Command Economies Undergoing Change

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Command Economies Undergoing Change
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Chinas Special Economic ZonesNewspaper Article

• Read the newspaper article aloud with your
  partner.
• Answer the following questions
• What is a special economic zone?
• How are foreign companies effected by the zones?
• Is there state planning in special economic
  zones, or is it a total free enterprise economy?
• What currencies can be used in the special
  economic zones?
• Where do a lot of the resources for the companies
  in the special economic zones come from?

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China Map Activity
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In 1989, when the Soviet Union dissolved,
Czechoslovakia just emerged as its own
country
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Communism dominated the Czechs for 50 years
(almost 3 generations) during which time there
was no unemployment or competition in the
marketplace.
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What did the Czechs have to learn when the
country shifted to a free market economy?
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With your group analyze what the Czechs would
need to learn about the following
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With your group analyze what the Czechs would
need to learn about the following

• Employment (competition for jobs)
• Prices (competition among buyers and sellers)
• Risk (investments and savings)
• Banking (writing checks, borrowing)
• YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO DISCUSS!!!

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Now lets analyze China!

• Read the following with your partner
• News Accounts
• World Geography Book (pgs. 685-697 parts on
  China)
• Answer the following questions in detail
• As producers expand their factories in free
  enterprise zones, what will happen to wages?
• What happens to workers laboring in state-owned
  factories?
• Explain why workers would/would not migrate to
  free enterprise zones.
• How will incomes differ between the free
  enterprise zones and the command economy? With
  increased incomes, how will workers impact free
  markets and command markets?

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Opinion Paper

• Write a 5 paragraph (5 sentence each) opinion
  paper predicting how China will be changed
  through the use of free enterprise zones.
• Rough Draft Due Monday
• Final Draft Due Tuesday