Developed countries are countries with market economy based on private property, also called western although they

are not only in the Western Hemisphere but also in the Eastern one, namely: Japan, South Korea. Some are located in the Southern Hemisphere: South

Africa, New Zealand, Australia.

In the West there are accepted some theories that countries with market economies are divided into four main categories:

Consumer-oriented countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia); production-oriented countries (Germany, Japan, Mexico and France); Countries with family capitalism (Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore); Countries in transition (Central and Eastern Europe, CIS, China);
The main features of consumer-oriented economies are:

the determining role of market forces and macroeconomic regulation; Minimum involvement of state in economy; maximum freedom given to private initiative; profit orientation; economies opened for international trade; less caring toward certain categories of population (disadvantaged);
Features of production oriented economy:

- production oriented; - Encouraging exports; - Employment; - Establishment of a stable political and social climate.
Common characteristics of developed countries: are countries with market economies, which means that private property is the main source of motivation and dynamics of these economies;

The secondary and especially tertiary sectors represent the biggest share in their economic structure, even if agriculture has a share of 2-5% of GDP. Production is based on information and high technologies; high Labor productivity and efficiency due to the technical progress and modern management methods used. Exports of these countries is diverse and highly prevalent by goods with a high level of processing and services. the highest living standards in the world:
- Life expectancy exceeded 70 years; - Daily intake of calories exceeds the actual needs; - Literacy is 100% or near 100%;

- Access to health care and other basic services is provided for most people; - In the structure of demand prevails the share of durable goods; the currencies of the most developed countries are representative for all countries in the world; This group of countries led to the transnationalization of economic life, they are the country of origin and the host countries of most TNCs (transnational corporations). has the highest achievements in research and development activities, etc.
Stages of development of developed countries:

1) 1950-1970 - characterized by continuous economic growth with relatively high rates; 2) 1970-1990 - the economy of these countries as the global economy have been affected by the two oil "shocks" (1973 and 1979), which triggered the crisis from 1974 -1975, 1980 to 1982. 3) 1990-present - the economies of these countries have been affected by the crises years 1991-1993 (when there were economic decrease) and current economic and financial crisis.
United States of America U.S. are, after Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the second mining power in the world, occupying the first place in the field of natural phosphates, second place for copper, the IIIrd place for silver, but also having large resources of oil, natural gas, coal and gold. The

main decision makers in the market economy are represented mainly by individuals and private firms.

Among the factors that contributed to the economic miracle, we can mention:
- Globalization of world economy, which allowed American businesses to grow, both through direct exports and the implantation of multinational firms abroad (which has created conditions conducive to a global production), - The revolution in ICT has contributed to the development of a strong national technology sector. Although affected by the dot.com crisis (2000-2001), the sector has contributed to productivity gains, which were spread throughout the economy. Investments made in these areas increased from 187 billion dollars per year during 1991-1995, to 436 billion / year in 19962000 (in 2008, investments were up 29% of GDP), - Accelerated development of services contributed to the overall growth of the country. In 2008, the third sector represents 78% of the U.S. economy, a percentage higher than that recorded in Europe and Japan. - Impressive growth in the volume of loans to individuals, mainly for consumption.

5 of top 10 companies in the world are American; 159 of top 500 companies in the world are American; the largest bank in the world is American, 178 of top 1000 banks in the world are American;

JAPAN The second economy in the world, Japan, is one of the most interesting development story. The economic development of Japan in

the postwar period saw two stages.

1) From 1955 until 1972 Japan's economy grew by an annual average rate of 10%, a phenomenon that allowed to talk about the
Japanese miracle. Urban population has increased, industry has developed becoming the most important branch of national economy, high savings rate has allowed the growth of capital and make further investment in the new IT . Although, at the bgining, it was located at the base of the global hierarchy of industrialized countries, in the early 60s, Japan had already been situated in the top of this hierarchy. 2)

Between 1970-1984, industrial production fell by 4% in Great Britain and grew by 48% in the U.S., has been explosive growth in Japan (162%). In the early '90s, the unemployment rate values were 13.5% in Great Britain, with 7.7% in the U.S. and only 3.5% in Japan. Also, in this period, the U.S. trade deficit became apparent, while Japan's trade surplus was strengthening.

Factors of the economic miracle: the geopolitical context. China's transition from communism (1949) has forced the U.S. to fundamentally change their position towards Japan, understanding its role in the way of spreading communist stronghold in southeast Asia, especially in conditions which had started already in the Korean conflict (1950 -- 1953). Reconstruction of the Japanese economy has benefited from several major advantages: well-trained, flexible, fair and relatively cheap labor force, large domestic market with developed infrastructure for internal communications, geographical location for trade in Asia, effective cooperation between industry and government and sufficiently strong industrial organization (zaibatsu) to compete with multinational companies of U.S. and Western Europe. Petroleum crisis has forced Japan to diversify supply sources, to reduce dependence on a single exporter and has resulted in increased investment in research and development of cars with low fuel consumption. Japan's economic policy was largely mercantilist. In this context, an essential element was the direct foreign

investment strongly regulated by the state.

Japan has been for a long time a very difficult market accessible to foreign investors, but the high value of Japanese yen made

investments to be very profitable and attractive in this region. Meanwhile, Japanese foreign direct investment outside its borders were supported by the protective measures adopted by Western countries (especially USA and EU) that have led Japanese companies to open their own branches abroad.

The role of the government is to move the industry toward value-added production and to protect the national market from foreign competitors.