Theme 4 Key Terms Flashcards
absolute advantage
when a country can produce a good more cheaply in absolute terms than another country
absolute poverty
- when people are unable to afford sufficient necessities to maintain life
- those on less than $1.90 a day
actual deficit
primary deficit + debt interest payments
aid
when a country voluntarily transfers resources to another or gives loans on a concessionary basis
appreciation
an increase in the value of the currency using floating exchange rates
asymmetric information
- when one party has more knowledge than another
- this causes market failure in the financial sector
austerity
- higher taxes, cuts in spending on public services and welfare benefits
- hurts poorer ppl and vulnerable ppl, increases ineq
- SR econ benefits
- makes recessions worse
automatic stabilisers
mechanisms which reduce the impact of changes in the economy on national income
- in recession, benefits increase as more ppl unemployed, benefits are stabiliser, AD falls less.
- in boom, tax rev increases (higher tax bands) as ppl have more jobs/higher income, tax reduces disposable income and so consumption, so AD doesn’t rise too much
balance of payments
a record of all financial dealings over a period of time between economic agents of one country and another
bilateral/multilateral trade agreement
an agreement to decrease tariffs & quotas between 2/more countries
buffer stock systems
when a maximum and minimum price are imposed together to bring about price stability
capital account
- a part of the balance of payments
- records debt forgiveness, inheritance taxes, transfers of financial assets and sales of assets
capital govt expenditure
govt spending on investment goods such as new roads, schools and hospitals, which will be consumed in over a year
capital flight
when large amounts of money are taken out of the country, rather than being left there for people to borrow and invest
central banks
a financial institution that has direct responsibility to control the money supply and monetary policy, to manage gold reserves and foreign currency and to issue govt debt
Common market
a customs union w/ deeper integration, such as common policies, regulations, and free movement of labour, capital and business between member nations
e.g. EU
comparative advantage
- when a country can produce a good more cheaply relative to other goods produced
- it has a lower opportunity cost
current account
- a part of the balance of payments
- records payments for the purchase and sale of goods and services, as well as incomes and transfers
current expenditure
general govt final consumption plus transfer payments plus interest payments
customs union
an FTA without freedom to trade with countries outside the FTA agreement, with common external barriers stopping imports into the customs union
- e.g EU
cyclical deficit
the part of the deficit thay occurs because govt spending fluctuates around the trade cycle
- when economy recession, tax rev low, spending high, so large deficit
depreciation
a fall in the value of the currency using floating exchange rates
devaluation
when the currency is decreased against another under a fixed system
developed country
countries with high GDP per capita and a high standard of living
developing country
countries with a low GDP per capita and a low standard of living
discretionary fiscal policy
- deliberate manipulation of govt expenditure and taxes to influence the economy
- expansionary and deflationary fiscal policy
economic and monetary union
everything before (common market) but countries decide to adopt the same currency, central bank and therefore monetary policy
e.g eurozone
economic development
improvements in living standards
economic integration
process where countries co-ordinte to reduce trade barriers and to harmonise monetary+fiscal policy
embargo
total ban on imported goods
emerging economies
a country that is growing quickly and has some characteristics of a developed country but is not there fully yet
exchange rate
the purchasing power of a currency in terms of what it can buy in other currencies
financial account
- a part of the balance of payments
- records FDI, portfolio investment and the transfer of gold and currency reserves
financial markets
where buyers and sellers can buy and trade a range of services or assets that are fundamentally monetary in nature
- return rate to lenders, higher interest rate for borrowers, so lenders and intermediaries profit
fiscal deficit
when the govt spends more than it receives in a year