IB Economics Glossary
809 terms from the SL and HL syllabus, each defined once and linked to the topics that use it.
A
- The ability to store
- Abnormal profit
- Absolute advantageHL
- Absolute poverty
- AD curve
- An ad valorem tax
- Administrative barriers
- Administrative time lags
- Adolescent Fertility Rate (AFR)
- Adverse selection
- Adverse supply-side shocks
- Aggregate demand (AD)
- Aggregate supply (AS)
- Aggregate supply, or AS
- Allocative efficiency
- Anchoring
- Anti-discrimination policies
- Anti-monopoly regulation
- Appreciation
- Appreciation / Depreciation
- Asymmetric information
- Austerity measuresHL
- AutarkyHL
- Automatic stabilizersHL
- Availability bias
- Average cost (AC)
- Average fixed costs (AFC)
- Average rate of tax
- Average revenue (AR)
- Average variable costs (AVC)
B
- The balance of payments (BOP)
- Balance of payments crisis
- The balance of trade
- Balance of trade in goods
- Balance of trade in services
- Balanced current accountHL
- Bankers’ bank
- Barriers to entry
- Barriers to trade
- Base year
- Behavioural economics
- Benign deflation
- The Better Life Index (BLI)
- A bilateral trade agreement
- A boom
- Bounded rationality
- Bounded rationality theory
- Bounded self-control
- Bounded selfishness
- Break-even position
- Budget deficit
- Business capital
- Business cycle
- Business development loans
C
- Capital
- Capital accountHL
- Capital account balanceHL
- Capital expenditure
- Capital flight
- Capital gains taxes
- Capital goods
- Capital transfersHL
- Carbon tax
- A cartel
- Central bank
- Ceteris paribus
- Ceteris paribus assumption
- A change in quantity demanded
- Change in supply
- Choice architect
- Choice architecture
- A circular economy
- The circular flow of income model
- The claimant count
- Classical economics
- Classical macroeconomics
- Classical view on total production
- A closed economy
- Coefficient of inequality
- Cognitive bias
- Collective consumption good
- Collective self-governance
- Collusive oligopoly
- Command and control regulation and legislation (CAC)
- Command-and-control regulation
- Common access resources
- A common external tariff
- A common market
- Common pool resources
- Community surplus
- Comparative advantageHL
- Competitive supply
- Complements
- Components of aggregate demand
- Composite indicator
- Composite indicators of measuring poverty
- Concentration ratio
- Concept-based learning (CBL)
- Concessional long-term loans
- Conditional aid
- Conditional cash transfers
- Conditional IMF lending
- Conflicting macroeconomic objectives
- Constant opportunity cost
- Constant prices
- The consumer price index (CPI)
- Consumer rationality
- Consumer surplus
- Consumption
- Consumption expenditure
- Contracting out
- A contraction in demand
- Contraction in the quantity supplied
- Contractionary fiscal policy
- Contractionary monetary policy
- Corporate income
- Corporate income tax
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- Corporate taxes
- Corporation taxes
- Corruption
- Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
- Cost-push inflation
- Costs
- Costs of production
- A crawling peg
- Credit control
- Credit items
- Credit ratingHL
- Crowding out
- Currency liquidity
- The current account
- The current account balance
- Current account deficit
- A current account surplusHL
- Current expenditure
- Current prices
- Current transfers
- A customs union
- Cyclical
- Cyclical unemployment
D
- Debit items
- Debt relief
- Debt rescheduling
- Debt servicing costsHL
- The debt to GDP ratio
- Debt trap
- Deciles
- Decrease in demand
- Default
- Default choice
- Defaulting on a loan
- Deficit on an account
- Deflation
- Deflationary gap
- Deflationary spiral
- Deforestation
- Deforestation rate
- Degree of income equality
- Demand
- Demand curve
- Demand for a currency
- The demand for money
- Demand is price elasticHL
- Demand is price inelasticHL
- Demand-pull inflation
- A demand-side policy
- Demerit goods
- Depreciation
- Deregulation
- Deregulation of markets
- Desertification
- Determinant of aggregate demand
- Devaluation
- Devaluation / depreciationHL
- Development aid
- The development of a dual economy
- The difference between the IHDI and HDI
- Diminishing marginal returns
- Diminishing marginal utility
- Direct provision
- Direct tax
- Direct taxation
- Discouraged workers
- Discrimination
- Diseconomies of scale
- Disinflation
- Disposable income
- Dispute settlement
- Diversification
- Double-entry
- Dumping
- Durable goods
E
- EAST framework
- Ecological footprint
- Economic costs
- Economic development
- Economic goods
- Economic growth
- Economic inequality
- Economic integration
- Economic models
- Economic sustainability
- An economic system
- Economic thought
- Economically least developed country (ELDC)
- Economies of scale
- Education Index
- Education indicators
- Efficiency
- Elasticity of demand
- Embargoes
- Empirical evidence
- Energy indicators
- Engel curve
- Enterprise
- Environmental indicators
- Environmental sustainability
- Equality
- Equilibrium interest rateHL
- The equilibrium price
- Equity
- Errors and omissions
- Excess demand
- Excess supply
- Excessive bureaucracy
- Exchange controls
- Exchange rates
- Executor of monetary policy
- An expansion in demand
- Expansion in the quantity supplied
- Expansionary fiscal policy
- Expansionary monetary policy
- Expectations
- The expenditure method
- Expenditure-reducing policiesHL
- Expenditure-switching policiesHL
- Explicit costs
- Export competitiveness
- Export promotion
- Export subsidiesHL
- Exports
- External balance
- External debt
- External economies of scale
- Externalities
F
- Factor endowment
- Factor immobility
- Factor income
- Factors of production
- Federal poverty level (FPL)
- Female labour market participation rate
- The female participation rate
- The financial accountHL
- Financial bailouts
- Fines
- Finite resources
- Firms
- Fiscal policy
- Fixed costs
- A fixed exchange rate system
- Floating exchange rate
- For a country to be operating on its PPC
- Foreign aid
- Foreign currency reserves
- Foreign direct investment (FDI)
- Foreign exchange
- Formal sector employment
- Framing bias
- Free goods
- The free market economy
- The free rider problem
- A free trade area (FTA)
- Freely floating exchange rate systemHL
- Frictional unemployment
- Full employment
- Full-employment output
G
- Game theory
- The GDP deflator
- GDP per capita
- GDP/GNI per capita
- The gender gapHL
- Gender Inequality Index (GII)
- Geographical immobility
- Gini coefficient
- Gini coefficient calculationHL
- Globalization
- GNI per capita
- Goldilocks effect
- Goods
- Government
- The government budget
- Government debtHL
- Government failureHL
- Government interventionHL
- Government securitiesHL
- Government spending
- Government’s bank
- The gradient of the PPC
- Grants
- Green GDP
- Gross domestic product (GDP)
- Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF)
- Gross national income (GNI)
- Growth
H
- The Happiness Index
- The Happy Planet Index (HPI)
- Health indicators
- Heavily indebted poor country (HIPC)
- Herfindahl Index
- Hidden or shadow economy
- Hidden unemployment
- Homogeneous products
- Horizontal section of the Keynesian AS curve
- Households
- Human capital
- Human capital formation
- Human Development Index (HDI)
- Humanitarian aid
- Hyperinflation
- Hypothesis
I
- Impact time lags
- Imperfect information
- Implicit costs
- Import substitution
- Imports
- Incentive
- Incentive-related policies
- Income
- The income effect
- Income elastic demand
- Income elasticity of demand (YED)
- Income elasticity of demand, or YED
- Income inelastic demand
- Income inequality
- The income method
- Increasing opportunity cost
- Indebtedness
- Indirect taxation
- Indirect taxes
- Industrial policies
- Inequality
- Inequality of opportunity
- Inequality of outcomes
- The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)
- Infant industries
- Infant mortality
- Inferior goods
- Inflation
- Inflationary gap
- Inflow / credit
- Informal economy
- Infrastructure
- Injection
- Institutional framework
- Institutions
- Intellectual property rights
- Interdependence
- Interest
- Interest rates
- Internal debt
- Internal economies of scale
- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
- The International Development Association (IDA)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- International Poverty Line (IPL)
- International trade
- Intervention
- Interventionist policies
- Interventionist supply-side policies
- Investment
- Investment expenditure
- The invisible hand
- Inward FDI
- Inward foreign direct investment (FDI)
J
K
L
- Labour
- The labour force
- Labour market policies
- Labour union
- Laissez-faire
- Land
- Land rights
- Law of demand
- The law of diminishing marginal returns (DMR)
- The law of diminishing marginal utility
- The law of DMRHL
- Law of supply
- Legislation
- Lender of last resort
- Life expectancy
- Life expectancy at birth
- Limit pricing strategy
- LiquidityHL
- The liquidity trap
- Literacy rates
- Logic
- The long runHL
- The long run aggregate supply curve, or LRAS
- Long run average cost (LRAC)
- The long run Phillips curve (LRPC)
- Lorenz curve
- Loss
- Loss condition
- Loss of national economic sovereignty
- LRAS
- LRAS aggregate supply curve (LRAS)
- Luxuries
M
- Macroeconomic equilibrium
- Macroeconomics
- Malaria
- Malign deflation
- A managed exchange rate
- Mandated choices
- Marginal analysis
- Marginal benefitHL
- Marginal cost (MC)
- Marginal private benefit (MPB)
- Marginal private cost (MPC)
- Marginal propensity to consume (MPC)HL
- Marginal propensity to import (MPM)HL
- Marginal propensity to save (MPS)HL
- Marginal propensity to tax (MPT)HL
- Marginal propensity to withdraw (MPW)HL
- Marginal rate of transformation (MRT)
- Marginal revenue (MR)
- Marginal social benefit (MSB)
- Marginal social cost (MSC)
- Marginal tax rate (MTR)
- Marginal utility
- A market
- Market access
- Market concentration
- Market demandHL
- The market demand curve
- Market disequilibrium
- Market equilibrium
- Market failure
- Market leaders
- Market outputHL
- Market power
- Market share
- Market structure
- Market supply
- Market-based policies
- Market-based supply-side policies
- The Marshall-Lerner conditionHL
- The Marshmallow Test
- Marxism
- Marxist economics
- Material footprint
- Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)
- MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- MDG 2: Achieve universal education
- MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
- MDG 4: Reduce child mortality rates
- MDG 5: Improve maternal health
- MDG 6: Combat major diseases
- MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
- MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development
- Meaning of Say’s law
- Megacity
- Members of a customs unionHL
- Menu costs
- Mercantilism
- Mere nudge
- Merit goods
- Micro-credit
- Microeconomics
- Microfinance
- Minimum efficient scale
- The Minimum Income Standard (MIS)
- The minimum lending rate (MLR)
- Minimum reserve ratio (MRR)
- Minimum wage
- Minimum wage legislation
- Misery index
- A mixed economy
- Mobile banking
- The mobility of factors of production
- Model
- Monetarism
- Monetarist view of LRAS
- Monetary policy
- Monetary union
- Money creation by commercial banksHL
- Money marketHL
- Money supply
- Monopolistic competition
- Monopoly
- A moral hazard
- Most favoured nation status (MFN)
- Movement along a supply curve
- Movement along the AD curve
- The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
- Multidimensionally poor
- Multilateral development assistance
- Multilateral development institutions
- A multilateral trade agreement
N
- National expenditure (E)
- National income
- National income accounting
- National output (O)
- The national poverty line
- Nationalization
- Natural capital
- Natural monopoly
- The natural rate of unemployment (NRU)
- Necessities
- Needs
- Negative equity
- Negative externalities
- Negative externalities of production
- Negative multiplier effectHL
- Negative real interest rates
- Net export expenditure
- Net exports
- Net factor income from abroad
- Net FDIHL
- Nominal GDP and nominal GNI
- Nominal GNI
- Nominal gross domestic product (GDP)
- Nominal interest rate
- Non-collusive oligopoly
- Non-concessionary loans
- Non-discrimination
- Non-excludability
- Non-excludable
- Non-governmental organizations
- Non-price determinants of demand
- Non-price determinants of supply
- Non-renewable natural resources
- Non-renewable resources
- Non-rivalrous
- Non-tariff barriers
- Normal goods
- Normal profit
- Normative economics
- Nudge
- Nudge theory
- Nudges are created by choice architectsHL
- Null hypothesis
O
P
- Pareto efficiency
- Peak
- Per capita
- Per capita consumption (PCC)
- Perception nudges
- Perfect competition
- Perfect information
- Perfectly income inelastic
- Perfectly price elastic
- Perfectly price inelastic
- Personal disposable income
- Personal income tax
- PES formula
- Physical capital
- A planned economy
- Points inside and beyond the PPC
- Portfolio investment
- Positive economics
- Positive externalities
- Potential output
- Potential output of the economy
- Poverty
- The poverty cycle
- Poverty line
- Poverty trap
- PPP adjustments
- PPP-adjusted exchange rate
- A preferential trade agreement (PTA)
- Price
- Price ceiling
- Price competition
- Price controls
- Price discrimination
- Price elastic
- Price elastic demand
- Price elastic supply
- Price elasticity of demand (PED)
- Price elasticity of supply (PES)
- Price elasticity of supply, or PES
- Price floor
- Price inelastic
- Price inelastic demand
- Price inelastic supply
- Price leadership
- Price maker
- Price mechanism
- The price of related goods
- Price rigidity
- Price stability
- Price takers
- Price volatility
- Primary commoditiesHL
- Primary sector
- The primary sector of the economyHL
- Private benefits
- Private costs
- Private good
- The private sector
- Privatization
- Privatization of state-owned enterprises
- Producer surplus
- The production possibility curve (PPC)
- Production subsidies
- Productive efficiency
- Profit
- Profit / Loss
- Profit maximization
- Programme aid
- Progressive tax system
- Progressive taxation
- Progressive taxes
- Project aid
- Property rights
- A proportional tax
- Proportional taxation
- Protectionism
- Provision of information
- Public goods
- Public institutional capital
- The public sector
- Public sector borrowing
- Purchasing power parity (PPP)
- Pure monopoly
- Pure public good
Q
R
- Rational choice theory
- Rational consumer choice
- Rationing function
- Real disposable income
- Real GDP
- Real GDP and real GNI
- Real GDP per capita
- Real GNI
- Real GNI per capita
- Real interest rate
- Real wage unemployment
- A recession
- Recognition time lags
- A recovery
- Redistribution
- Refutation
- A regional trade agreement (RTA)
- Regressive tax
- Regressive taxation
- Regulation
- Relative poverty
- Relative poverty line
- Remittances
- Renewable resources
- Rent
- Rent controls
- Research and development
- Research and development funding
- Reserve assetsHL
- Restricted choices
- Resulting figure
- Retaliation
- Revaluation
- Revenue
- Rivalrous
- Rule of thumb
S
- Safety of government securitiesHL
- Sales revenue
- Satisficing
- Saving
- The savings ratio
- Say’s law
- Scarcity
- Screening
- Seasonal unemployment
- Seasonally adjusted
- Section 1 of the Keynesian AS curve
- Section 2 of the Keynesian AS curve
- Section 3 of the Keynesian AS curve
- Selfishness
- Services
- A shift of the SRAS curve
- Shoe leather costs
- The short runHL
- Short run aggregate supply curve (SRAS)
- Short run average cost (SRAC)
- Short run macroeconomic equilibrium
- The short run Phillips curve (SRPC)
- Short-run aggregate supply (SRAS)
- Shortage
- Signalling
- Signalling function
- Single indicator of development
- A slump
- Social enterprise
- Social surplus
- Social sustainability
- The socially optimum output
- Sole issuer of legal tender
- Sovereign wealth funds (SWF)
- Specific – These taxes
- Speculation
- Stagflation
- The standard of living in an economy
- Sticky downwards
- Sticky wages
- Strategic interdependence
- Structural unemployment
- Subsidies
- Subsidies to domestic producers
- Substitutes
- The substitution effectHL
- Supply
- The supply curve
- Supply is perfectly elasticHL
- Supply is perfectly inelasticHL
- Supply is price elasticHL
- Supply is price inelasticHL
- Supply is price unit elasticHL
- Supply of a currency
- Supply-side policies
- Surge pricing
- A surplus
- Surplus on an account
- Sustainability
- Sustainable development
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Sustainable economic growth
T
- Targeted spending
- Tariffs
- Tax policies
- The tax threshold
- Taxable income
- Taxation
- Taxes
- Temperature anomaly
- Theory
- The theory of crowding outHL
- Tied aid
- Total costs (TC)
- Total fixed costs (TFC)
- Total revenue (TR)
- Total taxHL
- Total utility
- Total variable costs (TVC)
- Tradable permits
- Trade creation
- Trade diversion
- Trade liberalization
- Trade protection
- A trade war
- A trading bloc
- The tragedy of the commons
- Transactions in non-produced, non-financial assetsHL
- Transfer payment
U
- Undercutting
- Underemployment
- An undervalued currency
- Unemployment
- Unemployment benefits
- Unemployment of resources
- The unemployment rate
- Unequal distribution of income
- Unequal distribution of wealth
- Unitary price elastic
- Universal basic income (UBI)
- Unused capacity
- Upward-sloping section of the Keynesian AS curve
- Utilitarian approach
- Utility