A mixed economy, as opposed to a control (sometimes called a command) economy or a

free-market economy, is mildly controlled by the government. How free or controlled an

economy is is a subjective decision, and due to the sheer amount of characteristics of an
economy, no two mixed economies have the same characteristics. In general, a mixed
economy is neither a free-market economy or a command economy because it has only
mild government control.

Example: The United States and France are both mixed economies. In both countries,
interest rates are decided by the government. But other factors, such as government
regulation of business is different between the countries. France's government exhibits a
much tighter control over their economy than the United States (eg: environmental, labor,
and advertising regulation).