ABSTRACT
The Oxford Dictionary of Economics defines an economic system as "the part of the social system composed of institutions and customs related to production, distribution and consumption of goods and services". The decision-making structure is defined by the authority of making decisions in the economic realm and by their distribution among the economic subjects. The information-structure consists of the ways decision-relevant information is collected, passed on, processed, stored, reprocessed, and utilized. The motivation-structure relates to the ways decision-making power in an economic system is directed by objectives, executed and enforced. Decisions: This set of criteria highlights the capitalistic nature of the system. The ethics-related approach defines goodness in business and economics by an 'internal' and an 'external' dimension as the term 'ethics-related' indicates. To compare and evaluate economic systems, Kromphart's three-pronged approach including decision, coordination and motivation helps better than the approach of one dominant system criterion to characterize the crucial differences of systems.
