Glossary Terms:

The industry involved with conducting financial transactions. Also, conducting business with a bank, e.g., maintaining a checking or savings account or obtaining a loan.

Any activity or organization that produces or exchanges goods or services for a profit.

Decision made or course of action taken when faced with a set of alternatives.

Attempts by two or more individuals or organizations to acquire the same goods, services, or productive and financial resources. Consumers compete with other consumers for goods and services. Producers compete with other producers for sales to consumers.

People who use goods and services to satisfy their personal needs and not for resale or in the production of other goods and services.

An amount that must be paid or spent to buy or obtain something. The effort, loss or sacrifice necessary to achieve or obtain something.

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

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

A situation in which no one in a society can be made better off without making someone else worse off.

The study of how people, firms and societies choose to allocate scarce resources with alternative uses.

Economic units that demand productive resources from households and supply goods and services to households and government agencies.

Tangible objects that satisfy economic wants.

Payments earned by households for selling or renting their productive resources. May include salaries, wages, interest and dividends.

Money paid regularly, at a particular rate, for the use of borrowed money.

A piece of work usually done on order at an agreed-upon rate. Also a paid position of regular employment.

Places, institutions or technological arrangements where or by means of which goods or services are exchanged. Also, the set of all sale and purchase transactions that affect the price of some good or service.

A good or service that can be used to satisfy a want.

The amount of output (goods and services) produced per unit of input (productive resources) used.

Economic regulation is the prescription of price and output for a specific industry, often a natural monopoly. Social regulation is the prescription of health, safety, performance, environmental, output and job standards across several industries.

The basic kinds of resources used to produce goods and services: land or natural resources, human resources (including labor and entrepreneurship), and capital.

Earnings from an investment, usually expressed as an annual percentage.

The chance of losing money.

Activities performed by people, firms or government agencies to satisfy economic wants.

Use money now to buy goods and services.

Taxation is the process in which a charge is imposed upon a taxpayer by a state or a legal equivalent of a state.

Compulsory payments to governments by households and businesses.

People employed to do work, producing goods and services.