Economic Concepts, FAI-PRI
Economic terms and concepts include microeconomics (supply and demand, consumption and production by individuals) and macroeconomics (the study of aggregate economies and trade).
Economic Concepts Encyclopedia Articles By Title
fair-trade law
fair-trade law, in the United States, any law allowing manufacturers of branded or trademarked goods (or in some......
Fee
Fee, in modern common law, an estate of inheritance (land or other realty) over which a person has absolute ownership.......
Fiduciary
Fiduciary, in law, a person who occupies a position of such power and confidence with regard to the property of......
financial crisis of 2007–08
financial crisis of 2007–08, severe contraction of liquidity in global financial markets that originated in the......
Financial Times
Financial Times, newspaper edited in London that traditionally had strong influence on the financial policies of......
fiscal policy
Fiscal policy refers to the spending programs and tax policies that the government uses to guide the economy. Governments......
Five-Year Plans
Five-Year Plans, method of planning economic growth over limited periods, through the use of quotas, used first......
Fordism
Fordism, a specific stage of economic development in the 20th century. Fordism is a term widely used to describe......
foreign aid
foreign aid, the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization......
Fourierism
Fourierism, philosophy of social reform developed by the French social theorist Charles Fourier that advocated......
Freehold
Freehold, in English law, ownership of a substantial interest in land held for an indefinite period of time. The......
future value
Future value (FV) is the estimated value of a current asset at a specified future date, based on the interest rate......
gift exchange
gift exchange, the transfer of goods or services that, although regarded as voluntary by the people involved, is......
gold reserve
gold reserve, a fund of gold bullion or coin held by a government or bank, as distinguished from a private hoard......
Gosplan
Gosplan, central board that supervised various aspects of the planned economy of the Soviet Union by translating......
Great Recession
Great Recession, economic recession that was precipitated in the United States by the financial crisis of 2007–08......
gross domestic product
gross domestic product (GDP), total market value of the goods and services produced by a country’s economy during......
gross national income
gross national income (GNI), the sum of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) plus net income (positive or negative)......
gross national product
Gross national product (GNP) is the total value of all the final goods and services made by a nation’s economy......
Growth in ticket prices, 1996–2025
From the mid-1990s through the mid-2020s, the cost of live entertainment rose sharply in the United States, outpacing......
Henry Ford on mass production
The appearance of this article in Britannica’s 13th Edition (1926) epitomized one of the changes in editorial policy......
Herfindahl-Hirschman index
Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI), in economics and finance, a measure of the competitiveness of an industry in......
hinterland
hinterland, tributary region, either rural or urban or both, that is closely linked economically with a nearby......
human capital
human capital, intangible collective resources possessed by individuals and groups within a given population. These......
hyperinflation
Hyperinflation is the severe and rapidly accelerating loss of a currency’s purchasing power. Although rare in modern......
income and employment theory
income and employment theory, a body of economic analysis concerned with the relative levels of output, employment,......
Income inequality
Income inequality in economics is the unequal distribution of income among individuals, households, groups, or......
incomes policy
incomes policy, collective governmental effort to control the incomes of labour and capital, usually by limiting......
indifference curve
indifference curve, in economics, graph showing various combinations of two things (usually consumer goods) that......
industrial ecology
industrial ecology, Discipline that traces the flow of energy and materials from their natural resources through......
inflation
Inflation refers to the general increase in prices or the money supply, both of which can cause the purchasing......
input-output analysis
input-output analysis, economic analysis developed by the 20th-century Russian-born U.S. economist Wassily W. Leontief,......
institutional economics
institutional economics, school of economics that flourished in the United States during the 1920s and ’30s. It......
International Investment Bank
International Investment Bank, international bank, founded in 1970 and operational in 1971, designed to provide......
inventory
inventory, in business, any item of property held in stock by a firm, including finished goods ready for sale,......
invisible hand
invisible hand, metaphor, introduced by the 18th-century Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith, that characterizes......
invisible trade
invisible trade, in economics, the exchange of physically intangible items between countries. Invisible trade can......
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics, body of ideas set forth by John Maynard Keynes in his General Theory of Employment, Interest......
labour
labour, in economics, the general body of wage earners. It is in this sense, for example, that one speaks of “organized......
labour economics
labour economics, study of the labour force as an element in the process of production. The labour force comprises......
laissez-faire
laissez-faire, policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society.......
land
land, in economics, the natural resource used in production. In classical economics, the three factors of production......
land reform
land reform, a purposive change in the way in which agricultural land is held or owned, the methods of cultivation......
Landlord and tenanttenant
Landlord and tenanttenant, the parties to the leasing of real estate, whose relationship is bound by contract.......
Laspeyres index
Laspeyres index, index proposed by German economist Étienne Laspeyres (1834–1913) for measuring current prices......
Lease
Lease, a contract for the exclusive possession of property (usually but not necessarily land or buildings) for......
Lerner index
Lerner index, in economics, a measure of the market power of a firm. Formalized by the Russian-British economist......
Lien
Lien, in property law, claim or charge upon property securing the payment of some debt or the satisfaction of some......
list of economists
This is a list of economists, ordered alphabetically by country of birth or residence. (See also...
location theory
location theory, in economics and geography, theory concerned with the geographic location of economic activity;......
luxury
luxury, word that implies a relatively large consumption of wealth for nonessential pleasures. There is, however,......
macroeconomics
macroeconomics, study of the behaviour of a national or regional economy as a whole. It is concerned with understanding......
Malthusianism
Malthusianism, economic theory advanced by the English economist and demographer Thomas Malthus (1766–1834), according......
managerial economics
managerial economics, application of economic principles to decision-making in business firms or of other management......
marginal productivity theory
Marginal productivity theory is the idea that a company would be willing to pay a worker only what they can contribute......
marginal utility
marginal utility, in economics, the additional satisfaction or benefit (utility) that a consumer derives from buying......
marginal-cost pricing
marginal-cost pricing, in economics, the practice of setting the price of a product to equal the extra cost of......
market failure
market failure, failure of a market to deliver an optimal result. In particular, the economic theory of market......
market socialism
market socialism, economic system representing a compromise between socialist planning and free enterprise, in......
marketization
marketization, introduction of competition into the public sector in areas previously governed through direct public......
merit good
In economics, a merit good is a commodity whose consumption provides benefits to individual consumers and generates......
meritocracy
meritocracy, political, social, or economic system in which individuals are assigned to positions of power, influence,......
mesoregionalism
mesoregionalism, process of cooperation and integration in the development of intermediary regions, or “regions......
microeconomics
microeconomics, branch of economics that studies the behaviour of individual consumers and firms. Unlike macroeconomics,......
mixed economy
mixed economy, in economics, a market system of resource allocation, commerce, and trade in which free markets......
monetarism
monetarism, school of economic thought that maintains that the money supply (the total amount of money in an economy,......
monetary policy
monetary policy, measures employed by governments to influence economic activity, specifically by manipulating......
monopolistic competition
monopolistic competition, market situation in which there may be many independent buyers and many independent sellers......
monopoly and competition
monopoly and competition, basic factors in the structure of economic markets. In economics, monopoly and competition......
monopsony
monopsony, in economic theory, market situation in which there is only one buyer. An example of pure monopsony......
Moral hazard
Moral hazard is the risk one party incurs when it’s dependent on the moral behavior of others. The risk increases......
Motion Picture Patents Company
Motion Picture Patents Company, trust of 10 film producers and distributors who attempted to gain complete control......
National Communism
National Communism, policies based on the principle that in each country the means of attaining ultimate communist......
national income accounting
national income accounting, a set of principles and methods used to measure the income and production of a country.......
neoliberalism
neoliberalism, ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition. Although there is......
New Economic Policy
New Economic Policy (NEP), the economic policy of the government of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1928, representing......
newly industrialized country
newly industrialized country (NIC), country whose national economy has transitioned from being primarily based......
oligopoly
oligopoly, market situation in which each of a few producers affects but does not control the market. Each producer......
opportunism
opportunism, a foundational assumption of many economic theories that claims human beings are generally self-interested......
opportunity cost
In economics, opportunity cost refers to the potential benefit or gain that is given up when choosing one option......
optimum currency area
optimum currency area, a currency area in which the benefits of using a common currency outweigh the costs of individual......
Organization of American States
Organization of American States (OAS), organization formed to promote economic, military, and cultural cooperation......
Ownership
Ownership, the legal relation between a person (individual, group, corporation, or government) and an object. The......
Paasche index
Paasche index, index developed by German economist Hermann Paasche for measuring current price or quantity levels......
Pareto-optimality
Pareto-optimality, a concept of efficiency used in the social sciences, including economics and political science,......
parity
parity, in economics, equality in price, rate of exchange, purchasing power, or wages. In international exchange,......
Phillips curve
The Phillips curve visualizes the economic relationship between unemployment rates and changes in money wages.......
physical capital
physical capital, in economics, a factor of production. It is one of three primary building blocks (along with......
physiocrat
physiocrat, any of a school of economists founded in 18th-century France and characterized chiefly by a belief......
political business cycle
political business cycle, fluctuation of economic activity that results from an external intervention of political......
political economy
political economy, branch of social science that studies the relationships between individuals and society and......
political risk analysis
political risk analysis, in risk management, analysis of the probability that political decisions, events, or conditions......
Possession
Possession, in law, the acquisition of either a considerable degree of physical control over a physical thing,......
postindustrial society
postindustrial society, society marked by a transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy,......
Prescription
Prescription, in both domestic and international law, the effect of the lapse of time in creating and destroying......
present value
Present value (PV) is the value of an expected sum of money discounted by compounding interest rates to the present......
price
Price refers to the amount of money required to purchase a product or service. Price can also be seen as a measure......
price discrimination
price discrimination, practice of selling a commodity at different prices to different buyers, even though sales......
price index
price index, measure of relative price changes, consisting of a series of numbers arranged so that a comparison......
price maintenance
price maintenance, measures taken by manufacturers or distributors to control the resale prices of their products......