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