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NUER
The Nuer are a group of people living around Lake No in Southern Sudan. Their economy and social life
generally revolve around cattle, which are grazed on the plains during the dry season and in the hills during the
wet season. During the dry season, the Nuer also fish, hunt, and gather wild plant foods. At their initiation, boys
receive six horizontal cuts in the forehead and are given cattle; thereafter they belong to an age grade, with
whom they will advance into various positions within the clan over the period of their lives. Descent is
patrilineal or follows the father’s family. When a man marries he receives more cattle from his father. There is
no centralized political authority, but rather a number of autonomous village communities. Spiritual leaders,
known as leopard skin chiefs, are employed in the mediation of disputes.
The alternating flood and drought seasons make it impossible for the Nuer to live in one location yearround. Floods send the Nuer herds to higher ground; droughts force them down. During the rainy season cattle
must be moved to protected ground, because standing in sodden land quickly results in hoof disease. As they
move Nuer seek both pastureland and drink water, and drive their cattle to locations where they know both will
be available. Their movement is aimed toward the most luscious pastures and when the rainy season begins the
Nuer can return back to their villages.
Cuba's Economy
Cuba has a dual economy, with two distinct systems operating side by side. The
command economy applies to most Cubans, providing them with free education,
free health care, universal employment, unemployment compensation, disability
and retirement benefits and the basis necessities of life: food, housing, utilities
and some entertainment at very low cost. A capitalist economy operates in the
tourist, international and export sectors, and substantially sustains the command
economy.
The Cuban Government continues to adhere to socialist principles in organizing
its state-controlled economy. Most of the means of production are owned and run
by the government and, according to Cuban Government statistics, about 75% of
the labor force is employed by the state. The actual figure is closer to 90%, with
the only private employment consisting of some 200,000 private farmers and
some 100,000 private business owners.
Samoa
American Samoa is a group of six Polynesian islands in the South Pacific. Fourteen degrees below the
equator, it is the United States' southern-most territory. It is known as the heart of Polynesia. If you drew
a triangle from Hawaii, New Zealand and Tahiti you would find Samoa in the middle. Western Samoa is a
neighboring independent country that shares the same culture. American Samoa became an unorganized
U.S. territory in 1900. The Samoas arguably represent the largest population of Polynesian people and
they take pride in a strong culture that has survived outside influence amazingly well.
The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances
from overseas, and agriculture and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture
employs two-thirds of the labor force, and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil,
and copra. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. The decline of fish stocks in
the area is a continuing problem. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about
88,000 tourists visited the islands in 2001. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the
financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, meantime protecting the
environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic
advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is
low.
Economy of North Korea
North Korea's slowing economy and the breakdown of trade relations with the
countries of the former socialist countries – in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have confronted Pyongyang with difficult policy choices. Despite its recent moves
toward limited economic opening, North Korea has thus far avoided making any
fundamental changes. Its government leadership seems determined to maintain tight
political and ideological control.
About 80% of North Korea's terrain consists of moderately high mountain
ranges and partially forested mountains and hills separated by deep, narrow valleys
and small, cultivated plains. The most rugged areas are the north and east coasts.
Good harbors are found on the eastern coast. Pyongyang, the capital, near the
country's west coast, is located on the Taedong River.
Although most North Korean citizens live in cities and work in factories,
agriculture remains a rather high 25% of total GNP, although output has not
recovered to the levels of the early 1990s. While trade with the South has expanded
since 1988, no physical links between the two remain, and the infrastructure of the
North is generally poor and outdated.
North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages, which free market economists
attribute to forced collective farming; these shortages were exacerbated by record
floods in the summer of 1995 and continued shortages of fertilizer and parts. In
response to international appeals, the US provided 500,000 tons of humanitarian
food aid in the period July 1999-June 2000 through the UN World Food Program and
through US private voluntary organizations.
United States of America
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world. In this market-oriented
economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy
needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US firms are at or near the forefront in
technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has
narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier
labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top.
Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years
1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. The
year 2001 saw the end of boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and
business failures rising substantially. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable
resilience of the economy. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq shifted resources to the
military. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension
costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income.
GERMANY
Despite great damage to both East and West Germany during World War II, both countries had
emerged as potent economies by the 1960s. Germany is the third most powerful economy in the
world. West Germany became a leading economic world power in the 1970s and 1980s, and East
Germany was a leader among Warsaw Pact economies. Reunification has been a shock to the
economy of both nations. The West has had to shoulder high taxes to fund improvements in
infrastructure, environment, and industry in the East, while many eastern enterprises have
collapsed in the face of western competition. There is a continuing tendency for German companies
to set up manufacturing operations abroad, mainly to avoid high production costs at home. Still,
Germany remains a powerhouse in the world economy and has one of the highest standards of
living in the world.
Agriculture plays a minor role in the German economy, and the country imports about one third
of its food. The nation’s principal crops are sugar beet, potatoes, barley, wheat, oats, and rye.
Germany is also a major wine producer. Farmers raise cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Germany
has substantial forestry and fishing industries.
The mining industry plays a comparatively small
role in the German economy. Several minerals, however, are produced in sizeable quantities.
Germany is the world’s leading producer of lignite, a low-grade brown coal. The economy of
Germany is dominated by the manufacturing sector, which produces a great variety of
technologically advanced goods, and employs almost 25 per cent of the workforce.
Tuareg
Tuareg is a term used to identify numerous diverse groups of people who share a common language and
a common history. Tuareg camel caravans played the primary role in trans-Saharan trade until the mid-20th
century when European trains and trucks took over. Goods that once were brought north to the edge of the Sahara
are now taken to the coast by train and then shipped to Europe and beyond. Many groups have slowly moved
southward over the last 2,000 years in response to pressures from the north and the promise of a more
prosperous land in the south. Today, many Tuareg live in inactive communities in the cities bordering the Sahara
that once were the great centers of trade for western Africa. Although most Tuareg now practice some degree of
Islam, they are not considered Arabic.
For thousands of years, Tuareg economy revolved around trans-Saharan trade. There are basically five
trade routes which extend across the Sahara from the northern Mediterranean coast of Africa to the great cities on
the southern edge of the Sahara. Tuareg merchants were responsible for bringing goods from these cities to the
north. From there they were distributed throughout the world. Because of the nature of transport and the limited
space available in caravans, Tuareg usually traded in luxury items, things which took up little space and on which a
large profit could be made. Tuareg were also responsible for bringing enslaved people north from West Africa to be
sold to Europeans and Middle Easterners. Many Tuareg settled into the communities, with which they traded,
serving as local merchants and representatives for their friends and family who continued to trade.