The purpose of this research is to recommend and justify the recommendation of an economic system for Ruritania. The country is medium sized, uniethnic, and politically stable. It is, also, ambitious (not as rich as the NICs, but with such aspirations), with a low level of external debt, and in pos session of some natural physical resources.
The first requirement is to define the term standard of living. For Ruritania, it is desirable to define the concept as something more than the typical American view that a high standard of living is equated with a large gross national pro duct ("Can Socially Responsible Societies Compete Economic ally?" 1985). Thus, for Ruritania, a broader view is adopted. This view holds that a high standard of living should be one which permits individuals to lead "decent, healthy, and secure lives" ("Can Socially Responsible Societies Compete Economic ally?" 1985). Within this framework, the following social mea sures are used for comparison (in addition to per capita gross national product): (1) life expectancy at birth; (2) infant mortality; (3) the ratio of physicians in the population; (4) the ratio of nurses in the population; (5) the proportion of
1 2the population aged 20 24 enrolled in institutions of higher education; and (6) the adult literacy rate.
Four socio economic system types are compared. The North American market economy type is represented by the United States, while the more managed capitalist style is represented by the following Western European countries: The United Kingdom, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany. Weighted averages of data are used, based upon populations. Centrally planned socialist economics is represented by the following Eastern European countries: The German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. Weighted averages of data (prior to the upheavals of 1989) are used, based upon pop ulations. A hybrid socialist market ...