Italy Secondaria di secondo grado – classe 5ª (esame di Stato) Law and political economy
Chapters: 2
1. Political economy
Economic policy
- Basic Macroeconomic Concepts: Goods, Stocks, Flows and Investment – Macroeconomics looks at the whole economy. Before we measure national income we need a few words. Final goods are bought for final use; intermediate goods are used up by firms in making other goods in the same year. Final goods are consumption goods (used up by families) or capital goods (used again and again to produce). A stock is measured at a point of time; a flow over a period. Gross investment is all new capital; depreciation is normal wear and tear; net investment = gross investment − depreciation.
2. Law
Theory of the State and public law
- Systems of Government: Branches, Checks and Balances – Every modern state divides power among three branches: the legislature makes laws, the executive carries them out and the judiciary interprets them. Checks and balances let each branch limit the others. Democracies arrange the legislature and executive in different ways. In a parliamentary system the government comes from parliament and must keep its confidence (UK, India, Germany). In a presidential system people elect the president and the legislature separately for fixed terms (USA, Brazil). A semi-presidential system shares power between an elected president and a prime minister who answers to parliament (France). Other forms include monarchies and Switzerland's committee system.