Final answer:
The U.S. has a market-oriented economy with a mix of other systems, leaning toward a free market with necessary government involvement to maintain efficiency and competitiveness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The United States economy is known for its market orientation, considered one of the more free-market systems in the world. Despite this, it's essential to realize that the U.S. economy, like most, is mixed, blending market, command, and traditional elements to various extents. Most European and Latin American countries tend to have a greater level of government involvement in economic decisions compared to the U.S.
Organizations such as the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Foundation offer insights into the degree of market freedom across countries. In the U.S., government regulation ensures that critical conditions for a competitive market exist, like competition, informed participants, resource mobility, and prices reflecting production costs, to prevent market failures.
However, complete market freedom is not achievable without government oversight. Public disclosure, competition promotion, and various regulations are ways the government supports the free market.