Economics Vocab
Corporation
A business that is owned by many investors.
Fiscal Policy
A government policy for dealing with the budget (especially with taxation and borrowing)
Oligopoly
A market structure in which a few large firms dominate a market
Depression
A period of low economic activity and rising unemployment
Entrepreneur
A person who starts up and takes on the risk of a business
Shortage
A situation in which quantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied
Surplus
A situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded
Stock Market
A system for buying and selling shares of companies
Socialism
A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.
Income Tax
A tax on people's earnings
Command Economy
An economic system in which the government controls a country's economy.
Labor Union
An organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members
Monopoly
Complete control of a product or business by one person or group
Market Economy
Economic decisions are made by individuals or the open market.
Progressive Tax
Higher income = Higher Tax rate
Scarcity
Limited quantities of resources to meet unlimited wants
Regressive Tax
Lower income = Lower tax percentage
Communism
No private property ownership. Government run economy
Capitalism
economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit
Revenue
incoming money
4 Factors of Production
land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship
Monetary Policy
managing the economy by altering the supply of money and interest rates
Mixed Economy
market-based economic system with limited government involvement (Command + Market Economy)
Recession
period of reduced economic activity
Inflation
rapid rise of prices
Deficit
the amount by which something, especially a sum of money, is too small.
Diminishing Utility
the amount of satisfaction or usefulness of a product decreases as more and more are consumed
Global Economy
the interconnected economies of the nations of the world
Demand
the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy
Supply
The amount of goods available
Laissez-faire
The government should not interfere in the economy
GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country in a specific time period
Excise Tax
a tax on the production or sale of a good