Altering incentives so that people take account of the external effects of their actions
 
Investment 投資
Spending on capital equipment, inventories, and structures, including household purchases of new housing
 
imperfect competition 不完全競爭
any market structure in which there is some competition but firms face downward-sloping demand curves
 
implicit contract 隱含合同
an unwritten understanding between two groups involved in an exchange, such as an understanding between employer and employees that employees will receive a stable wage throughout fluctuating economic conditions
 
import function 進口函數
the relationship between imports and national income
 
incomplete markets 不完全市場
situations in which no market may exist for some good or for some risk, or in which some individuals cannot borrow for some purposes
 
increasing, constant or diminishing returns to scale 規模收益遞增/不變/遞減
when all inputs are increased by a certain proportion, output increases by a greater proportion (also known as economies of scale)
 
indexing 指數化
the formal linking of any payment to a price index
 
individual income tax 個人所得稅
a tax based on the income received by any individual or household
 
infant industry argument for protection 幼稚工業保護論
the argument that industries must be protected from foreign competition while they are young, until they have a chance to acquire the skills to enable them to compete on equal terms
 
infinite elasticity of demand 無限需求彈性
the situation that exists when any amount will be demanded at a particular price, but nothing will be demanded if the price rises even a small amount
 
infinite elasticity of supply 無限供給彈性
situation that exists when any amount will be supplied at a particular price, but nothing will be supplied if the price falls even a small amount
 
inflation tax 通貨膨脹稅
the decrease in buying power (wealth) that inflation imposes on those who hold currency (and other assets, like bonds, the payments for which are fixed in terms of dollars)
 
inflationary spiral 通貨膨脹螺旋
a self-perpetuating system in which price increases lead to higher wages, which lead to further price increases
 
infrastructure 基礎設施
the roads, ports, bridges, and legal system that provide the necessary basis for a working economy
 
insider-outsider theory 局內人—局外人理論
the theory that firms are reluctant to pay new workers (outsiders) a lower wage than current workers (insiders), because current workers will fear beingreplaced by the new log-wage workers and will not participate in cooperating with and training them
 
interest 利息
the return a saver receives in addition to the original amount she deposited, and the amount that a borrower must pay in addition to the original amount she deposited
 
interest rate effect 利率效應
the situation that exists when lower interest rates (resulting from an increase in the money supply, or a fall in the price level) induce firms to invest more
 
investment schedule 投資曲線
the relationship between the level of investment and the (real) rate of interest
 
investment tax credit (ITC) 投資稅減免
a provision of the tax code in which the government reduces a company's tax bill by an amount equal to a percentage of its spending on investment
 
involuntary unemployment 非自愿失業
the situation that occurs when the supply of those willing to work at the going market wage exceeds the demand for labor
 
J
 
Job search 尋找工作
The process by which workers find appropriate jobs given their tastes and skills
 
 
K
 
Keynesian monetary theory 凱恩斯貨幣理論
 
Keynesian unemployment 凱恩斯失業
unemployment that occurs as a result of insufficient aggregate demand; it arises in the demand-constrained equilibrium (where aggregate demand is less than aggregate supply), so that rightward shifts in aggregate demand reduce the level of unemployment
 
kinked demand curve 有折點的需求曲線
the demand curve perceived by an oligopolist who believes that rivals will match any price cuts but will not match price increases
 
L
 
Labor force 勞動力
The total number of workers, including both the employed and unemployed
 
Labor-force participation rate 勞動力參工率
The percentage of the population that is in the labor force
 
Law of demand 需求規律
The claim that, other things being equal, the quantity demanded of a good falls when the price of the good rises
 
Law of supply 供給規律
The claim that, others things being equal, the quantity supplied of a good rises when the price of the good rises
 
Law of supply and demand 供求規律
The claim that the price of any good adjusts to bring the supply and demand for that good into balance
 
Life Cycle 生命周期
The regular pattern of income variation over a person's life
 
Liquidity 流動性
The ease with which an asset can be converted into the economy's medium of exchange
 
Lump-sum tax 定額稅
A tax that is the same amount for every person
 
learning by doing 干中學
the increase in productivity that occurs as a firm gains experience from producing, and that results in a decrease in the firm's production costs
 
learning curve 學習曲線；經驗曲線
the curve describing how costs of production decline as cumulative output increases over time
 
less developed countries (LDCs) 發展中國家
the poorest nations of the world, including much of Africa, Latin America, and Asia
 
life-cycle hypothesis 生命周期假說
the theory that individuals typically save when they are young and working and spend their savings as they age and retire
 
life-cycle savings motive 生命周期儲蓄動機
people save during their working lives so that they can consume more during retirement
 
limit pricing 限制性定價
the practice of charging a lower price than the level at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost, as a way of deterring entry by persuading potential competitors that their profits from entering are likely to be limited
 
Lorenz curve 洛倫茲曲線
a curve that shows the cumulative proportion of income that goes to each cumulative proportion of the population, starting with the lowest income group
 
Luddites 盧德派分子
early nineteenth-century workmen who destroyed labor-saving machinery rather than see it taking over their jobs 
 
M
 
Macroeconomics 宏觀經濟學
The study of economy-wide phenomena, including inflation, unemployment, and economic growth
 
Marginal changes 邊際變動
Small incremental adjustments to a plan of action
 
Marginal cost 邊際成本
The increase in total cost that arises from an extra unit of production
 
Marginal product 邊際產量
The increase in output that arises from an additional unit of input
 
Marginal product of labor 勞動的邊際產量
The increase in the amount of output from an additional unit of labor
 
Marginal rate of substitution 邊際替代率
The rate at which a consumer is willing to trade one good for another
 
Marginal revenue 邊際收益
The change in total revenue from an additional unit sold
 
Marginal tax rate 邊際稅率
The extra taxes paid on an additional dollar of income
 
Market 市場
A group of buyers and sellers of a particular good or service
 
Market economy 市場經濟
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 市場失靈
A situation in which a market left on its own fails to allocate resources efficiently
 
Market for loanable funds 可貸資金市場
The market in which those who want to save supply funds and those who want to borrow to invest demand funds
 
Market power 市場力量
The ability of a single economic factor (or small group of factors) to have a substantial influence on market prices
 
Medium of exchange 交換媒介
An item that buyers give to sellers when they want to purchase goods and services
 
Menu costs 菜單成本
The costs of changing prices
 
Microeconomics 微觀經濟學
The study of how households and firms make decisions and how they interact in markets
 
Model of aggregate supply and aggregate demand 總需求與總供給模型
The model that most economists use to explain short-run fluctuations in economic activity around its long-run trend
 
Monetary neutrality 貨幣中性
The proposition that changes in the money supply do not affect real variables
 
Monetary policy 貨幣政策
The setting of the money supply by policymakers in the central bank
 
Money 貨幣
The set of assets in the economy that people regularly use to buy goods and services from other people
 
Money multiplier 貨幣乘數
The amount of money the banking system generates with each dollar of reserves