Category Archives: Economics

Articles about economics – covering personal, national and global economic topics

What is Economics?

Definition “Economics” is often called the Dismal Science – it studies the trade-offs between making choices. The purpose of economics is to look at the different incentives, assets, and choices facing people, businesses, schools, and governments, and see if there is any way to improve outcomes. This is done by looking at how supply and Read More…
Categories: A - G, Economics

Price Controls

Definition “Price Controls” are artificial limits that are put on prices. If the limit is put in place to prevent prices from getting too high, they are called Ceilings. If they are in place to prevent the price from getting too low, they are called “Floors”. Price Ceilings Price Ceilings are controls put in place Read More…
Categories: Economics, N - T

The Business Cycle

What Is The Business Cycle? The Business Cycle is the broad, over-stretching cycle of expansion and recession in an economy. The Business Cycle is concerned with many things – unemployment, industrial expansion, inflation rates, but the most important indicator is GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth. Below you can see a graph of the GDP growth Read More…
Categories: A - G, Economics

Types of Companies

Have you ever wanted to start a business? Maybe you want to know the difference between a lemonade stand and Minute-Maid, besides just the size of the companies. Different types of companies have different levels of liability (meaning level of responsibility) for the owner or owners. What this means is that the more liability an owner has, Read More…
Categories: Economics

Major Economic Indicators

Definition “Major Economic Indicators” are numbers that you can look at to try to get a picture of how well the economy is doing. Different indicators measure different parts of the economy, but their main characteristic is that they measure the same thing in the same way over time. This means that you can compare the Read More…
Categories: Economics

Supply and Demand Examples in the Stock Market

The stock market determines prices by constantly-shifting movements in the supply and demand for stocks. The price and quantity where supply are equal is called “Market Equilibrium”, and one major role of stock exchanges is to help facilitate this balance. We can use the stock market to give some great supply and demand examples with Read More…
Categories: Economics

Demand

Definition In Economics, “Demand” is the relationship between prices and how much people want to buy a good or service. Details As the market price of a good goes up, the amount of that good that people are willing to pay generally goes down. This is because each person puts some value on the good – Read More…
Categories: Economics, Glossary, N - T

Supply

Definition In Economics, “Supply” means the relationship between prices and production. In general, the higher the market price of a good or service is, the more producers are willing to sell of it. Details As the market price for a good goes up, companies want to sell more of it to try to make greater profits. Read More…
Categories: Economics, Glossary, N - T

Comparative Economic Systems

Comparing Economic Systems There are many different economic systems that try to result in more equality or faster growth. The structure of a country’s economy has a lot to do with the country’s politics and the values of its population. However, the economy of every country also changes over time, and how it falls between Read More…
Categories: Economics

What is the Federal Reserve?

Definition The Federal Reserve Bank, or the “Fed”, is the central banking system of the United States. It serves as the primary regulator of the US dollar, as well as the “lender of last resort” for other banks. Regulating Currency The Federal Reserve works to maintain the interest rates that banks use to lend money to Read More…
Categories: A - G, Beginners, Economics, Glossary

Inflation

Inflation refers to the general rising of prices for goods and services in the economy, due to an increase in the amount of money and/or credit available.
Categories: Economics, Glossary, H - M