Difference between revisions of "Biotopia Economy"

Revision as of 09:56, 9 June 2006

Biotopia is one of the 15 largest economies in the region by GDP and sustains a high standard of living. Biotopia is a ratified member of the International Fair trade Agreement as well as a member of the anti-capitalist alliance and the United Nations. The economy is sometimes described as an eco-socialist, post-socialist or more traditionally a liberal socialist system.

Economic Structure

The four cornerstones of the Biotopian economy are the constitutional prohibition of capitalism, provincial self-sufficiency, modernisation and environmental sustainability. Biotopia supports an export-orientated agricultural sector, diversified industrial base a highly educated population and a developed national infrastructure network. Manufacturing exports and the service industry have become an increasingly important aspect of sustaining the economic status que. The government has initiated policies aimed at linking environmental sustainability with economic development with success.

Provincial Self-Sufficiency

The provinces retain a high-degree of fiscal independence. Under the previous system of a Centralised Planned Economy (CPE). To overcome the inherent problems of planning the national economy provincial governments were charged with organising, planning and managing their own centralised economies. Some vestiges of the centrally planed economy remain such as production quotas and a strong presence by the government at the regional and national level. Provincial self-sufficiency has largely been limited to key areas such as agriculture, energy and light manufacturing.

Modernisation

Agriculture and manufacturing have traditionally been the main non-government enterprise sectors in the Biotopian economy. Replacing traditional industrial practices with modern high-capital industry and integrating with information technology has been an important aspect of the modernisation process. Likewise the reforms from a centrally planned to a decentralised economy have required transition from manufacturing to services and from traditional heavy industry to finance, information technology and telecommunications. The term modernisation has covered a broad range of reforms technological, social and economic but in general it relates to the transition from a centralised to a decentralised system with the adaptation of innovation and efficiency.

Sustainability

Sustainable environmental practice is a twin aspect of the modernisation process. Environmental conditions are linked with economic development. Some of these innovations include a carbon tax, a national carbon neutral initiative and incentives in reducing resource use and waste production. Environmental innovation has proven to be a stimulus for new businesses centred on technology conversion, technical design, recycling and providing environmental services to other businesses. The government has established several national targets in reducing the ecological footprint of the average citizen and neutralising the worst excesses of industrial development on the nation.

=Private Enterprise

There are a variety of ownership and management structures used in Biotopian business practice. In essence capitalism is constitutionally prohibited with an exception covered by the Small Enterprise Act (SEA I) and the Self-Employed Act (SEA II) which allows for the private ownership of the means of production and un-elected management in companies employing five or less staff. These exemptions were introduced to cover the self-employed and those who work in niche and micro-cottage industries. About 2.5% of the GDP is generated by these businesses which are typically family centred affairs. The self-employed are limited to owning assets in excess of V 671,000 and small enterprises are limited to assets of V 941,000.

Agriculture

Agriculture is an important part of the Biotopian economy with Cereals, fisheries, livestock and forestry as major export commodities. Spirits, beverages and fresh produce are important staples of the domestic market. The agricultural sector also produces raw materials for the textile, biofuel and pharmaceutical industry as well as contribution to some industrial practices.

Most agricultural land is legally held as a “Commons in Trust” by the provincial government. This means the land is set aside in the public interest and protected as public property. Farmers themselves are not provincial employees but “Trust Custodians” meaning they are responsible for the welfare of the property and are obliged to fulfil certain conditions under contract. The standard contract requires the production of a nutritional quota and maintaining farm capital and the health of the land and waterways on the property.

Under federal law there are three commons districts with corresponding maximum limits on quota production. Inner-urban commons have a zero percent quota, outer-urban zones have a maximum 25% quota and rural commons have a maximum 50% quota. In special circumstances some contracts may be renegotiated into a “Government Licence” with farmers becoming direct employees required to sell 100% of their goods to the government. This is the standard case for goods that are in short supply (such as dairy goods in the arid regions) or produce required by national industry (such as medicinal plants).

Land Use

Industry

The Biotopian economy supports a diverse industrial base. In particular the Biotopian economy has developed an internationally leading information technology sector. Traditional industrial and manufacturing industries including mining, chemicals, shipbuilding and textiles are still present and play a significant role in some of the regional and rural economies. New technology based industries such as optics, energy technologies and automobiles are a product of economic reform and associated with the development of the information technology sector.

Fuel Source

Services

The service sector has experienced the most pronounced increase in labour and GDP share. The increase in the service sector has been at the expense of the manufacturing and traditional industrial occupations which have been phased out due to economic and environmentally unsustainable practices. The opening of the banking and finance sectors has propelled their growth in response to the need for investment within the region and the domestic demand for competitive banking practices and an easing in the flow of capital especially for generating provincial development and employment.

Exports

Biotopia is a nett exporter of processed foodstuffs and energy.

• Chemicals
• Information technology
• International finance
• Foodstuffs
• energy sources
• Textiles

Imports

• Chemicals
• Metals
• Petrochemicals
• retail goods
• Textiles
• Heavy Machinery

Economic Relations