In a mixed economy the government may also be a producer of private goods such as steel or motor cars. Examples of this in the uk include nationalized industries such as steel and coal.

Most countries are mixed economies, though some are close to command economies and others are much nearer the free market economy.

Thus, we consider the economics of a market economy with absolutely minimal governmental interference. In mixed economies, most decisions are made on a decentralized basis market by market, but in every market the government presence is always important to some degree. Most people either pay substantial taxes or enjoy special benefits from tax privileges. Government regulation is everywhere; we need licenses to start businesses and clearances to sell securities that raise funds for financing them. Businesses hire labour, subject to provisions such as minimum wage laws, federal restrictions on hiring foreigners and so forth. The cars we buy have many features required by government safety regulations.

Just as market economies today are really mixed economies, the centrally planned economies do not function entirely on the principles of textbook central planning. In planning economies, central bureaucracies play an extremely important role in determining which goods are produced, in what quantities, and the prices for which they are sold. Nevertheless, market forces familiar to everyone in market economies also play an important role. For example, in many centrally planned economies, farmers work on collective or state farms but also on small private plots of land. Farmers can take the produce grown on private plots to markets and sell it at whatever prices the market will bear. Similar examples appear in market economies.