Glossary terms Flashcards
absolute poverty
- the inability of an individual or a family to afford a basic standard goods and services, where the standard is absolute and unchanging over time
- determines the minimum income that can sustain a family in terms of its basic needs
actual output
- quantity of output actually produced by an economy
- occurs inside PPC because of unemployed resources and productive inefficiency
- can be higher or lower than potential output (if there’s inflationary or deflationary gap) or it may be equal to potential output (long-run equilibrium)
ad valorem taxes
- taxes calculated as a fixed percentage of the price of the good or service
- amount of taxes increases as the price increases
administrative barriers
- trade protection measures in the form of administrative procedures that countries can use to prevent free flow of imports into a country (NOTE: not the obvious trade protection measures like tariffs)
ex) controls on packaging, customs procedures like inspections
aggregate demand
the total quantity of goods and services that all buyers in an economy want to buy over a particular time period at different possible price levels, ceteris paribus.
aggregate supply
the total quantity of goods and services produced in an economy over a particular time period, at different price levels, ceteris paribus.
allocative efficiency
- an allocation of resources that results in producing the combination and quantity of goods and services mostly preferred by consumers
- achieved when the economy allocates its resources so that no one can become better off from consumption without someone else becoming worse off (P=MC)
anti-dumping
- justifies trade protection policies
- if a country’s trading partner practices dumping, the country can impose trade protection measures to limit quantities of dumped good
appreciation of a currency
-increase in the value of a currency in a floating exchange rate system or managed exchange rate system
appropriate technology
-technologies well suited to a country’s particular economic, geographical, ecological and climate conditions
automatic stabilisers
- factors that automatically work toward stabilizing the economy by reducing the short term fluctuations of the business cycle
- include progressive income taxes and unemployment benefits
balance of payments
- a record of all transactions between the residents of a country and the residents of other countries, showing all payments received from other countries (credits), and all payments made to other countries (debits)
- sum of credits should be equal to sum of debits
balance of trade in goods
the value of exports of goods minus the value of imports of goods over a specific time (usually a year)
balance of trade in services
the value of exports of services minus the value of imports of services over a specific time (usually a year)
balance on capital account
the sum of inflows minus outflows of funds in the capital account of the balance of payments
balance on current account
the sum of inflows minus outflows of funds in the current account of the balance of payments
balance on financial account
the sum of inflows of funds minus outflows in the financial account of the balance of payments
bilateral trade agreement
any trade agreement involving two trading partners, usually two countries. It can also involve a trade agreement between one country and another group of countries when this group acts as a single unit
Ex) European Union
budget deficit
-the government’s budget, where government tax revenues are less than government expenditures over specific period of time (usually a year)
business confidence
a measure of the degree of optimism among firms in an economy about the future performance of firms and the economy
business cycle
fluctuations in the growth of real output, or real GDP, consisting of alternating periods of expansion (increasing real output) and contraction (decreasing real output)
cap and trade scheme
- a scheme in which a government authority sets a limit or ‘cap’ on the amount of pollutants that can be legally emitted by a firm, set by an amount of pollution permits distributed to firms
- firms that want to pollute more can buy more permits, while firms that want to pollute less can sell their excess permits
capital
- one of the factors of production
- also known as “physical capital”, including machinery, equipment, buildings, etc.
- “human capital” refers to skills, abilities, knowledge and levels of good health acquired by people
- “natural capital” has to do with the factor of production ‘land’
- “financial capital” includes stocks and bonds
capital account
inflows minus outflows of funds for
- capital transfers’ (like debt forgiveness and non-life insurance claims)
- purchase or use of non-produced natural resources (like mineral rights, forestry rights, fishing rights, airspace)
capital expenditures
include public investments, or the production of physical capital, such as building roads and schools
capital liberalisation
free movement of financial capital in and out of a country, occurring through the elimination by the government of exchange controls
capital transfers
- part of the capital account
- include inflows minus outflows for debt forgiveness, non-life insurance claims, and invetment
carbon tax
a tax per unit of carbon emissions of fossil fuels, considered by many countries as a policy to deal with the climate change problems
central bank
a financial institution that is responsible for regulating the country’s financial system and commercial banks, and carrying out monetary policy
ceteris paribus
- “other things being equal”
- all other things are assumed to be constant or unchanging
circular flow of income model
model showing the flow of resources from consumers (households) to firms, and the flow of products from firms to consumers, as well as money flows consisting of consumers’ income arising from the sale of their resources and firms’ revenues arising from the sale of their products
clean technology
technology that is not polluting, associated with environmental sustainability; includes solar power, wind power, hydropower, recycling, etc
closed economy
an economy that has no international trade
commercial bank
a financial institution (private or public) whose main functions are to hold deposits for their customers (consumers and firms), to make loans to their customers, to transfer funds by check from one bank to another, and to buy government bonds
common access resources
resources that are not owned by anyone, do not have a price, and are available for anyone to use (ex. lakes, fish in open seas, ozone layer); their depletion leads to environmental unsustainablity
common market
a type of trading bloc in which countries that have formed a customs union proceed further to eliminate any remaining tariffs in trade between them; they continue to have a common external policy, and agree to eliminate all restrictions on movements of any factors of production
Ex) European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor of the present European Union
Competitive market
a market composed of many buyers and sellers acting independently, none of whom has any ability to influence the price of the product
competitive supply
two goods compete with each other for the same resources
ex) if a farmer can produce wheat or corn, producing more of one means producing less of the other
competition
occurs when there are many buyers and sellers acting independently, so that no one has the ability to influence the price at which the product is sold in the market
complements (complementary goods)
- two or more goods that tend to be used together
- an increase in the price of one will lead to a decrease in the demand of the other
ex) a bike and a bike helmet
composite indicator
summary measure of more than one indicator, often used to measure economic development
ex) HDI that measures income, education and health indicators
concessional loan
loans that are offered as part of foreign aid, made on concessional terms; they are offered at interest rates that are lower than commercial rates, with longer repayment periods
conditional assistance
development assistance provided by bilateral or multilateral development organizations, which is extended to countries on condition that they satisfy certain requirements, usually requiring that they adopt particular policies
consumer confidence
a measure of the degree of optimism of consumers about their future income and the future of the economy
consumer price index
a measure of the cost of living for the typical household
consumer surplus
the difference between the highest prices consumers are willing to pay for a good and the price actually paid
consumption
spending by households on goods and services (excludes spending on housing)
contractionary fiscal policy
fiscal policy that is usually pursued in an inflation, involving a decrease in government spending or an increase in taxes (or both)
contractionary monetary policy
monetary policy that is usually pursued in an inflation, involving an increase in interest rates, intended to lower investment and consumption spending
core rate of inflation
a rate of inflation based on a consumer price index that excludes goods with highly unstable prices, notably food and energy prices
cost-push inflation
a type of inflation cased by a fall in aggregate supply, in turn resulting from increases in costs of production
credit items
the payments received from other countries, entering the balance of payments accounts with a plus sign; they represent an inflow of foreign exchange into a country
cross-price elasticity of demand (XED)
- a measure of the responsiveness of the demand for one good to a change in the price of another good; measured by the percentage change in the quantity of one good demanded divided by the percentage change in the price of another good
- if XED>0, two goods are substitutes
- if XED<0, two goods are complements
crowding-out
possible impacts on real GDP of increased government spending (expansionary fiscal policy) financed by borrowing; if increased government borrowing results in a higher rate of interest, this could reduce private investment spending, thus reversing the impacts of the government’s expansionary fiscal policy
current account
-includes the balance of trade (exports o minus imports of goods) plus the balance on services (exports of services minus imports of services), plus inflows minus outflows of income and current transfers
current account deficit
occurs when the current account balance has a negative value, meaning that debits are larger than credits (there is excess of debits)
current account surplus
occurs when the current account balance has a positive value, meaning that credits are larger than debits (there is excess of credits)
current expenditures
- refers to government spending on day-to-day items that are recurring and items that are consumed as a good or service is provided
- include wages and salaries (for gov’t employees), spending for supplies and equipment for daily operation of gov’t activities (ex. school supplies and medical supplies), provision of subsidies, and interest payments on gov’t loans
current transfers
an item in the current account of the balance of payments, refers to inflows and outflows of funds for items including gifts, foreign aid, and pensions
customs union
-a type of trading bloc, consisting of a group of countries that fulfil the requirements of a free trade area (eliminating trade barriers) and adopt a common policy towards all non-member countries
-achieves a higher degree of economic integration than a free trade area, but lower than a common market
Ex) European Union
cyclical unemployment
a type of unemployment that occurs during the downturns of the business cycle, when the economy is in a recessionary gap; the downturn is seen as arising from declining or low aggregate demand, and therefore is also known as ‘demand-deficient’ unemployment
debit items
payments made to other countries, entering the balance of payments accounts with a minus sign; they represent an outflow of foreign exchange from a country
deciles
division of a population into ten equal groups with respect to the distribution of a variable, such as income; for example, the lowest income decile refers to 10% of the population with the lowest income
deficit
the deficiency of something compared with something else
- In the balance of payments, a ‘deficit’ in an account occurs when the credits (inflows of money from abroad) are smaller than the debits (outflows of money to other countries)
- In the case of government budget, a ‘deficit’ occurs when government revenues are smaller than government expenditures
deflation
a continuing decrease in the general price level
demand
the various quantities of a good that consumers (or a consumer) are willing and able to buy at different possible prices during specific time period, ceteris paribus
demand management
policies that focus on the demand side of the economy, attempting to influence aggregate demand to achieve the goals of price stability, full employment and economic growth
demand-pull inflation
a type of inflation caused by an increase in aggregate demand, shown in the AD-AS model as a rightward shift in the AD curve
demand-side policies
policies that attempt to change AD in order to achieve the goals of prices stability, full employment and economic growth, and minimize the severity of the business cycle
-in inflationary/recessionary gap, they try to bring AD to the full employment level of real GDP, or potential GDP.
demerit goods
- goods that are considered to be undesirable for consumers and are overprovided in the market
- reasons for over provision: goods have negative externalities, or consumers are ignorant of harmful effects
depreciation
decrease in the value of currency in the context of a floating exchange rate system or managed exchanged rate system
deregulation
policies involving the elimination or reduction of government regulation of private sector activities, based on the argument that government regulation stifles competition and increases inefficiency
determinants of aggregate demand
factors that influence consumption spending (C), investment spending (I), gov’t spending (G), and net exports (Xn)
devaluation
decrease in the value of currency in the context of a fixed exchange rate system
development aid
foreign aid intended to help economically less development countries; may involve project aid, programme aid, technical assistance or debt relief
direct investment
in the balance of payments, refers to inflows or outflows of funds for the purpose of foreign direct investment
direct taxes
taxes paid directly to the gov’t tax authorities by the taxpayer, including personal income taxes, corporate income taxes and wealth taxes
disinflation
refers to a fall in the rate of inflation; it involves a positive rate of inflation
NOTE: It is different from “deflation”
disposable income
the income of consumers that is left over after the payment of income taxes
distribution of income
concerned with how much of an economy’s total income different individuals or different groups in the population receive, and involves answering the ‘for whom’ basic economic question
diversificatoin
change involving greater variety, and is used to refer to increasing the variety of goods and services produced and/or exported by a country
Note: OPPOSITE of “specialization”
dual economy
arises when there are two different and opposing sets of circumstances that exist simultaneously, often found in economically less developed countries, such as wealthy, educated groups co-existing with poor, illiterate groups
dumping
the practice of selling a good in international markets at a price that is below the cost of producing it (usually by providing export subsidies); while it is illegal according to international trade rules, many countries practice it anyway.
economic development
- broad-based rises in the standard of living and well-being of a population, particularly in economically less developed countries
- involves increasing income levels and reducing poverty, reducing income inequalities and unemployment, and increasing provision of access to basic goods and services such as food, education, health care
economic efficiency
condition that arises when allocative efficiency is achieved
economic growth
-increases in total real output produced by an economy (real GDP) over time
OR
-increases in real output (real GDP) per capita
economically less developed countries
countries that have a per capital GNI below a particular level (which changes from year to year) according to World Bank’s classification system
economically more developed countries
countries that have a per capital GNI above a particular level according to World Bank’s classification system