Economics

a retirement savings plan that is funded by employee contributions and (often) matching contributions from the employer; contributions are made from your salary before taxes and the funds grow tax-free until they are withdrawn, at which point they can be converted into an IRA; funds can be transferred if you change employers and you can (to some extent) manage the investments yourself

Scottish economist who advocated private enterprise and free trade (1723-1790)

law intended to promote free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies

a record of the financial situation of an institution on a particular date by listing its assets and the claims against those assets

a market characterized by falling prices for securities

an illegal market in which goods or currencies are bought and sold in violation of rationing or controls

a group of persons chosen to govern the affairs of a corporation or other large institution

depletion or loss of intellectual and technical personnel

a name given to a product or service

an excess of expenditures over revenues

a market characterized by rising prices for securities

recurring fluctuations in economic activity consisting of recession and recovery and growth and decline

the amount by which the selling price of an asset exceeds the purchase price; the gain is realized when the asset is sold

the opportunity cost of unproductive assets

a government monetary authority that issues currency and regulates the supply of credit and holds the reserves of other banks and sells new issues of securities for the government

a debt instrument issued by a bank; usually pays interest

all other things being equal

an association of businesspeople to protect and promote business interests

a financial institution that accepts demand deposits and makes loans and provides other services for the public

compare prices for a given item

an index of the cost of all goods and services to a typical consumer

an analysis of the cost effectiveness of different alternatives in order to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs

a card (usually plastic) that assures a seller that the person using it has a satisfactory credit rating and that the issuer will see to it that the seller receives payment for the merchandise delivered

a cooperative depository financial institution whose members can obtain loans from their combined savings

a card (usually plastic) that enables the holder to withdraw money or to have the cost of purchases charged directly to the holder's bank account

spending money raised by borrowing

interest on an annual basis deducted in advance on a loan

loss of equilibrium attributable to an unstable situation in which some forces outweigh others

income that is available to you for saving or spending

an indicator of stock market prices

selling goods abroad at a price below that charged in the domestic market

income obtained with a minimum of effort

steady growth in the productive capacity of the economy

the savings in production cost due to mass production

the charge for exchanging currency of one country for currency of another

a federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions

one of 12 regional banks that monitor and act as depositories for banks in their region

the central bank of the United States

money that the government declares to be legal tender although it cannot be converted into standard specie

a government policy for dealing with the budget

a periodic charge that does not vary with business volume

a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products

the economic condition when everyone who wishes to work at the going wage rate for their type of labor is employed

(economics) a theory of competition stated in terms of gains and losses among opposing players

a ceiling based on attitudinal or organizational bias in the work force that prevents minorities and women from advancing to leadership positions

having desirable or positive qualities

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

former measure of the United States economy

absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level

the co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge

a duty imposed on imports

a system of economic regulation: wages and interest are tied to the cost-of-living index in order to reduce the effects of inflation

a retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement; taxes on the interest earned in the account are deferred

buying or selling stock based on nonpublic information

a system for paying for goods by installments

the percentage of a sum of money charged for its use

United States economist who served as ambassador to India

English economist who advocated the use of government monetary and fiscal policy to maintain full employment without inflation (1883-1946)

English philosopher and economist remembered for his interpretations of empiricism and utilitarianism (1806-1873)

a venture by a partnership or conglomerate designed to share risk or expertise

founder of modern communism

the source of trained people from which workers can be hired

an organized attempt by workers to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of this movement

an employee organization that bargains with an employer

a graph purporting to show the relation between tax rates and government income; income increases as tax rates increase up to an optimum beyond which income declines

a law affirming that to continue after a certain level of performance has been reached will result in a decline in effectiveness

one of 11 indicators for different sections of the economy

a fee paid to the government for the privilege of being licensed to do something (as selling liquor or practicing medicine)

the branch of economics that studies the overall working of a national economy

the increase or decrease in costs as a result of one more or one less unit of output

(economics) the amount that utility increases with an increase of one unit of an economic good or service

an economy that relies on market forces to determine prices

anything that is generally accepted as a standard of value and a measure of wealth in a particular country or region

the branch of economics that studies the economy of consumers or households or individual firms

United States economist noted as a proponent of monetarism and for his opposition to government intervention in the economy (born in 1912)

an economic system that combines private and state enterprises

a market for short-term debt instruments

the total stock of money in the economy

the pooled money that is invested in assets

a computerized data system to provide brokers with price quotations for securities traded over the counter

(game theory) a stable state of a system that involves several interacting participants in which no participant can gain by a change of strategy as long as all the other participants remain unchanged

the debt of the national government

the total value of all income in a nation (wages and profits and interest and rents and pension payments) during a given period (usually 1 yr)

resources (actual and potential) supplied by nature

an open fabric of string or rope or wire woven together

the economic policy of F. D. Roosevelt

a stock exchange in New York

an organization chartered for other than profit-making activities

an agreement for free trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico; became effective in 1994 for ten years

a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement

the income received by a single individual

intense competition in which competitors cut retail prices to gain business

floor below which prices are not allowed to fall

an index that traces the relative changes in the price of an individual good (or a market basket of goods) over time

movable property (as distinguished from real estate)

an index of changes in wholesale prices

any tax in which the rate increases as the amount subject to taxation increases

the legal right of ownership

any tax in which the rate is constant as the amount subject to taxation increases

an unincorporated business owned by a single person who is responsible for its liabilities and entitled to its profits

the proportional limitation of production or distribution of something (e.g. crude oil or natural gas) to some fractional part of the total capacity of each producer

a tariff imposed to protect domestic firms from import competition

restricting the consumption of a relatively scarce commodity

any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished naturally with the passage of time

a tariff imposed to raise revenue

a large strong net to catch circus acrobats who fall or jump from a trapeze

United States labor leader (born in England) who was president of the American Federation of Labor from 1886 to 1924 (1850-1924)

a thrift institution that is required by law to make a certain percentage of its loans as home mortgages

an independent federal agency that oversees the exchange of securities to protect investors

(economics) any indirect effect of public expenditure

a broadly based stock market index

an exchange where security trading is conducted by professional stockbrokers

the theory that lower taxes leads to financial prosperity

a category of taxpayers based on the amount of their income

an English economist who argued that increases in population would outgrow increases in the means of subsistence (1766-1834)

United States economist who wrote about conspicuous consumption (1857-1929)

the economic condition in which credit is difficult to secure and interest rates are high

the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise

any regulation or policy that restricts international trade

an excess of imports over exports

an exchange that occurs as a compromise

a public expenditure that is not for goods and services

the percentage of the work force that is unemployed at any given date

an international organization based in Geneva that monitors and enforces rules governing global trade