Bankruptcy- A condition of financial failure caused by not having the money that you need to pay your debts.
Barter- To trade by exchanging one commodity for another.
Business Cycle- A cycle of economic activity usually consisting of recession, recovery, growth, and decline.
Buyer's Market- A market in which good are plentiful, buyers have a wide rand of choice, and prices tend to be low.
Capitalism- An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.
Ceteris Paribus- If all other relevant things, factors, or elements remain unaltered.
Command Economy - An economic system in which activity is controlled by a central authority and the means of production are publicly owned.
Competition- The effort of two ore more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms.
Consumer- One that utilizes economic goods.
Economics- A social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economy of Scale- A reduction in the cost of producing something (as a car or a unit of electricity) brought about especially by increased size of production facilities- usually used in the plural.
Equilibrium- A state of adjustment between opposing or divergent influences or elements.
Federal Reserve Bank - One of 12 reserve banks set up under the Federal Reserve Act to hold reserves and discount commercial paper for affiliated banks in their respective districts.
Fiscal- Of or relating to taxation, public revenues, or public debt.
Gross Domestic Product - The gross national product excluding the value of net income earned abroad.
Inflation - A continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services.
Labor- Human activity that provides the goods or services in an economy.
Macroeconomics - A study of economics in terms of whole systems especially with reference to general levels of output and income and to the interrelations among sectors of the economy.
Market Economy - An economy in which most goods and services are produced and distributed through free markets.
Microeconomics - A study of economics in terms of individual areas of activity (as a firm).
Monetary- Of or relating to money or to the mechanisms by which it is supplied to and circulates in the economy.
Monopoly- Complete control over the entire supply of goods or of a service in a certain area or market.
Per Capita - Per unit of population.
Revenue- The total income produced by a given source.
Scarcity - A very small supply
Seller's Market- A market in which goods are scarce, buyers have a limited range of choice, and prices are high.
Standard of Living - A minimum of necessities, comforts, or luxuries held essential to maintain a person or group in customary or proper status or circumstances.
Supply & Demand- The amount of goods and services that are available for people to buy compared to the amount of goods and services that people want to buy.
Unemployment - The state of not having a job; the total number of people who do not have jobs in a particular place or area.