What is the difference between mixed, command, and traditional economy?

The terms mixed,
command, and traditional refer to how economists in
the past described the economic systems of countries. Each name is related to and cannot be
separated from the political system of a country.

A
command economy is an economy in which the major industries are
nationalized, and the government sets production. In a command economy, the government predicts
how much of an item will be needed to meet the demand of the product. The output of the product
often does not match the government's prediction, resulting either in overproduction/surplus or
underproduction/shortage. Command economies are usually associated with dictators or
authoritarian governmentsNorth Korea or Cuba, for example. Severe shortages of necessities
plague the citizens of these countries even though, in some instances, they have adequate
resources to produce consumer goods or resources they could trade for products in the global
economy.

A mixed economy is where the economy
contains a mix of government-controlled, nationalized industries and industries that operate in
the global free market.
Some economists argue that China fits this description, as the
government has control over the majority of the industrial production but it is active in the
capitalist driven global economy. Other economists point to social democracies favored by some
European countries as examples of mixed economies. The government has control over significant
components of the economy, such as healthcare and financial services, but leaves industrial
production to compete without interference.

Traditional economies tend to be agrarian and rely on the
production of agricultural products as their primary source for economic growth. Traditional
economies have a cultural basis for their production. The economy relies on the past to define
current economic priorities. The term traditional is probably not a good
descriptor of the economy of a country, as in the global market, much of the world's production
has shifted to these countries because of low labor costs and little regulation. There is no set
political structure defining countries noted for their traditional economies. Most tend to be
some form of democratic capitalism or democratic socialism. Economists point to much of Latin
America, Mexico, or some Middle Eastern countries as examples.

These terms
mean less as the world becomes more globally integrated and as technology begins to extend into
countries not traditionally known for vibrant economies. The terms relate more to a period when
the world could be divided between manufacturers and suppliers of raw
materials.