economic terms

Question 1

bankruptcy

Answer 1

The legal status of a debtor who cannot pay his debts

Question 2

capitalism

Answer 2

Private ownership–based economic system

Question 3

communism

Answer 3

Economic system in which the people control the means of production

Question 4

consumer price index (CPI)

Answer 4

Measure of changes in the prices of consumer goods

Question 5

credit

Answer 5

Acquiring a good or service and paying for it later

Question 6

debt

Answer 6

money owed

Question 7

depression

Answer 7

A severe, long-term recession

Question 8

expansion

Answer 8

Period of increased economic activity

Question 9

federal deposit insurance (FDIC)

Answer 9

Guarantees the security of deposits in banks

Question 10

federal reserve board of governors

Answer 10

Group that oversees the central banking system of the United States

Question 11

federal trade commissions (FTC)

Answer 11

Protects consumers by opposing anticompetitive business methods

Question 12

gift economy

Answer 12

A culture in which goods are given without an agreement for reciprocation

Question 13

gross national product (GNP)

Answer 13

Value of products and services produced by a country in a year

Question 14

heterodox economics

Answer 14

Economic schools of thought that are not mainstream

Question 15

inflation

Answer 15

The rise of prices over time

Question 16

interest

Answer 16

A fee paid to borrow money, expressed as a percentage of the money borrowed

Question 17

labor union

Answer 17

Group of workers united to achieve common goals that would better their conditions of employment, known as a “trade union” in British English

Question 18

market

Answer 18

System in which parties exchange with each other

Question 19

mass production

Answer 19

Creating great amounts of products on assembly lines

Question 20

monopoly

Answer 20

A single entity is the only supplier of a specific good or service

Question 21

protectionism

Answer 21

Government regulating trade between countries to promote domestic trade

Question 22

recession

Answer 22

Period of a slowdown of economic activity

Question 23

socialism

Answer 23

Social ownership–based political system

Question 24

old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI)

Answer 24

Federal program. The original Social Security Act (1935) and the current version of the act, as amended, encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs

Question 25

subsidy

Answer 25

Money paid by a government to a business or industry to help it or to encourage specific behavior

Question 26

supply and demand

Answer 26

Model for determining prices of goods in a competitive market