A market economy is an economic system in which economic decisions and the pricing of goods and services are guided by the interactions of a country’s individual citizens and businesses. There may be some government intervention or central planning, but usually this term refers to an economy that is more market oriented in general. The theoretical basis for market economies was developed by classical economists, such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Jean- Baptiste Say. These classically liberal free market advocates believed that the “invisible hand” of the profit motive and market incentives generally guided economic decisions down more productive and efficient paths than government planning of the economy. They believed that government intervention often tended to lead to economic inefficiencies that actually made people worse off. Market economies work using the forces of supply and demand to determine the appropriate prices and quantities for most goods and services in the economy.