France is a country located on the European continent. Its area is about 550,000 square kilometers. Its capital and largest city is Paris. It is a nation that is active on the international stage. A co-founder of the European Union, it is also a permanent member of the Security Council of UN-OECD and G8. It possesses a nuclear weapon, and is a constitutional republic. It aims to defend the values of democracy and human rights, and thus has a universal message. It had 64 million inhabitants in 2005. Its currency is the euro, and its national anthem is "La Marseillaise". France has a capitalist economy and is now the sixth largest economy behind the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Germany. It is particularly strong in agriculture, being the second largest exporter in the world after the United States in the tertiary sector. Services are one of its strengths, especially in the tourism sector. It hosts between 70 and 80 million visitors each year. Its banks, its auto industry, and it luxury goods also contribute to its international reputation. France has been a prominent cultural pillar of thought throughout its history, and especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Its democratic ideals and the French revolution in 1789 influenced many countries including the United States. It is also famous for its philosophy of Cartesianism, especially the Enlightenment. The country has also had a considerable artistic and intellectual influence with Montaigne, Moliere, Racine, Pascal, Rousseau, Voltaire, Hugo, and Balzac. It is also famous for being home to prestigious painters like Monet, Manet, Renoir and many others, or musicians like Gabriel Faure and Debussy.
With its 82 million inhabitants, or 231 per sq. km, Germany is one of the most populated countries in Europe. Its birth rate is however one of the weakest and its demographics began to decline over the past 70 years. Germany had the largest GDP of the European Union. The unemployment rate was 11.5% in November 2005 with over 4 million people unemployed. German GDP was 2.907 billion dollars and GDP per capita of 30,000 euros. Industry is a very important economic sector in Germany. Indeed, it employs 33% of the workforce, all due to the large population, its qualifications, favored by a professional learning, and its high standard of living.
Germany is also the world's largest exporter and third largest investor worldwide, thanks to multinational corporations. The most powerful industries are automotive, mechanical engineering and chemistry. German products are generally very good, as their commercial follow-up is important. The German business and labor work in a co-management system.The west is the most dynamic, while in the East (former GDR), many businesses have closed, causing a sharp rise in unemployment. Per capita GDP of West Germany is much higher than that of East Germany.The special feature of Germany is that it was divided into two parts during the Cold War: West Germany (West Germany) was created on May 23, 1949 in the west and the GDR (German Democratic Republic) was established on 7 October 1949 to the east. The West German economic growth recovered much faster than that of the East Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, saw a prelude to the reunification of Germany, and both countries were not at all on the same economic level. This difference remains today and the east is still poorer than the West. The cost of reunification has resulted in significant economic hardship for the country since the 1990s. Unification, however, allowed to make a nation that is politically essential in the European Union.
Tags: France; Germany; comparative study; capitalism in both nations
[...] Competition between companies is monitored by the bank-industry alliance The state is the guarantor of the market economy. It controls the competition: small businesses are protected from competition from large firms. The price competition is tempered by product specialization and emphasis on quality (high standards of quality) Wage relationship: Importance of negotiations between unions and employers' associations within the landers Negotiations are ongoing and multifaceted between employers and unions; employee participation is through the system of co-decision. Financial sector: Banks hold shares in companies, ownership is highly concentrated, and actions, such as corporations, rarely changing hands. [...]
[...] Government domestic spending (GERD are divided into three broad categories of research related to three types of activity. Nearly 60% are for basic research, a quarter for applied research and 16% attributed to experimental development. In France, the R & D is performed in the laboratories of public bodies like the EPST (CNRS, INSERM . universities, hospitals and university hospitals, university and more than 5,000 companies. Research in government three sectors: the state that includes the EPST (except CNRS), higher education including the CNRS and nonprofit institutions (NPIs). [...]
[...] It does not take decisions to define its electoral politics. In the short run, expansionary monetary policy is likely to promote economic growth but it is harmful in the longer term this causes inflation which harms the country's competitiveness. Germany has a dense banking network. The German banking system is characterized by the presence of Universalbanken. These are full-service banks. Their main activity is to provide loans to companies with the money collected on individuals. This country has many savings banks (Sparkassen) and credit unions. [...]
[...] ♣ In France, the legal form of the state had already existed before the nation. The tradition of the nation state is old and well rooted in their minds. The national sentiment appeared gradually with the requirement to use the French language for official acts by Francis I in 1539 with the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterets then with the creation of a national school free, secular and compulsory by Jules Ferry 1882, the establishment of military service or the creation of republican symbols (anthem, flag, Marianne, currency). [...]
[...] But from 1986, full liberalization of prices was established. ♣ The economic freedom index for Germany is Germany is ranked 19th, it's a free country. The rating is 2 on free pricing. Price control is limited to the maximum and minimum prices (e.g. for agriculture). The Federal Cartel Office oversees companies that abuse their dominant position by setting excessive price increases. ♣ In summary, France and Germany show the same degree of freedom in setting prices. Price control is limited to certain sectors; most prices are freely determined by the market. [...]
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