The private sector is the part of the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

Employment

The private sector employs most of the workforce in some countries. In private sector, activities are guided by the motive to earn money. A 2013 study by the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group) identified that 90 percent of jobs in developing countries are in the private sector.

Diversification

In free enterprise countries, such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the private sector is wider, and the state places fewer constraints on firms. In countries with more government authority, such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, the public sector makes up most of the economy.

Regulation

States legally regulate the private sector. Businesses operating within a country must comply with the laws in that country. In some cases, usually involving

multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

s that can pick and choose their suppliers and locations based on their perception of the regulatory environment, local state regulations have resulted in uneven practices within one company. For example, workers in one country may benefit from strong labour unions, while workers in another country have very weak laws supporting labour unions, even though they work for the same employer. In some cases, industries and individual businesses choose to self-regulate by applying higher standards for dealing with their workers, customers, or the environment than the minimum that is legally required of them. There can be negative effects from the private sector. In the early 1980s, the Corrections Corporation of America pioneered the idea of running

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

s for a profit. Today, corporate-run prisons hold eight percent of America's inmates. Since it is from the private sector, their main priority isn't rehabilitation, but profit. This has resulted in many human rights violations across the United States.Bauer, Shane. "Private prisons are shrouded in secrecy. I took a job as a guard to get inside-then things got crazy."Mother Jones. N.p., 06 June 2017. Web. 10 June 2017.

References

{{Reflist Economic sectors Capitalism

Employment

Diversification

Regulation

See also

References