Read the section "Prices in a Free Market." How does a

free market economy differ from a centrally planned economy in the way each determines

prices?

For free market economy, we can explain it in 3 expects. First, because households are the 'owners' of productive resources, firms have to pay them for their resources in the resource market, they can produce everything they want, the type and amount of products are determined by every individual firms, but they should produce the goods and service that other companies or household want, and can make the maximum profits, more profits, more motive for the producers. Prices are determined by householders.

While For the centrally planned economy, (it is also called command economy), all the resources (land, labour and capital) in the market are allocated by government, and it makes all the productive decisions, including price determination, so, the centrally planned economy is a government-controlled economic situation. First, a centrally planned economy may choose to produce whatever the government decides is most crucial to meeting society's needs, the government should provide services and goods that can cater to the people's need. Like in the 19th and 20th centuries period, in China, Mao Zedong realized that China is under a low level of heavy industry, so he decided to develop it first, then the light industry, this decision is sensible and realistic.