the system in which central government bureaucrats (as opposed to private entrepreneurs or even local government bureaucrats) determine what will be produced an how it will be produced
 
centralization 集權
organizational structure in which decision making is concentrated at the top
 
centrally planned economy 中央計劃經濟
an economy in which most decisions about resource allocation are made by the central government
 
certificate of deposit (CD) 存單
account in which money is deposited for a preset length of time, that must yield a slightly higher return to compensate for the reduced liquidity
 
circular flow 循環流程
how funds move through the capital, labor, and product markets between households, firms, the government, and the foreign sector
 
classical economists 古典經濟學家
economists prevalent before the Great Depression who believed that the basic competitive model provided a good description of the economy and that if short periods of unemployment did occur, market forces would quickly restore the economy to full employment
 
classical unemployment 古典失業
unemployment that results from too-high real wages; it occurs in the supply constrained equilibrium, so that rightwards shifts in aggregate supply reduce the level of unemployment
 
competitive equilibrium price 競爭性均衡價格
the price at which the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded are equal to each other
 
consumer protection legislation 消費者保護法
laws aimed at protecting consumers, for instance by assuring that consumers have more complete information about items they are considering buying
 
consumer sovereignty 消費者權益
the principle that holds that each individual is the best judge of what makes him better off
 
consumption function 消費函數
the relationship between disposable income and consumption
 
contingency clauses 應變條款
statements within a contract that make the level of payment or the work to be performed conditional upon various factors
 
corporate income tax 公司所得稅
a tax based on the income, or profit, received by a corporation
 
correlation 相關
relationship that results when a change in one variable is consistently associated with a change in another one
 
cost-push inflation 成本推動型通貨膨脹
inflation whose initial cause is a rise in production costs
 
Cournot competition 古諾競爭
an oligopoly in which each firm believes that its rivals are committed to a certain level of production and that rivals will reduce their prices as needed to sell that amount
 
credentials competition 文憑競爭
the trend in which prospective workers acquire higher educational credentials, not so much because of anything they actually learn in the process but to convince potential employers to hire them by signaling that they will be more productive employees than those with weaker credentials
 
credit constraint effect 信貸約束效應
when prices fall, firms' revenues also fall, but the money they owe creditors remains unchanged; as a result, firms have fewer funds of their own to invest. Because of credit rationing, firms cannot make up the difference; accordingly, investment decreases
 
credit rationing 信貸配給
credit is rationed when no lender is willing to make a loan to a borrower or the amount lenders are willing to lend to borrowers is limited, even if the borrower is willing to pay more than other borrowers of comparable risk who are getting loans
 
cross subsidization 交叉補貼
the practice of charging higher prices to one group of consumers in order to subsidize lower prices for another group
 
D
 
Deadweight loss 無謂損失
The reduction in total surplus that results from a tax
 
Demand curve 需求曲線
A graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded
 
Demand deposits 活期存款
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 貶值
A decrease in the value of a currency as measured by the amount of foreign currency it can buy
 
Depression 蕭條
A severe recession
 
Diminishing marginal product 邊際產量遞減
The property whereby the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases
The property that the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases
 
Diminishing returns 收益遞減
The property that the benefit from an extra unit of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases
 
Discount rate 貼現率
The interest rate on the loans that the Fed makes to banks
 
Discouraged workers 喪失信心的工人
Individuals who would like to work but have given up looking for a job
 
Discrimination 歧視
The offering of different opportunities to similar individuals who differ only by race, ethnic group, sex, age, or other personal characteristics
 
Diseconomies of scale 規模不經濟
The property that long-run average total cost rises as the quantity of output increases
 
Dominant strategy 優勢戰略
A strategy that is best for a player in a game regardless of the strategies chosen by the other players
 
debt 債務
capital, such as bonds and bank loans, supplied to a firm by lenders; the firm promises to repay the amount borrowed with interest
 
decentralization 分權化
organizational structure in which many individuals or subunits can make decisions
 
decision tree 決策樹
a device for structured decision making that spells out the choices and possible consequences of alternative actions
 
deficit spending 赤字支出
the situation that exists when government expenditures are greater than revenues
 
deflation 通貨緊縮
a persistent decrease in the general level of prices
 
demand-constrained equilibrium 受需求約束的平衡
the equilibrium that occurs when prices are stuck at a level above that at which aggregate demand equals aggregate supply at the current price level
 
demand-pull inflation 需求拉動型通貨膨脹
inflation whose initial cause is aggregate demand exceeding aggregate supply at the current price level
 
demographic effects 人口效應
effects that arise from changes in characteristics of the population such as age, birthrates, and location
 
deregulation 放松管制
the lifting of government regulations to allow the market to function more freely
 
devaluation 貶值
a reduction in the rate of exchange between one currency and other currencies under a fixed exchange rate system
 
developed countries 發達國家或工業化國家
the wealthiest nations in the world, including Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand
 
diminishing marginal utility 邊際效用遞減
the principle that says that as an individual consumes more and more of a good, each successive unit increases her utility, or enjoyment, less and less
 
dividends 股息
that portion of corporate profits paid out to shareholders
 
downward rigidity of wages 工資下降剛性
the situation that exists when wages do not fall quickly in response to a shift in the demand or supply curve for labor, resulting in an excess supply of labor
 
dual economy 二元經濟
the separation in many LDCs between an impoverished rural sector and an urban sector that has higher wages and more advanced technology
 
duopoly 雙頭壟斷
an industry with only two firms
 
durable goods 耐用品
goods that provide a service over a number of years, such as cars, major appliances, and furniture
 
dynamic consistency 動態一致性
a policy is said to have dynamic consistency when government announces a course of action and then has the incentives to actually carry out that policy
 
E
 
Economics 經濟學
The study of how society manages its scarce resources
 
Economies of scale 規模經濟
The property that long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases
 
Efficiency 效率
The property of a resource allocation of maximizing the total surplus received by all members of society; The property of society getting the most it can from its scarce resources
 
Efficiency wages 效率工資
Above-equilibrium wages paid by firms in order to increase worker productivity
 
Efficient scale 有效規模
The quantity of output that minimizes average total cost
 
Elasticity 彈性
A measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded or quantity supplied to one of its determinants
 
Equilibrium 均衡
A situation in which supply and demand have been brought into balance
 
Equilibrium price 均衡價格
The price that balances supply and demand
 
Equilibrium quantity 均衡數量
The quantity supplied and the quantity demanded when the price has adjusted to balance supply and demand
 
Equity 平等
The fairness of the distribution of well-being among the various buyers and sellers; The property of distributing economic prosperity fairly among the members of society