Depression
A severe and prolonged downturn in economic activity.
Aggregate Demand
The total demand for final goods and services in an economy at a given time.
Contractionary Monetary Policy
A policy by a central bank to decrease the money supply, usually by raising interest rates.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
A measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food, and medical care.
Comparative Advantage
The ability of an individual, firm, or country to produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than competitors.
Aggregate Supply
The total supply of goods and services that firms in an economy plan on selling during a specific time period.
Discount Rate
The interest rate set by the central bank for loans to commercial banks.
Absolute Advantage
The ability of an individual, firm, or country to produce more of a good or service than competitors, using the same amount of resources.
Balance of Payments
A record of all transactions made between one particular country and all other countries during a specified period of time.
Cross Elasticity of Demand
A measure of the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to a change in the price of another good.
Economies of Scale
The cost advantage that arises with increased output of a product.
Cyclical Unemployment
Unemployment that results when the overall demand for goods and services in an economy cannot support full employment.
Capital Deepening
An increase in the amount of capital per worker; one source of rising labor productivity.
Deadweight Loss
A loss of economic efficiency that can occur when the free market equilibrium for a good or a service is not achieved.
Classical Economics
An economic theory that emphasizes the role of free-market forces, allowing them to operate without government intervention.
Diseconomies of Scale
The disadvantages that arise due to the increase in size of an organization, leading to inefficiencies.
Complementary Goods
Goods that are often used together.
Coincident Economic Indicators
Economic indicators that usually change at the same time as the whole economy.
Business Cycle
A cycle or series of cycles of economic expansion and contraction.
Endogenous Variables
Variables determined within the model.
Contractionary Fiscal Policy
Government policy that attempts to reduce the level of economic activity through decreased spending or increased taxes.
Diminishing Marginal Utility
A principle stating that as a person increases consumption of a product, there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product.
Budget Surplus
A situation in which government revenue exceeds expenditures.
Budget Deficit
A situation in which government expenditures exceed revenue.
Automatic Stabilizers
Economic policies and programs that are designed to offset fluctuations in a nation's economic activity without intervention by the government or policymakers.