Key Terms

Question 1

Capital flows

Answer 1

The movement of money for the purpose of investment, trade or to produce goods/ provide services. Usually regarded as investment into a production operation

Question 2

Globalisation

Answer 2

A process by which national economies, societies and cultures have become increasingly integrated through global network of trade, communication, transportation and immigration

Question 3

International trade

Answer 3

Exchange of capital, goods and services across international borders. Inbound trade is defined as imports and outbound trade as exports

Question 4

Labour

Answer 4

Factor of production defined as the aggregate of all human physical and mental effort used to create goods or provide services

Question 5

BRIC

Answer 5

An acronym used to identify a group of 4 countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China- whose economies have advanced rapidly since the 1990s

Question 6

Diaspora

Answer 6

A large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have moved and settled in places all over the world

Question 7

Leakages (economic)

Answer 7

Refers to a loss of income from an economic system. It most usually refers to the profits sent back to their base country by transnational corporations- also known as profit repatriation

Question 8

MINT

Answer 8

Acronym referring to the more recently emerging economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey

Question 9

Containerisation

Answer 9

A system of standardised transport that uses large standard- size steel containers to transport goods. Transferred between ships, trains, lorries, enabling cheaper, efficient transport

Question 10

Protectionism

Answer 10

A deliberate policy by government to impose restrictions on trade goods and services with other countries- usually done with the intention of protecting home- based industries from foreign competition

Question 11

Tariffs

Answer 11

A tax or duty placed on imported goods with the intention of making them more expensive to consumers so that they don’t sell at a lower price than home-based goods - a strategy of protectionism

Question 12

Conglomerates

Answer 12

A collection of different companies or organisations which may be involved in different business activities but all report to one parent company

Question 13

Economies of scale

Answer 13

The cost advantages that result from the larger size, output or scale of an operation as savings are made by spreading the costs or by rationalising operations

Question 14

Maquiladora

Answer 14

A manufacturing operation (plant or factory) located in free trade zones in Mexico

Question 15

Bottom up

Answer 15

When local people are consulted and supported in making decisions to undertake projects or developments that meet one or more of their specific needs

Question 16

Top down

Answer 16

When the decision to undertake projects or developments is made by a central authority such as government with little or no consultation with the local people whom it will affect

Question 17

Bilateral agreement

Answer 17

An agreement on trade that is negotiated between 2 countries or 2 groups of countries

Question 18

Common markets

Answer 18

A group formed by countries in geographical proximity in which trade barriers for goods and services are eliminated

Question 19

Customs unions

Answer 19

A trade bloc which allows free trade with no barriers between its members its member states but imposes a common external tariff to trading countries outside the bloc e.g. EU

Question 20

Multilateral agreement

Answer 20

An agreement negotiated between more than 2 countries or groups of countries at the same time

Question 21

Outsourcing

Answer 21

A cost saving strategy used by companies who arrange for goods or services to be produced or provided by other companies, usually at a location where costs are lower

Question 22

Agglomeration

Answer 22

When companies in similar industries locate near to each other because of the benefits gained by sharing ideas and resources

Question 23

Multiplier (effect)

Answer 23

A situation where an initial injection of investment or capital into an economy in turn creates additional income by, e.g., increasing employment, wages, spending and tax revenues

Question 24

Glocalisation

Answer 24

Describes Products or services that are distributed globally but which are fashioned to appeal to the consumers in a local market e.g. McDonalds changing their menu for different places

Question 25

Environmental sustainability

Answer 25

A state in which the demands placed on the environment can be met without reducing the quality of the environment for the future

Question 26

Global commons

Answer 26

Resource domains or areas that lie outside the political reach of any one nation state

Question 27

Global governance

Answer 27

A movement of political integration aimed at negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region

Question 28

Non- governmental organisations (NGOs)

Answer 28

Any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group with a common interest, which is organised on a local, national or international level

Question 29

United Nations

Answer 29

International organisation founded in 1945 made up of 193 member states whose aim is to promote international peace and co-operation

Question 30

Sustainable development

Answer 30

Development which recognises that the needs of the present have to be met but doing this without affecting the needs of future generations

Question 31

Adaptation

Answer 31

Any alteration or adjustment in the structure or function of an organism or system which enables it to survive better in changing environmental conditions

Question 32

Mitigation

Answer 32

Includes any actions, strategies, measures or projects undertaken (by mankind) to offset the known detrimental impacts of a process

Question 33

Resilience

Answer 33

The amount of disturbance that an ecosystem can withstand without changing existing structures and processes