1. Education in Ukraine

Ukraine has a developed system of education. General (secondary) education is free and compulsory. It has 3 stages: primary, basic and senior. Post-secondary education includes technical schools, colleges, institutes, universities, academies. Almost all higher schools provide part-time, extramural and full-time education. There are many scientific centres in Ukraine. They are famous not only in our country but abroad. The students have to study for 4 years to get the degree of Bachelor. And to become a specialist of a Master of science they have to study one-two years more. The education may be free or for fee. Nowadays there are many private higher schools too. There are more than 200 higher educational establishments in our country nowadays. And the young people of our country have the right to choose.

Odessa State Economic University

Odessa State Economic University is one of the largest higher schools in Ukraine. It was founded in 1921. Many well-known scientists and economists can be found among the graduates of Odessa State Economic University. Our graduates work at different firms, offices, plants, banks. Our university trains specialists not only for our country but for more than 50 countries of the world. More than 6 thousand students study at our university. They study either full time, by correspondence or in the evening department. There are 5 day-time departments. The students have to study for 5 years. The university has 6 buildings and libraries with reading rooms. There are 4 hostels, a club, a sports camp in Karolino - Bugaz, sports grounds near the hostels.

2. What is Economics?

Economics is a social science like history, geography, politics, psychology and sociology. It is the study of human efforts to satisfy what seems like unlimited and competing wants through the careful use of relatively scarce resources.

The principles of economics lay the foundations for the way we transact business. It explains why things are produced and how supply match with demand.

Economics as a science consists of two disciplines that are of macroeconomics and microeconomics. Macroeconomics is the study of global or collective decisions by individual households or producers. Microeconomics deals with analysis of specific economic factors and detail study of their behavior. It studies individual producers, consumers and markets.

Studying Economics consists of two branches: positive economics, which deals with objectives or scientific explanations of the working of the economy, and normative economics, witch offers prescriptions or recommendation based on personal value judgments.

3. Economic Systems

All societies have an economic system or organized way of providing tor the wants and needs of their people.

There are three major kinds of economic system. They may be classified as traditional, command and market.

In a society with a traditional economy nearly ail economic activity is the result of ritual and custom. The main advantage of a traditional economy is that everyone has a role in it. This helps to keep economic life stable and community life continuous.

An economy where a central authority draws up a plan that determines what will be produced, how it will be produced and who will get it is called a command economy. The major advantage of a command economy is that it can change direction drastically in a relatively short time.

In a market economy the basic economic questions are answered without the necessity of a central government plan and directives. The questions what, how and for whom to produce are made by individuals and firms acting in their own best interests.

A market economy has several advantage that traditional and command economies do no have. A market economy is flexible. It can adjust to change over time. The second is the freedom that exists for everyone involved.

There are no purely command and no purely market economies. All economies are mixed.