European Union

European Union Countries

Physical Map of the EU Countries

Free market Strictly speaking there are almost no truly free markets in the world. That is because, to one extent or another, the governments of countries regulate their economies and apply restrictions to them. (e.g. banning illegal drugs, setting requirements on companies, minimum wage laws, and taxes.

A free market is a market economy system in which the prices for goods and services are set freely by consent between vendors and consumers, in which the laws and forces of supply and demand are free from any intervention by a government, price-setting monopoly, or other authority.

Economic Resources• Economic resources are the

factors used in producing goods or providing services. In other words, they are the inputs that are used to create things or help you provide services.

• Economic resources can be divided into :• human resources, such as

labor and management.• nonhuman resources, such

as land, capital goods, financial resources, and technology.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or other organization. The entrepreneur develops a business model, acquires the human and other required resources, and is fully responsible for its success or failure.

Globalization Economic globalization can be defined as the process by which markets and production in different countries are becoming increasingly interdependent due to the dynamics of trade in goods and services and flows of capital and technology. It is not a new phenomenon but the continuation of developments that have been in train for some considerable time.

Standard of Living• A level of material comfort as measured by the

goods, services, and luxuries available to an individual, group, or nation.

• The standard of living includes factors such as income, quality and availability of employment, class disparity, poverty rate, quality and affordability of housing, hours of work required to purchase necessities, gross domestic product, inflation rate, number of vacation days per year, affordable (or free) access to quality healthcare, quality and availability of education, life expectancy, incidence of disease, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, national economic growth, economic and political stability, political and religious freedom, environmental quality, climate and safety.

Quality of Life in the EU• Living standards can be compared by

measuring the price of a range of goods and services in each country relative to income, using a common notional currency called the purchasing power standard (PPS). Comparing GDP per inhabitant in PPS provides an overview of living standards across the EU.