What is a straight-out definition of "vertical economy?

Can someone explain to me about how economy works basically?

• Im interested in econ but I can't decide unless I even know what it's about I know the basic definition and that we have a bad economy now but can someone explain more elaborately

• Answer:

  Economics is the study of how scarce resources are distributed for market use. The world has limited resources that have to be distributed for various functions (resources can be anything from natural resources to human labor to capital to time). In a free market economy, resources are distributed based on consumer demand, which leads them to the most efficient distribution of different resources. However, free markets have a visible cost, which is profits. In a socialist economy, resources are distributed based on the allocation by government appointees. In socialism, you don't have the cost of profits, but it is a less efficient way to distribute resources because an official may allocate resources to producing something that is less needed than something else. Therefore, socialism has an invisible cost, which is inefficiency. Economies function best in an atmosphere that most efficiently distributes scarce resources. Money is used to make the exchange of resources more efficient. It places a demand-based value on different products are services, where direct trade of certain goods is not easily translatable (as in, it is difficult for an architect to trade a skyscraper for milk, though there is a demand for both items). Money bridges these gaps in modern economies. The study of economics also studies the effect of taxation and government regulation on the economy. To study modern day economics, you would look at Keynesian economics, which advocates for government intervention in the economy and government stimulus, which is the type of philosophy being employed by our current government (and has been for a good chunk of the last century). The competing economic theory is that of the Austrian Economics, which is closer to that established by our original government, when currency was originally backed by gold, there was no direct taxation, and there wasn't a central bank. These are all brief examples of what you will be studying if you look into economics. It is an incredibly broad subject that can't really be covered in this forum. However, if you are truly interested, I would recommend reading the book "Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlit. It isn't a very large book, but it is a great, concise explanation of economic theory. Some other great economics writers are Thomas Sowell, Art Laffer, F.A. Hayek, and Ludwig Von Mises, and of course, Adam Smith. To be completely transparent, I am an advocate of Capitalism, and these are all economists who advocate this economic theory. John Maynard Keynes is the most famous advocate of the opposing Socialist Theory.