Glossary Terms:

Monetary or non-monetary gain received because of an action taken or a decision made.

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

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

Spending by households on goods and services. The process of buying and using 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.

A conclusion reached after considering alternatives and their results.

Reaching a conclusion after considering alternatives and their results.

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

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

Income that stays the same from week to week or month to month. Usually refers to income from pensions or bonds.

Tangible objects that satisfy economic wants.

As the price of a good or service rises (or falls), the quantity of that good or service that people are willing and able to buy during a certain period of time falls (or rises).

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.

A decision-making tool for comparing the additional or marginal benefits of a course of action to the additional or marginal costs.

The increase in a producer's total cost when it increases its output by one unit.

The extra value or satisfaction that a consumer obtains from consuming one additional unit of output.

Anything that is generally accepted as final payment for goods and services; serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value and a standard of value. Characteristics of money are portability, stability in value, uniformity, durability and acceptance.

The amount of money that people pay when they buy a good or service; the amount they receive when they sell a good or service.

The amount of a good or service people will buy at a given price in a given period of time.

The money a business receives from customers who buy its goods and services. Not to be confused with profit.

Use money now to buy goods and services.

An abstract measure of the satisfaction consumers derive from consuming goods and services.

Effort applied to achieve a purpose or result, often for pay; skills and knowledge put to use to get something done; employment at a job or in a position; occupation, profession, business, trade, craft, etc.