The economy in the universe of Void of Earth's Solar System includes the use of the old, ancient monetary system of Global Credits, which was first introduced in the Second Era (see history in VESS) under Earth's first, pre-United Earth Regime, pre-Earth Political Union world government. The Global Credit is the official currency of the United Earth Regime, the League of Planets, about 90 percent of the member states of the Outworld Alliance, and the Free Trader's Guild (see politically neutral guilds). About 10 percent of the local governments in the Outworld Alliance use systems of barter or precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum. The Empire of Spectra uses both barter and it's own money called the Spectra Credit. Global Credits and Spectra Credits largely exist as electronic data stored in computers and robots, and such Credits can be downloaded into computer disks, and loaded into other machines.
The economic laws in the United Earth Regime, some member states of the Outworld Alliance, and the Empire of Spectra require privately owned business can only operate under the jurisdiction of one government, except for the independent interplanetary traders of the Free Trader's Guild, who are mainly exempt from such business-operate-only-under-one-government laws. The Interplanetary Communications Corporation, which is in charge of the network of communications satellites and graviton-pulse generators that promote long-range interplanetary communications, is also of course exempt from such laws the require private enterprises operate under only one government.
There is also the question of labor unions and state socialism in the local economies. In the United Earth Regime, labor unions exist, and membership by workers in them is encourage but generally union membership is not mandatory. The Regime has long debated government ownership of large portions of the economy, but most factions in the ruling Earth Political Union favor private ownership of business and industry. The same policy toward both unions and socialism occurs in the League of Planets. Certain local governments in the Outworld Alliance encourage workers to join or even require labor-union membership. Other Alliance states actually discourage or even ban labor unions. Some member states in the Outworld Alliance are more socialistic in the way they promote state ownership of whole economic sectors. The Empire of Spectra requires all it's workers to join a single union that is strictly controlled by it's ruling Spectra Nationalist Party. Spectra also is strongly socialistic in that most businesses are government owned, though private enterprise is permitted in certain areas. Some state enterprises in the Empire of Spectra are directly run by the military, which shares in the control of government with the Nationalist Party.