经济学名词解释（英文）

Accounting profit会计利润: Total revenue minus total explicit cost

Ability-to-pay principle能力支付原则: The idea that taxes should be levied on a person according to how well that person can shoulder the burden Absolute advantage绝对优势: The comparison among producers of a good according to their productivity

Adverse selection逆向选择: The tendency for the mix of unobserved attributes to become undesirable from the standpoint of an uninformed party

Agent代理人: A person who is performing an act for another person, called the principal

Aggregate-demand curve: a curve that shows the quantity of goods and services that households, firms, and the government want to buy at each price level

Aggregate risk: risk that affects all economic actors at once

Aggregate-supply curve: a curve that shows the quantity of goods and services that firms choose to produce and sell at each price level

Appreciation: an increase in the value of a currency as measured by the amount of foreign currency it can buy

Arrow’s impossibility theorem阿罗不可能定理: A mathematical result showing that, under certain assumed conditions, there is no scheme for aggregating individual preferences into a valid set of social preferences Average fixed cost平均固定成本: Fixed costs divided by the quantity of output

Average revenue平均收益: Total revenue divided by the quantity sold Average tax rate平均税率: Total taxes paid divided by total income Average total cost平均总成本: Total cost divided by the quantity of output Average variable cost平均可变成本: Variable costs divided by the quantity of output

Automatic stabilizers: changes in fiscal policy that stimulate aggregate demand when the economy goes into a recession without policymakers having to take any deliberate action

Balance trade: a situation in which exports equal imports

Benefits principle受益原则: The idea that people should pay taxes based on the benefits they receive from government services Bond: a certificate of indebtedness

Budget constraint预算约束: The limit on the consumption bundles that a consumer can afford

Budget deficit预算赤字: An excess of government spending over government receipts

Budget surplus预算盈余: An excess of government receipts over government spending

Business cycle经济周期: Fluctuations in economic activity, such as employment and production

Capital资产: The equipment and structures used to produce goods and services

Capital flight: a large and sudden reduction in the demand for assets located

in a country

Cartel 卡特尔: A group of firms acting in unison

Catch-up effect: the property whereby countries that start off poor tend to grow more rapidly that countries that start off rich

Central bank: an institution designed to oversee the banking system and regulate the quantity of money in the economy

Circular-flow diagram循环流向图: A visual model of the economy that shows how dollars flow through markets among households and firms Closed economy: an economy that does not interact with other economies in the world

Collective bargaining: the process by which unions and firms agree on the terms of employment

Commodity money: money that takes the form of a commodity with intrinsic value

Coase theorem科斯定理: The proposition that if private parties can bargain without cost over the allocation of resources, they can solve the problem of externalities on their own

Collusion共谋: An agreement among firms in a market about quantities to produce or prices to charge

Common resources共同资源: Goods that are rival but not excludable Comparative advantage比较优势: The comparison among producers of a good according to their opportunity cost

Compensating differential补偿性工资差别: A difference in wages that

arises to offset the nonmonetary characteristics of different jobs

Competitive market竞争性市场: A market with many buyers and sellers trading identical products so that each buyer and seller is a price taker Complements互补性商品: Two goods for which an increase in the price of one leads to a decrease in the demand for the other

Condorcet paradox: the failure of majority rule to produce transitive preferences for society

Compounding: the accumulation of a sum of money in, say, a bank account, where the interest earned remains in the account to earn additional interest in the future

Constant returns to scale规模报酬不变: The property whereby long-run average total cost stays the same as the quantity of output

Consumer price index (CPI): a measure of the overall cost of the goods and services bought by a typical consumer

Consumer surplus消费者剩余: A buyer’s willingness to pay minus the amount the buyer actually pays

Consumption: spending by households on goods and services, with the exception of purchases of new housing

Cost成本: The value of everything a seller must give up producing a good Cost-benefit analysis成本收益分析: A study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public good

Crowding out: a decrease in investment that results from government borrowing

Crowding-out effect: the offset in aggregate demand that results when expansionary fiscal policy raise the interest rate and thereby reduces investment spending

Cross-price elasticity of demand需求的交叉价格弹性: A measure of how much the quantity demanded of one good responds to a change in the price of another good, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded of the first good divided by the percentage change in the price of the second good

Currency: the paper bills and coins in the hands of the public

Cyclical unemployment: the deviation of unemployment from a market distortion, such as a tax

Deadweight loss无谓损失: The fall in total surplus that results from a market distortion, such as a tax

Demand curve需求曲线: A graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded

Demand deposits: balances in bank accounts that depositors can access on demand by writing a check

Demand schedule需求表: A table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded

Depreciation: a decrease in the value of a currency as measured by the amount of foreigh currency it can buy Depression: a severe recession

Diminishing marginal product边际产品递减: The property whereby the

marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases Discrimination歧视: The offering of different opportunities to similar individuals who differ only by race, ethnic group, sex, age, or other personal characteristics

Diseconomies of scale规模不经济: The property whereby long-run average total cost rises as the quantity of output increases

Discount rate: the interest rate on the loans that the Fed makes to banks Discouraged workers: individuals who would like to work but have given up looking for job

Diversification: the reduction of risk achieved by replacing a single risk with a large number of smaller unrelated risks

Dominant strategy占优策略: A strategy that is best for a player in a game regardless of the strategies chosen by the other players

Economic profit经济利润: Total revenue minus total cost, including both explicit and implicit costs

Economics经济学: The study of how society manages its scarce resources Economies of scale规模经济: The property whereby long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases

Efficiency效率: The property of society getting the most it can from its scarce resources

Efficiency wages效率工资: Above-equilibrium wages paid by firms in order to increase worker productivity

Efficient scale: the quantity of output that minimizes average total cost

Elasticity: a measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded or quantity supplied to one of its determinants

Equilibrium: a situation in which the price has reached the level where quantity supplied equals quantity demanded

Equilibrium price: the price that balances quantity supplied and quantity demanded

Equilibrium quantity: the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded at the equilibrium price

Equity: the property of distributing economic prosperity fairly among the members of society

Excludability: the property of a good whereby a person can be prevented from using it

Explicit costs: input costs that require an outlay of money by the firm Export: goods produced domestically and sold abroad

Externality: the uncompensated impact of one person’s actions on the wellbeing of a bystander

Factors of production: the inputs used to produce goods and services Federal reserve (Fed) : the central bank of the united states

Fiat money: money without intrinsic value that is used as money because of government decree

Finance: the field that studies how people make decisions regarding the allocation of resources over time and the handling of risk

Financial intermediaries: financial institutions through which savers can

indirectly provide funds to borrowers

Financial markets: financial institutions through which savers can directly provide funds to borrowers

Financial system: the group of institutions in the economy that help to match one person’s saving with another person’s investment

Fisher effect: the one-for-one adjustment of the nominal interest rate to the inflation rate

Fractional-reserve banking: a banking system in which banks hold only a fraction of deposits as reserves

Frictional unemployment: unemployment that results because it takes time for workers to search for the jobs that best suit their tastes and skills Fundamental analysis: the study of a company’s accounting statements and future prospects to determine its value

Future value: the amount of money in the future that an amount of money today will yield, given prevailing interest rates

Fixed costs: costs that do not vary with the quantity of output produced Free rider: a person who receives the benefit of a good but avoids paying for it

Game theory: the study of how people behave in strategic situations GDP deflator: a measure of the price level calculated as the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP times 100

Government purchases: spending on goods and services by local, state, and federal governments

Gross domestic product GDP: the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time

Horizontal equity: the idea that taxpayers with similar abilities to pay taxes should pay the same amount

Human capital: the accumulation of investment in people, such as education and on-the-job training

Idiosyncratic risk: risk that affects only a single economic actor

Implicit costs: input costs that do not require an outlay of money by the firm Import quota: a limit on the quantity of a good that can be produced abroad and sold domestically

Imports: goods produced abroad and sold domestically

Income effect: the change in consumption that results when a price change moves the consumer to a higher or lower indifference curve

Income elasticity of demand: a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in consumers’ income, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in income

Indexation: the automatic correction of a dollar amount for the effects of inflation by law or contract

Indifference curve: a curve that shows consumption bundles that give the consumer the same level of satisfaction

Inferior good: a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to a decrease in demand

Inflation: an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy

Inflation rate: the percentage change in the price index from the preceding period

Inflation tax: the revenue the government raises by creating money Informationally efficient: reflecting all available information in a rational way In-kind transfers: transfers to the poor given in the form of goods and services rather than cash

Internalizing an externality: altering incentives so that people take account of the external effects of their actions

Investment: spending on capital equipment, inventories, and structures, including household purchases of new housing

Job search: the process by which workers find appropriate jobs given their tastes and skills

labor force: the total number of workers, including both the employed and the unemployed

Labor-force participation rate: the percentage of the adult population that is in the labor force

Law of demand: the claim that, other things equal, the quantity demanded of a good falls when the price of the good rises

Law of supply: the claim that, other things equal, the quantity supplied of a good rises when the price of the good rises

Law of supply and demand: the claim that the price of any good adjusts to bring the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded for that good into

balance

Liberalism: the political philosophy according to which the government should choose policies deemed to be just, as evaluated by an impartial observe behind a “veil of ignorance”

Libertarianism: the political philosophy according to which the government should punish crimes and enforce voluntary agreements but not redistribute income

Life cycle: the regular pattern of income variation over a person’s life Liquidity: the ease with which an asset can be converted into the economy’s medium of exchange

Lump-sum tax: a tax that is the same amount for every person

Macroeconomics: the study of economy-wide phenomena, including inflation, unemployment, and economic growth

Marginal changes: small incremental adjustments to a plan of action Marginal cost: the increase in total cost that arises from an extra unit of production

Marginal product: the increase in output that arises from an additional unit of input

Marginal product of labor: the increase in the amount of output from an additional unit of labor

Marginal rate of substitution: the rate at which a consumer is willing to trade one good for another

Marginal revenue: the change in total revenue from an additional unit sold

Marginal tax rate: the extra taxes paid on an additional dollar of income Market: a group of buyers and sellers of a particular good or services Market economy: an economy that allocates resources through the decentralized decisions of many firms and households as they interact in markets for goods and services

Market failure: a situation in which a market left on its own fails to allocate resources efficiently

Market for loanable funds: the market in which those who want to save supply funds and those who want to borrow to invest demand funds Market power: the ability of a single economic actor (or small group of actors) to have a substantial influence on market prices

Maximin criterion: the claim that the government should aim to maximize the well-being of the worst-off person in society

Median voter theorem: a mathematical result showing that if voters are choosing a point along a line and each voter wants the point closest to his most preferred point, then majority rule will pick the most preferred point of the median voter

Menu cost: the costs of changing prices

Microeconomics: the study of how households and firms make decisions and how they interact in markets

Model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply: the model that most economists use to explain short-run fluctuations in economic activity around its long-run trend

Monetary neutrality: the proposition that changes in the money supply do not affect real variables

Monetary policy: the setting of the money supply by policymakers in the central bank

Money: the set of assets in an economy that people regularly use to buy goods and services from other people

Money multiplier: the amount of money the banking system generates with each dollar of reserves

Money supply: the quantity of money available in the economy

monopolistic competition: market structures in which many firms sell products that are similar but not identical

Monopoly: a firm that is the sole seller of a product without close substitutes

Moral hazard: the tendency of a person who is imperfectly monitored to engage in dishonest or otherwise undesirable behavior

Multiplier effect: the additional shifts in aggregate demand that result when expansionary fiscal policy increases income and thereby increases consumer spending

Mutual fund: an institution that sells shares to the public and uses the proceeds to buy a portfolio of stocks and bonds

Nash equilibrium: a situation in which economic actors interacting with one another each choose their best strategy given the strategies that all the more firms

National saving: the total income in the economy that remains after paying for consumption and government purchases

Natural-rate hypothesis: the claim that unemployment eventually returns to its normal, or natural, rate, regardless of the rate of inflation

Natural rate of unemployment: the normal rate of unemployment around which the unemployment rate fluctuates

Natural resources: the inputs into the production of goods and services that are provided by nature, such as land, rivers, and mineral deposits

Negative income tax: a tax system that collects revenue from high-income households and gives transfers to low-income households

Net capital outflow: the purchases of foreign assets by domestic residents minus the purchases of domestic assets by foreigners

Net exports: the value of a nation’s exports minus the value of its imports; also called the trade balance

Nominal GDP: the production of goods and services valued at current prices Nominal interest rate: the interest rate as usually reported without a correction for the effects of inflation

Nominal variables: variables measured in monetary units

Normal good: a good for which, other things equal, an increase in income leads to an increase in demand

Normative statement: claims that attempt to prescribe how the world should be

Oligopoly: a market structure in which only a few sellers offer similar or

identical products

Open economy: an economy that interacts freely with other economies around the world

Open-market operations: the purchase and sale of U.S. government bonds by the Fed

Opportunity cost: whatever must be given up to obtain some item Perfect complement: two goods with right-angle indifference curves Perfect substitutes: two goods with straight-line indifference curves Permanent income: a person’s normal income

Phillips curve: a curve that shows the short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment

Physical capital: the stock of equipment and structures that are used to produce goods and services

Positive statements: claims that attempt to describe the world as It is Pigovian tax: a tax enacted to correct the effects of a negative externality Positive statements: claims that attempt to describe the world as it is Poverty line: an absolute level of income set by the federal government for each family size below which a family is deemed to be in poverty

Poverty rate贫困率: The percentage of the population whose family income falls below an absolute level called the poverty line

Present value: the amount of money today that would be needed to produce, using prevailing interest rates, a given future amount of money Price ceiling: a legal maximum on the price at which a good can be sold

Price discrimination: the business practice of selling the same good at different prices to different customers

Price elasticity of demand: a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price

Price elasticity of supply: a measure of how much the quantity supplied of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as the percentage change in quantity supplied divided by the percentage change in price

Price floor: a legal minimum on the price at which a good can be sold Principal: a person for whom another person, called the agent, is performing some act

Prisoners’ dilemma: a particular “game” between two captured prisoners that illustrates why cooperation is difficult to maintain even when it is mutually beneficial

Private saving: the income that households have left after paying for taxes and consumption

Private goods: goods that are both excludable and rival

Producer price index: a measure of the cost of a basket of goods and services bought by firms

Producer surplus生产者剩余: the amount a seller is paid for a good minus the seller’s cost

Production function生产函数: the relationship between quantity of input used to make a good and the quantity of output of that good

Production possibilities frontier: a graph that shows the combinations of output that the economy can possibly produce given the available factors of production and the available production technology

Productivity: the quantity of goods and services produced from each hour of a worker’s time

Profit 利润: Total revenue minus total cost

Progressive tax累进税: a tax for which high-income taxpayers pay a larger fraction of their income than do low-income taxpayers

Proportional tax比例税: a tax for which high-income and low-income taxpayers pay the same fraction of income

Public goods: goods that are neither excludable nor rival

Public saving: the tax revenue that the government has left after paying for its spending

Quantity demanded: the amount of a good that buyers are willing and able to purchase

Quantity supplied: the amount of a good that sellers are willing and able to sell

Random walk: the path of a variable whose changes are impossible to predict

Rational expectations: the theory according to which people optimally use all the information they have, including information about government

policies, when forecasting the future

Real exchange rate: the rate at which a person can trade the goods and services of one country for the goods and services of another

Real GDP: the production of goods and services valued at constant prices Real interest rate: the interest rate corrected for the effects of inflation Real variables: variables measured in physical units

Recession: a period of declining real incomes and rising unemployment Reserve ratio: the fraction of deposits that banks hold as reserves

Reserve requirements: regulations on the minimum amount of reserves that banks must hold against deposits

Regressive tax累退税: a tax for which high-income taxpayers pay a smaller fraction of their income than do low-income taxpayers

reserves: deposits that banks have received but have not loaned out Risk averse: exhibiting a dislike of uncertainty

Rivalry竞争: the property of a good whereby one person’s use diminishes other people’s use Sacrifice ratio: the number of percentage points of annual output lost in the process of reducing inflation by 1 percentage point

Scarcity稀缺性: the limited nature of society’s resources

Screening筛选: an action taken by an uninformed party to induce an informed party to reveal information

Shoeleather costs: the resources wasted when inflation encourages people to reduce their money holdings

Shortage: a situation in which quantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied

Signaling信号显示: an action taken by an informed party to reveal private information to an uninformed party

Stagflation: a period of falling output and rising prices Stock: a claim to partial ownership in a firm

Store of value: an item that people can use to transfer purchasing power from the present to the future

Strike: the organized withdrawal of labor from a firm by a union

Substitutes替代品: two goods for which an increase in the piece of one leads to an increase in the demand for the other

Substitution effect替代效应: the change in consumption that results when a price change moves the consumer along a given indifference curve to a point with a new marginal rate of substitution

Sunk cost沉淀成本: a cost that has already been committed and cannot be recovered

Supply curve: a graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied

Supply schedule: a table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied

Supply shock: an event that directly alters firms’ costs and prices, shifting the economy’s aggregate-supply curve and thus the Phillips curve

Surplus过剩: a situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity

demanded

Tariff关税: a tax on goods produced abroad and sold domestically

Tax incidence税收归宿: the manner in which the burden of a tax is shared among participants in a market

Technological knowledge: society’s understanding of the best ways to produce goods and services

Total cost: the market value of the inputs a firm uses in production Total revenue: the amount a firm receives for the sale of its output

Total revenue (in a market): the amount paid by buyers and received by sellers of a good, computed as the price of the good times the quantity sold Trade balance: the value of a nation’s exports minus the value of its imports; also called net exports

Trade deficit: an excess of imports over exports

Trade policy: a government policy that directly influences the quantity of goods and services that a country imports or exports Trade surplus: an excess of exports over imports

Tragedy of the commons公共地的悲剧: a parable that illustrates why common resources get used more than is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole

Transaction costs交易成本: the costs that parties incur in the process of agreeing and following through on a bargain

Unemployment rate: the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed Unemployment insurance: a government program that partially protects

worker’s income when they become unemployed

Union: a worker association that bargains with employers over wages and working conditions

Unit of account 计价单位: the yardstick people use to post prices and record debts

Utilitarianism功利主义: the political philosophy according to which the government should choose policies to maximize the total utility of everyone in society

Utility效用: a measure of happiness or satisfaction

Value of the marginal product边际产品价值: the marginal product of an input times the price of the output

Variable costs: costs that vary with the quantity of output produced Velocity of money 货币流通速度: the rate at which money changes Vertical equity纵向公平: the idea that taxpayers with a greater ability to pay taxes should pay larger amounts

Welfare: government programs that supplement the incomes of the needy Welfare economics福利经济学: the study of how the allocation of resources affects economic well-being

Willingness to pay支付愿意: the maximum amount that buyer will pay for a good

World price: the price of a good that prevails in the world market for that good

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