Corporations

[Jopo]

Ok, this is not in the game, but here´s the idea, maybe it will be implemented in the future expansions.


The idea is CORPORATIONS.

Things like major airlines, weapon manufacturers, railroad companies, car manufacturers (also build tanks) etc. Some companies can be state owned or the state can be a major investor in the company, like many European national airlines, which at least in the past enjoyed major subsidies from their states. Companies generate profit and they pay taxes to fund the state. Also companies may require some goods or raw materials to work etc.

EDIT: Also the corporations could be independent actors on the map, making new facilities to produce their goods.

[PyongYang]

Well THAT sounds easy enough to implement *

[Anteep]

well the problem is every economy in the SR ruler games seems to be a planned/command economy...

[RP11]

well the problem is every economy in the SR ruler games seems to be a planned/command economy...

Correct, that is the problem. As far as things go In-Game, Capitalism = Communism. It depends on the government system alone.

However, what the current system does not take into account is that, theorically (and in practice, in some cases), you could have a Communist State economically (thus Central Planning), but be a Democracy. My best example of this is Chile: Under Allende, Chile was essentially a Socialist state that had a Democratically-elected leader. Likewise, under Pinochet, extreme Free Market policies were applied but Pinochet was a Dictator.

So... Realistically speaking this would be a welcome addition to the game, I think. The problem is: How to implement it?

At the moment I do not deem it possible. Put simply the game's private sector is abstractized (it all happens in cities and you can not control it beyond taxation/public funding); to fully create a realistic economic model you would have to be able to fully nationalize these inner-city economic activities as well -- and to privatize them if desired. As the game uses a weighted tax system, this would mean that the cities would have to be reworked to pass along all their income and economic expenses to the state, which I am not sure how to do.

That said, what you mention is theorically possible. The problems would be the proper ownership of assetts, per se (ever factory, farm, etc., would have to have a new variable or two) and also a new AI specifically designed for corporations/companies. In practice companies would hire the population that is in the state the asset is build upon, and then sell products on the world market.

I am still not sure if the engine could handle such, and the economic system would still be rather simplistic as private/state sectors go.

[dbraaker]

I do not think the game needs a private sector necessarily, but it needs ai investment either private or public. right now there is in fact consumption only unless the player builds facilities.

As most states in the game are broke all the time a private investor vehicle would help. maybe it could be realized to implement a cash pool fed by a percentage of corporate profit in the economy which could be derived from corporate tax collected as there is no such thing as corporate profit yet. without a private sector there could be a fixed or variable percentave of government income flowing into that pool.

Each month or every x months a script could check the amount of cash in each country's investment pool. if it has reached a level to build the most expensive small factory it should build the one with the highest expected rate of return. If larger facilities provide scale effects the ai will chose bigger factories if affordable.

If a private sector was implemented each private facility would run profits or would be closed down if running deficits for a while. parts of the profits would flow into the pool to fund further investment.

This way the game economy would be much more dynamic as production and demand will be almost in an equilibrium state if tweaked properly. population and hence autonomous demand grows anyway, just production doesnt atm.