Economic System. The manner in whic

Economic System. The manner in which the society produces and distributes its goods and services. The Japanese economic system is in some ways an extension of the family and is group-oriented. Until recently, the world was divided into capitalistic or socialistic economic blocks, and economies were labeled First World (advanced free enterprise systems); Second World (socialist or communistic societies based on centralized planning and control); and Third World (developing nations moving from the agricultural to industrial or postindustrial stages). These categories are now outdated. Today, economies are mixed—some supposed Third World economies have high technology sectors, as in India and China; and Second World, formerly in the European Eastern Bloc, are in transition to free market systems, such as in Poland or Lithuania. Another trend beyond national economies is toward regional economic cooperatives or association that cut across national and ideological boundaries, such as is happening with NAFTA and the European Union. Macroeconomics is the study of such systems.