P
Perfect complements 完全互补品
Two goods with right-angle indifference curves
Perfect substitutes 完全替代品
Two goods with straight-line indifference curves
Permanent income 持久收入
A person's normal income
Phillips curve 菲利普斯曲线
A curve that shows the short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment
Physical capital 物质资本
The stock of equipment and structures that are used to produce goods and services
Pigovian tax 庇古税
A tax enacted to correct the effects of a negative externality
Positive statements 实证表述
Claims that attempt to describe the world as it is
Poverty line 贫困线
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
Price ceiling 价格上限
A legal maximum on the price at which a good can be sold
Price discrimination 价格歧视
The business practice of selling the same good at different prices to different customers
Price elasticity of demand 需求价格弹性
A measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in the price of that good, computed as a percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price
Price elasticity of supply 供给价格弹性
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 价格下限
A legal minimum on the price at which a good can be sold
Prisoners' dilemma 囚犯的两难处境
A particular 'game' between two captured prisoners that illustrates why cooperation is difficult to maintain even when it is mutually beneficial
Private goods 私人物品
Goods that are both excludable and rival
Private saving 私人储蓄
The income that households have left after paying for taxes and consumption
Producer price index 生产物价指数
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 inputs used to make a good and the quantity of output of that good
Production possibilities frontier 生产可能性边界
A graph that shows the various combinations of output that the economy can possibly produce given the available factors of production and the available production technology
Productivity 生产率
The amount of goods and services produced from each hour of a worker's time; 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 公共物品
Goods that are neither excludable nor rival
Public saving 公共储蓄
The tax revenue that the government has left after paying for its spending
Pareto-efficient allocations 帕雷托有效配置
resource allocations, that cannot make a person better off without making someone else worse off
partial equilibrium analysis 局部均衡分析
an analysis that focuses on only one or a few markets at a time
partnership 合伙制
a business owned by two or more individuals, who share the profits and are jointly liable for any losses
patent 专利
a government decree giving an inventor the exclusive right to produce, use, or sell an invention
paternalism 父爱主义
the making of judgments by government about what is good for people to have, rather than letting people choose on their own
payroll tax 工薪税
a tax based on payroll (wages) that is used to finance the Social Security and Medicare programs
perfect competition 完全竞争
situation in which each firm is a price taker--it cannot influence the market price; at the market price the firm can sell as much as it wishes, but if it raises its price, it loses all sales
perfectly mobile capita 具有完全流动性的资本
capital that responds quickly to changes in returns in different countries
permanent-income hypothesis 永久收入假说
the theory that individuals base their current consumption levels on their permanent (long-run average) income
permanent-income savings motive 永久收入储蓄动机
people save in good years, to tide them over in bad years; they choose their pattern of savings and spending year by year to average or smooth their consumption over good years and bad
piece-rate system 计件工资制度
a compensation system in which workers are paid specifically for each item produced
planned or unplanned inventories 计划或无计划库存
planned inventories are those firms choose to have on hand because they make business more efficient; unplanned inventories result when cannot sell what they produce
policy ineffectiveness 政策无效性命题
the proposition that government policies are ineffective--policies aimed at stimulating aggregate demand at most change the price level
planned economy 计划经济
an economy in which most decisions about resource allocation are made by the government
portfolio theories 资产组合理论
theories that argue that monetary policy affects output through its effect on prices of various assets, in particular the prices of stocks
portfolio 资产组合
an investor's entire collection of assets and liabilities
potential GDP 潜在GDP
a measure of what the value of GDP would be if the economy's resources were fully employed
potential output 潜在产出
the level of output that would prevail if labor were fully employed (output may exceed that level if workers work more than the normal level of overtime)
precautionary savings motive 谨慎储蓄动机
people save to guard against the chance of an unexpected illness or accident
predatory pricing 掠夺性定价
the practice of cutting prices below the marginal costs of production to drive out a new firm (or to deter future entry), at which point prices can be raised again
present discounted value 现期贴现值
how much an amount of money to be received in the future is worth right now
price index 价格指数
a measure of the level of prices found by comparing the cost of a certain basket of goods in one year with that cost in a base year
principal 本金
the original amount a saver deposits in a bank or a borrower borrows
principal-agent problem 所有者—代理人问题
any situation in which one party (the principal) needs to delegate actions to another party (the agent), and thus wishes to provide the agent with incentives to work hard and make decisions about risk that reflects the interests of the principal
private marginal cost 私人边际成本
the marginal cost of production borne by the producer of a good; when there is a negative externality, such as air pollution, private marginal cost is less than social marginal cost
privatization 私有化
the process whereby functions that were formally run by the government are delegated instead to the private sector
product differentiation 产品差异
the fact that similar products (like breakfast cereals or soft drinks) are perceived to differ from one another and thus are imperfect substitutes
product market 产品市场
the market in which goods and services are bought and sold
product-mix efficiency 产品组合效应
the condition in which the mix of goods produced by the economy reflects the preferences of consumers
production efficiency 生产效率
the condition in which firms cannot produce more of some goods without producing less of other goods
productivity (GDP per hour) 生产率/平均每人时的GDP
how much an average worker produces per hour, calculated by dividing real GDP by hours worked in the economy
proprietorship 独资企业
a business owned by a single person, usually a small business
protectionism 保护主义
a policy of protecting domestic industries from foreign-made competition
pure profit (monopoly rents) 纯利润或垄断租金
the profit earned by a monopolist that results from its reducing output and increasing the price from the level at which price equals marginal cost
Q
Quantity demanded 需求量
The amount of a good that buyers are willing and able to purchase
Quantity equation 货币数量方程式
The equation MxV=PxY, which relates the quantity of money, the velocity of money and the dollar value of the economy's output of goods and services
Quantity supplied 供给量
The amount of a good that sellers are willing and able to sell
Quantity theory of money 货币数量论
A theory that asserts that the quantity of money available determines the price level and that the growth rate in the quantity of money available determines the inflation rate; The theory that velocity is constant, so that changes in the money supply lead to proportionale changes in nominal income (which also equals the value of output)
quota rents 配额租金
profits that accrue to firms which are allocated the rights to import a good subject to quotas that result from the artificially created scarcity
quotas 配额
limits on the amount of foreign goods that can be imported
R
Rational expectations 理性预期
The theory according to which people optimally use all the information they have, including information about government policies, when forecasting the future
Real GDP 实际GDP
The production of goods and services valued at constant prices
Real exchange rate 实际汇率
The rate at which a person can trade the goods and services of one country for the goods and services of another
Real interest rate 实际利率
The interest rate corrected for the effects of inflation
Real variables 实际变量
Variables measured in physical units
Recession 衰退
A period of declining real incomes and rising unemployment
Regressive tax 累退税
A tax for which high-income taxpayers pay a smaller fraction of their income than do low-income taxpayers
Reserve ratio 准备金率
The fraction of deposits that banks hold as reserves
Reserve requirements 法定准备金
Regulations on the minimum amount of reserves that banks must hold against deposits
Reserves 准备金
Deposits that banks have received but have not lent out
Rivalness 竞争性
The property of a good that one person's use diminishes other people's use
random walk 随机行走
a term used to describe the way prices of stock move, where the next movement cannot be predicted on the basis of previous movements
rationing systems 配给制
ways of distributing goods that do not rely on prices, such as queues, lotteries, and coupons
real balance effect 实际余额效应
as prices fall, the real value of people's money holdings increases, and they consume more
real business-cycle theorists 实际经济周期理论家
a school of economists who contend that the economy's fluctuations have nothing to do with monetary policy but are determined by real forces
real income 实际收入
income measured by what it can actually buy, rather than by the amount of money
real product wage 实际产品工资
the wage divided by the price of the good being produced
regulatory capture 管制俘虏
a term used to describe a situation in which regulators serve the interests of the regulated rather than the interests of consumers
relative performance compensation 相对表现补偿
pay (compensation) based on performance on the job relative to others who have similar responsibilities and authority
rent seeking 寻租
the name given to behavior that seeks to obtain benefits from favorable government decisions, such as protection from foreign competition
revenue curve 收益曲线
the relationship between a firm's total output and its revenue
revenues 收益
the amount a firm receives for selling its products, equal to the price received multiplied by the quantity sold
right-to-work laws 工作权利法
laws that prevent union membership from being a condition of employment
risk averse / loving / neutral 厌恶风险/喜爱风险/中性风险
given equal expected returns and different risks risk averse people will choose assets with lower risk, risk loving people will choose assets with higher risk, and risk-neutral individuals will not care about differences in risk
risk premium 风险收益
the additional interest required by lenders as compensation for the risk that a borrower may default; more generally, the extra return required to compensate an investor
S
Sacrifice ratio 牺牲率
The number of percentage points of annual output that is lost in the process of reducing inflation by one percentage point
Scarcity 希缺性
The limited nature of society's resources
Shoeleather costs 皮鞋成本
The resources wasted when inflation encourages people to reduce their money holdings
Stagflation 滞胀
A period of falling output and rising prices
Stock 股票
A claim to partial ownership in a firm
Store of value 价值储藏
An item that people can use to transfer purchasing power from the present to the future
Strike 罢工
The organized withdrawal of labor from a firm by a union
Substitutes 替代品
Two goods for which an increase in the price of one good leads to an increase in the demand for the other good
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
Supply curve 供给曲线
A graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied
Supply schedule 供给表
A table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied
screening 筛选
the process of differentiating among job candidates, when there is incomplete information, to determine who will be the most productive
shadow price 影子价格
the true social value of a resource
signaling 信号
conveying information, for example by earning a college-degree, to persuade an employer that a prospective worker has desirable characteristics that will enhance his productivity
slope 斜率
the amount by which the value along the vertical axis increases as a result of a change in a unit along the horizontal axis; the slope is calculated by dividing the change in the vertical axis (the "rise") by the change in the horizontal axis (the "run")
Smith's "invisible hand" 斯密“看不见的手”
the idea that if people act in their own self-interest, they will often also be acting in a broader social interest, as if they had been directed by an "invisible hand"
smoothing consumption 均匀消费
consuming similar amounts in the present and future, rather than letting year-to-year income dictate consumption
social marginal cost 社会边际成本
the marginal cost of production, including the costs of any negative externality, such as air pollution, borne by individuals in the economy other than the producer
socialism 社会主义
an economic system in which the means of production are controlled by the state
soft budget constraints 软预算约束
budget constraints facing a firm in which the government subsidizes any losses
static expectations 静态预期
the belief of individuals that today's prices and wages are likely to continue into the future
sticky prices 粘性价格
prices that do not adjust or only adjust slowly toward a new equilibrium
sticky wages 粘性工资
wages that are slow to adjust in response to a change in labor market conditions
stock statistics 存量统计
measurements of the quantity of a certain item at a certain point in time, such as capital stock, the total value of buildings and machines
sunk cost 沉没成本
a cost that has been incurred and cannot be recovered
supply-constrained equilibrium 供给约束的均衡
the equilibrium that occurs when prices are stuck at a level below that at which aggregate demand equals aggregate supply; in a supply-constrained equilibrium, output is equal to aggregate supply but less than aggregate demand
surplus labor 剩余劳动
a great deal of unemployed or under employed labor, readily available to potential employers
T
Tariff 关税
A tax on goods produced abroad and sold domestically
Tax incidence 税收归宿
The study of who bears the burden of taxation
Technological knowledge 技术知识
Society's understanding of the best ways to produce goods and services
Theory of liquidity preference 流动偏好理论
Keynes' theory that the interest rate adjusts to bring money supply and money demand into balance
Total cost 总成本
The amount a firm pays to buy the inputs into production
Total revenue 总收益
The amount a firm receives for the sale of its output; 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 贸易余额
The value of a nation's exports minus the value of its imports, also called net exports
Trade deficit 贸易赤字
An excess of imports over exports
Trade policy 贸易政策
A government policy that directly influences the quantity of goods and services that a country imports or exports
Trade surplus 贸易盈余
An excess of exports over imports
Tragedy of the Commons 公用地悲剧
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
tacit collusion 暗中勾结
collusive behavior among the firms of an oligpoly based on an implicit understanding that it is in each firm's best interest not to compete too vigourously; they tacitly understand that it is undesirable to undercut each others' prices, but there is no open discussion about price fixing
takeover 收购
when one management team (one firm) takes over the control of another
target savings motive 目标储蓄动机
people save for a particular target, for example to make a down payment on a house or to pay college tuition
tax expenditures 税收支出
the revenue lost from a tax subsidy
tax-favored assets
the return on these assets receives favorable tax treatment, such as tax-exempt municipal bonds
tax subsidies 税收补贴
subsidies provided through the tax system to particular industries or to particular expenditures, in the form of favorable tax treatment
technological risks 技术风险
risks facing a firm associated with technology, such as whether a new technology will work or be reliable
theorem 定理
a logical proposition that follows from basic definitions and assumptions
theory 理论
a set of assumptions and the conclusions derived from those assumptions put forward as an explanation for some phenomena
thin markets 薄弱市场
markets with relatively few buyers and sellers
tie-ins 搭售
a restrictive practice in which a customer who buys one product must buy another
time constraints 时间约束
the limitations on consumption of different goods imposed by the fact that households have only a limited amount of time to spend (twenty-four hours a day). The time constraint defines the opportunity set of individuals if the only constraint that they face is time
time value of money 货币的时间价值
the fact that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future is called the time value of money
total factor productivity analysis 总生产要素分析
the analysis of the relationship between output and the aggregate of all inputs; total factor productivity growth is calculated as the difference between the rate of growth of output and the weighted average rate of growth of inputs, where the weight associated with each input is its share in GDP
trade creation 贸易创造
new trade that is generated as a result of lowered tariff barriers
trade diversion 贸易多样化
trade that is diverted away from outside countries as a result of lowering tariffs between the members of a trading bloc
trade-offs 交易
the amount of one good (or one desirable objective) that must be given up to get more of another good (or to attain more of another desirable objective)
trade secret 商业秘密
an innovation or knowledge of a production process that a firm does not disclose to others
trading blocs 商业集团
groups of countries that agree to lower trade and other economic barriers among themselves
traditional monetary theory 传统货币理论
the theory (first developed by John Maynard Keynes, and therefore sometimes referred to as Keynesian monetary theory) that the nominal interest rate is the opportunity cost of holding money, that the demand for money decreases as the interest rate rises, and that the interest rate is determined to equate the demand and supply of money
transactions demand for money 货币的交易需求
the demand for money arising from its use in buying goods and services
transfer programs 转移支付计划
programs directly concerned with redistribution, such as AFDC and Medicaid, that move money from one group in society to another
transplants 移植
plants constructed in one country by firms based in another. U.S. factories producing Mazdas and Toyotas are Japanese transplants
Treasury bills (T-bills) 短期国库券
bills the government sells in return for a promise to pay a certain amount in a short period, usually less than 180 days
trough 波谷
the bottom of a recession
trusts 信托公司
organizations that attempted to control certain markets in the late nineteenth century; they were designed to allow an individual or group owning a small fraction of the total industry to exercise control
two-tier wage system 双重工资系统
wage systems in which newly hired workers are paid lower wages than established workers are paid
U
Unemployment insurance 失业保险
A government program that partially protects workers' incomes when they become unemployed
Unemployment rate 失业率
The percentage of the labor force that is not employed
Union 工会
A worker association that bargains with employers over wages and working conditions
Unit of account 计价单位
The yardstick with which people 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
union shops 工会化企业
unionized firms in which all workers are required to join the union as a condition of employment
utility possibilities curve效用可能性曲线
a curve showing the maximum level of utility that one individual can attain, given the level of utility attained by others
V
Value of the marginal product 边际产量价值
The marginal product of an input times the price of the output
Variable costs 可变成本
Cost that do vary with the quantity of output produced
Velocity of money 货币流通速度
The rate at which money changes hands
Vertical equity 纵向公平
The idea that taxpayers with a greater ability to pay taxes should pay larger amounts
variable inputs 可变投入
inputs that rise or fall with the quantity of output
velocity 流通速度
the speed with which money circulates in the economy, defined as the ratio of income to the money supply
vertical merger 纵向兼并
a merger between two firms, one of which is a supplier or distributor for the other
voluntary unemployment 自愿失业
a situation in which workers voluntarily drop out of the labor force when the wage level falls
voting paradox 投票悖论
the fact that under some circumstances there may be no determinate outcome with majority voting: choice A wins a majority over B, B wins over C, and C wins over A
W
Welfare economics 福利经济学
The study of how the allocation of resources affects economic well-being
Willingness to pay 支付意愿
The maximum amount that a buyer will pay for a good
World price 世界价格
The price of a good that prevails in the world market for that good
wage discrimination 工资歧视
paying lower wages to women or minorities
wage-productivity curve 工资—生产率曲线
the curve that depicts the relationship between wages and productivity
wholesale price index 批发价格指数
a price index that measures the average level of wholesale prices
work sharing 工作分摊
reducing all employees' hours by equal amounts rather than firing some workers
World Trade Organization (WTO) 世界贸易组织
the organization established in 1995, as a result of the Uruguay round of trade negotiations, replacing GATT, designed to remove trade barriers and settle trade disputes
Z
zero elasticity 零弹性
a demand (or supply) curve has zero elasticity if the quantity demanded (or supplied) does not change at all if price changes; the demand (supply) curve is vertical