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Public Sector
The part of the economy that is owned and controlled by the state, namely central government, local government, and government enterprises. In a command economy, the public sector provides most of the resources in the economy. The opposite of the public sector is the private sector, where resources are provided by private individuals and business organizations.
Most goods and services provided by the public sector in any economy are allocated on the basis of need rather than on ability to pay. For example, in the National Health Service, patients are treated because of the seriousness of their medical complaint and not because of how much they can afford to pay in fees. However, some products produced by the public sector are sold; for example, rail services and postal services. Most of this production has been privatized in the UK since 1979.
© RM 2009. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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annual percentage rate
balance of payments
bank
Bank of England
building society
capitalism
civil defence
civil service
command economy
council tax
credit (economics)
Culture, Media, and Sport, Department for
debt
Defence, Ministry of
Diplomatic Service, British
economic activity
Education and Employment, Department for
Education and Skills, Department for
electronic commerce
enterprise zone
Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Department for
euro
European Free Trade Association
European Union
finance, sources of
financial institution
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
free enterprise
free trade
gross domestic product
gross national product
health service
Health, Department of
hire purchase
Home Office
inflation (economics)
International Development, Department for
International Monetary Fund
loan
manufacturing industry
monetarism
mortgage
national debt
National Economic Development Council
National Health Service
national insurance
nationalism (politics)
overdraft
pension
police
private enterprise
private finance initiative
private sector
privatization
public sector
public spending
service industry
single European currency
social security
student finance
taxation
Transport, Local Government, and the Regions; Department for
Treasury
unemployment
balance of payments
bank
Bank of England
building society
capitalism
civil defence
civil service
command economy
council tax
credit (economics)
Culture, Media, and Sport, Department for
debt
Defence, Ministry of
Diplomatic Service, British
economic activity
Education and Employment, Department for
Education and Skills, Department for
electronic commerce
enterprise zone
Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Department for
euro
European Free Trade Association
European Union
finance, sources of
financial institution
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
free enterprise
free trade
gross domestic product
gross national product
health service
Health, Department of
hire purchase
Home Office
inflation (economics)
International Development, Department for
International Monetary Fund
loan
manufacturing industry
monetarism
mortgage
national debt
National Economic Development Council
National Health Service
national insurance
nationalism (politics)
overdraft
pension
police
private enterprise
private finance initiative
private sector
privatization
public sector
public spending
service industry
single European currency
social security
student finance
taxation
Transport, Local Government, and the Regions; Department for
Treasury
unemployment
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