An
organization that seeks to earn profits by providing goods or
services.
The difference
between a business's revenues and its expenses.
A nation's
system for allocating its resources among its citizens.
The resources
used in the production of goods and services: natural resources,
labor, capital, and entrepreneurs.
Materials
supplied by nature &-for example, land, water, mineral
deposits, and trees.
The mental and
physical capabilities of people. Also called human resources.
The funds
needed to operate a business enterprise.
A person who
accepts the opportunities and risks involved in creating and
operating a business.
An economy
that relies on a centralized government to control all or most
factors of production and to make all
or most production decisions.
An economy in
which individuals control production factors and decisions.
A planned
economic system in which the government owns and operates all
industries.
A planned
economic system in which the government owns and operates only
selected major industries. Smaller businesses may be privately
owned.
A mechanism
for exchange between buyers and sellers of a particular good or
service.
A market
economy that provides for the private ownership of the factors
of production and encourages entrepreneurship by offering
profits as an incentive.
An economy
that has characteristics of both planned and market economies.
The process of
converting government enterprises into privately owned
companies.
The
willingness and ability of buyers to purchase a product or
service.
The
willingness and ability of producers to offer a good or service
for sale.
The principle
that buyers will purchase (demand) more of a product as its
price drops and will purchase (demand) less of a product as its
price increases.
The principle
that producers will offer more of a product for sale as its
price rises but will offer less for sale as its price drops.
A graph that
shows how many products will be demanded (brought) at different
prices.
A graph that
shows how many products will be supplied (offered for sale) at
different prices.
The price at
which the quantity of goods demanded and the quantity of goods
supplied are equal; the profit&-maximizing price of a good.
commonly referred to as the market price.
A situation in
which quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded.
A situation in
which quantity demanded exceeds quantity supplied.
A system that
allows individuals within a society to pursue their own
interests without governmental regulation or restriction.
The right to
buy, own, use, and sell almost any item.
The right to
choose what to buy or sell, including one's labor.
The vying
among businesses for the same resources or customers.
A market or
industry characterized by a very large number of small firms
producing an identical product. In pure competition, no single
firm is powerful enough to influence the price of its product in
the marketplace.
A market or
industry characterized by (1) a large number of buyers and (2) a
large number of sellers trying to differentiate their products
from those of their competitors. It is relatively easy for a
firm to enter or leave a monopolistically competitive market.
A market or
industry characterized by a handful of (generally very large)
sellers that have the power to influence the price of their
products.
A market or
industry in which there is only one producer, who can set the
price of its product.
An industry in
which one company can most efficiently supply all the product or
service that is needed.
In economic
terms, the condition in which the balance between the money
available in an economy and the goods produced in that economy
remains about the same.
A period of
widespread price increases throughout an economic system.
A period
characterized by a decrease in employment, income, and
production. Recessions may occur on a local, statewide, or
national level.
A particularly
severe and long&-lasting recession.
The level of
joblessness among people actively seeking work.
An increase in
the amount of goods and services produced by a nation's
resources.
The total
value of all the goods and services produced by an economic
system in a one&-year period.
Gross national
product adjusted for inflation and changes in the value of the
country's currency.
A measure of
how much is produced to the resources used to produce it.
The difference
between a country's exports to other nations and its imports
from other countries the total economic value of all products
imported into a country minus the total economic value of all
products exported out of that country.
A situation in
which the federal government spends more money in one year than
it takes in.
The total
amount a nation owes to its creditors.
The polities
instituted by the Federal Reserve System to manage the nation's
money supply and interest rates.
Government
policies for managing the economy that revolve around the ways
the government collects and spends its revenues.
