The total value of goods and services produced in any one year is called the gross domestic product. The contribution made to total output by the various subdivisions of the economy can be split down in various ways: for example, by broad sectors such as the primary sector (agriculture), the industrial sector (including manufacturing) and the tertiary sector (services); or by individual activities (brewing, coal-mining, etc.).
Economic decision-making in the economy may be either highly centralized or decentralized. In a centrally planned economy the State owns the means of production (except labour) and decides what goods and services are to be produced in accordance with a national plan. Resources are allocated between producing units, and final outputs between consumers by the use of physical quotas. At the other extreme, in a private enterprise economy (free market or capitalist economy) the means of production are held by individuals and firms. Economic decision-making is highly decentralized with resources being allocated through a large number of individual goods and services markets. It is the MARKET which synchronizes the decisions of buyers and sellers by establishing market prices which determine how much of a product will be produced and sold. In practice, a large number of countries, including the UK, are mixed economies with some goods and services being provided by private enterprise and others, typically public-utility type products such as postal services and railways, being supplied by the State. The precise mix of private enterprise and State activities to be found in particular countries, however, does vary substantially between the two extremes and is very much influenced by prevailing political ideologies. See INDUSTRY, STRUCTURE OF INDUSTRY, NATIONALIZATION VERSUS PRIVATIZATION.