Economics Terms Chapter 11

Stock

An ownership claim on a firm, entitling its owner to a profit share

Social capital

Capital that provides services to the public. Most social capital takes the form of public works and public services

Human capital

A form of intangible capital that includes the skills and other knowledge that workers have or acquire through education and training and that yields valuable services to a firm over time

Bond

A contract between a borrower and a lender, in which the borrower agrees to pay the loan at some time the future, along the way

Capital stock

For a single firm, the current market value of the firm's plant, equipment, inventories, and intangible assets

Capital income

Income earned on savings that have been put to use through financial capital markets

Tangible capital

Material things used as inputs in the production of future goods and services. The major categories of physical capital are nonresidential structures, durable equipment, residential structures, and inventories

Investment

New capital additions to a firm's capital stock. Although capital is measured at a given point in time (a stock), investment is measured over a period of time (a flow). The flow of investment increases the capital stock.

Intangible capital

Nonmaterial things that contribute to the output of future goods and services

Expected rate of return

The annual rate of return that a firm expects to obtain through a capital investment

Depreciation

The decline in an asset's economic value over time

Capital market

The market in which households supply their savings to firms that demand funds to buy capital goods

Financial capital market

The part of the capital market in which savers and investors interact through intermediaries

Interest

The payments made for the use of money

Capital

Those goods produced by the economic system that are used as inputs to produce other goods and services in the future