Switzerland's trade deficit. Electricity is generated chiefly from hydro electrical and nuclear power sources. Switzerland has a worldwide reputation for the high quality of its export manufactures, which include motors, generators, turbines, and diverse high-tech products. (Centered in Basel, the chemical-pharmaceutical industry exports around the globe.) Due to its central location in Europe and the stability of its politics and currency, Switzerland has become one of the world's most important financial centers. The banking, insurance, shipping, and freighting industries accommodate the enormous amount of international trade going through Switzerland. It’s most important trading partners are Germany, France, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Germany, located in the center of Europe, is bordered by the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria Czech Republic, Poland, and Denmark. The official capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany has for many years benefited from a highly skilled population that enjoys a high standard of living and an extensive social welfare program. Unemployment in the east has remained consistently higher than the West, and, although several larger urban centers there have begun to revive economically, most East German industrial cities remain depressed. Since the postwar years, the German economy has emphasized management-labor. While generally avoiding labor strife, has also created a relatively inflexible labor environment where employers are reluctant to hire more than the minimum required number of skilled workers. Since it is difficult to fire them once they are hired. Manufacturing and service industries are the dominant economic activities. Agriculture accounts for about 1% of the gross national product and occupies about 3% of the workforce. Manufactures include iron and steel, motor vehicles, machinery and machine tools, chemicals, electronics, ships, food and beverages, cement, and textiles. Hard coal and lignite are mined. Germany is one of the world's largest exporters; it conducts over 50% of its trade with other European Union countries.

Zimbabwe is in South Central Africa. It is bordered on the north by Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, and Botswana. Harare is the capital and largest city. Zimbabwe's economy is basically agricultural, with cotton and tobacco the main cash crops and corn the chief food source. Other products include sorghum, peanuts, wheat, sugarcane, soybeans, and coffee. There are also numerous tea plantations in the country; dairying is important in the high veldt. Forests in South East Zimbabwe yield valuable hardwoods, including teak and mahogany. The country is endowed with a wide variety of mineral resources, including gold, platinum, diamonds, nickel, asbestos, tin, iron, chromate, copper, and coal. Among Zimbabwe's industrial products are iron and steel, cement, foodstuffs, machinery, textiles, and consumer goods. Most of Zimbabwe's power is generated by a hydroelectric station at Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River. The country has good road and rail networks and domestic and international air service. South Africa and the United Kingdom are the largest trading partners. Zimbabwe is a member of the Southern African Development Community.

Indonesia is located in South East Asia. The fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia comprises more than 13,000 islands extending 3,000 miles along the equator from the Malaysia mainland toward Australia. The capital and largest city is Jakarta, on Java. Crude oil and natural gas are Indonesia's most valuable natural resources and have long been its major source of export revenue, but declines in production since the 1990s made the nation a net importer of oil in 2004. Agriculture accounts for about 16% of the gross domestic product and employs over 40% of the labor force. Indonesia is one of the world's major rubber producers; other plantation crops include sugarcane, coffee, tea, tobacco, palm oil, cinchona, cloves, cocoa, sisal, coconuts, and spices. Despite plantation cultivation, Indonesia has a wide landholding base; the majority of the people are largely self-sufficient in food. Rice is the major crop; cassava, corn, yams, soybeans, peanuts, and fruit are also grown. Horses and cattle are raised on some of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Fish are abundant, both in the ocean and in inland ponds. Indonesia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It has great timberlands; vast rain forests of giant trees (among the world's tallest) cover the mountain slopes, and teak, sandalwood, ironwood, camphor, and ebony are cut. Indonesia is a major exporter of timber, accounting for nearly half of the world's tropical hardwood trade.

In comparison, a nation’s system does not have an impact on one’s wealth. The natural resources are important as seen in Indonesia. Switzerland’s wealth has dependences on their neutral political stances. Zimbabwe and Germany have populations committed to making their economy successful. Every country has its own unique way to survive in this type of world today. Although some might work better then others, it suits their environment.   

Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading

The Benefits of Free Trade
Q1- Be the Devil's Advocate and counter Benjamin Franklin's statement that "No nation was ever ruined by trade."

A.  I think that this statement could be easily proven wrong because the United States relies on so much import items to run our country, along with a lot of other countries. If our international trade fails then our country fails. 

Index of Economic Freedom and Annual Report (Chapter 3 for links to countries)
Q2- Name five countries whose ranking surprised you.

1. Hong Kong

2. Germany

3. Singapore

4. Japan

5. Malaysia
 

Q3- Write one sentence each to explain why you chose the countries you did in Q2.

1.    Hong Cong: it surprised me because of the amount that they export out compared to the amount they export in.

2.    Germany: I thought that Germany did not export or trade very much but it turned out that they did.

3.    Singapore: I imagined that they would be at the bottom of the list but they were at the top.

4.    Malaysia: Malaysia was at the bottom of the list and I figured they would be up at least in the top 20. 

Q4- The USA was not ranked first in any of the years exhibited online in the Annual Report nor in the 2005 Index. List the twelve countries that ranked higher on the Index and the countries that out ranked the USA in the eight Annual Reports.

A. Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Denmark, Iceland, Australia, Chile, and Switzerland.  
 
Q5- The Index uses 50 variables in 10 categories. The Report shows 21 variables in 5 categories and lists 24 sub-variables in its online charts.

A. As a class project, we investigated these ten categories of the index. We could not find enough information to answer the question above.

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