Economic Glossary

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A small, specially coded plastic card issued by a bank; allows the cardholder to transfer funds electronically and immediately from his or her checking account, as if the cardholder were writing a check to pay for a purchase.

Money owed to someone else. Also the state or condition of owing money. Can be individual, corporate or government debt.

Money a person owes to someone else, usually a financial institution.

Misleading methods used by businesses to sell goods or services. Examples include misleading prices, bait-and-switch tactics and false advertising.

A conclusion reached after considering alternatives and their results.

Reaching a conclusion after considering alternatives and their results.

A graph-like form into which people may enter notations about the costs and benefits of various alternatives; used for assistance in making decisions.

Regarding insurance policies: A set amount an insured person must pay per loss before the insurance company will pay a claim.

A medium of exchange which can be conveniently circulated and is seen as an effective form of currency.

A sustained decrease in the average price level of all the goods and services produced in the economy.

The quantity of a good or service that buyers are willing and able to buy at all possible prices during a period of time.

An account from which funds may be withdrawn by writing a check at any time and without having to obtain the approval of the financial institution in advance.

Inflation caused by increasing demand for output or "too much money chasing too few goods."

Money put into a financial account. Also, to place money in a financial account.

A reduction in the value of capital goods over time due to their use in production.

A decline in the price of one currency relative to another.

A severe, prolonged economic contraction.

Demand resulting from what a good or service can produce, not demand for the good or service itself.

Factors other than the price of a good or service that change (shift) the demand schedule, causing consumers to buy more or less at every price. Factors include income, number of consumers, preferences and prices of related goods.

Factors other than the price of a good or service that change (shift) the supply schedule, causing producers to supply more or less at every price. Factors include number of producers, production costs, and technology and productivity.

A widely observed relationship in which the additional satisfaction (marginal utility) associated with consuming additional units of the same product in a given amount of time eventually declines.

The electronic transfer of a payment (for a month's salary, for example) directly from the payer's account to the recipient's account.

The relationship that exists when the values of related variables move in the same direction. Also known as a positive relationship.

The interest rate the Federal Reserve charges commercial banks for loans.

Unemployed people who have given up looking for work and are therefore not counted as part of the labor force.

A factor, often a monetary policy or disadvantage, that discourages people from doing something.

The amount of money a person has left to save or spend after income taxes, Social Security taxes and other required deductions have been taken out of his or her pay.

The allocation or dividing up of the goods and services a society produces.

The way in which the nation's income is divided among families, individuals or other designated groups.

To invest in a variety of stocks, bonds, money market accounts, etc., in order to spread risk.

A share of a company's net profits paid to stockholders.

An arrangement in which workers perform only one step or a few steps in a larger production process (as when working on an assembly line).

Goods intended to last for a period of more than three years.