Карандаши в 3 раза дороже ручки. Вся покупка стоит 32 рубля. Сколько стоят карандаши и сколько стоит ручка?

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1. Were most economies in the world closed until very recently?

2. Do open economies exchange exports or imports with each other?

3. Importing products will always make the local economy shrink, won’t it?

4. Who benefits from an open economy?

5. Do you create an invisible export if you go abroad for a holiday?

THE OPEN ECONOMY

1. All through history, people from one society have been trading with people from another. Three thousand years ago, for example, the Phoenicians of the Mediterranean built an economy almost completely on foreign trade. In the jargon of economics, the Phoenicians had an open economy, and almost every economy since theirs has been open too.

2. When an economy is open, this basically means that it imports and exports goods and services. What are the benefits of doing this? First of all, if you trade with other economies, you can import goods that do not exist in your economy. These may be products that your economy cannot manufacture, but they may also be raw materials. With a wider range of raw materials, an economy is able to use its capital and labour to produce a wider range of products. In this way, importing can actually help an economy grow. What’s more, if you allow imports from other countries, then you will have trading partnerships. This means that you can export to countries. If you have customers all over the world, your economy will grow faster.

3. Open economies are good for consumers, too. If the economy allows imports from abroad, there will be a greater variety of goods available locally. When products are available locally, imports of the same products should help to keep prices down and quality high. This is because local companies will have to compete with foreign companies, and more competition will mean better quality and greater value for money.

4. Economists describe imports and exports of material products as visible because you can really see and touch them. Examples of visible exports and imports are food stuffs, furniture and electronic equipment. However, there are also invisible imports and exports. These are mainly services, but can include all sorts of things. Examples of invisible exports and imports include banking services, insurance products, educational courses and tourism.