features of the economies in the leading nations, those of the U.S.A., Japan, and Germany, have many essential features of their economies that are similar. Yet these countries also have many differences. By examining these similarities and differences as they relate to wages, benefits, productivity, and living standard, we can better understand each nation's economic practices.

One of the main features of any economy is the ability to obtain private ownership of the means of production, including land. This ability provides a competitive system of labor, which translates to higher wages, and more opportunity for a better standard of living ("Economics," Columbia University, 2002). In the United States, the means of production are generally privately owned, as they are in Great Britain. Conversely, though private production plays a major role in the economy of Japan, it has a centrally planned industrial policy in which bankers, industrialists, and labor unions meet...
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