MBA专业术语AAbility-to-pay principle 能力纳税原则The idea that taxes should be levied on a person according to how well that personcan shoulder the burdenAbsolute advantage 绝对优势The comparison among producers of a good according to their productivity Aggregate-demand curve 总需求曲线A curve that shows the quantity of goods and services that households, firms, andthe government want to buy at any price levelAggregate-supply curve 总供给曲线A curve that shows the quantity of goods and services that firms choose to produceand sell at any levelAppreciation 升值An increase in the value of a currency as measured by the amount of foreign currencyit can buyAutomatic stabilizers 自动稳定器intogoes economy the when demand aggregate stimulate that policy fiscal in Changesa recession without policymakers having to take any deliberate action Average fixed cost 平均固定成本Fixed costs divided by the quantity of outputAverage revenue 平均收益Total revenue divided by the quantity soldAverage tax rate 平均税率Total taxes paid divided by total incomeAverage total cost 平均总成本Total cost divided by the quantity of outputAverage variable cost 平均可变成本Variables costs divided by the quantity of outputAccelerator 加速数the effect on GDP of the increase in investment that results from an increase inoutput. For instance, the greater output leads a firm to believe that the demandfor its products will rise in the future; the resulting increase in investment leadsto growth in output and still further increases in investment,accelerating theexpansion of the economy后天禀赋Acquired endowmentsresources a country builds for itself, like a network of roads or an educatedpopulationAdaptive expectations 适应性预期expectations based on the extrapolation of events in the recent past into the futureaggregate expenditures schedule 总支出曲线a curve that traces out the relationship between expenditures--the sum ofconsumption, investment, government expenditures, and net exports--and thenational income, at a fixed price levelantitrust laws 反托拉斯法laws that discourage monopoly and restrictive practices and encourage greatercompetitionarbitrage 套利the process by which assets with comparable risk, liquidity, and tax treatment arepriced to yield comparable expected returnsadverse selection 逆向选择principle that says that those who most want to buy insurance tend to be those mostat risk, but charging a high price for insurance (to cover the high risk)willdiscourage those at less risk from buying insurance at all资产assetany item that is long-lived, purchased for the service it renders over its lifeand for what one will receive when one sells itassistance in kind 实物援助public assistance that provides particular goods and services, like food or medicalcare, rather than cashasymmetric information 信息不对称a situation in which the parties to a transaction have different information, aswhen the seller or a used car has more information about its quality then the buyerautonomous consumption 自主消费that part of consumption that does not depend on incomeaverage costs 平均成本the total costs divided by the total outputaverage productivity 平均产量total quantity divided by the total quantity of inputBBenefits principle 受益原则The idea that people should pay taxes based on the benefits they receive fromgovernment servicesBond 债券A certificate of indebtednessBudget constraint 预算约束The limit on the consumption bundles that a consumer can affordBudget deficit 预算赤字An excess of government spending over government receiptsBudget surplus 预算盈余An excess of government receipts over government spendinbarriers to entry 进入障碍factors that prevent firms from entering a market, such as government rules orpatentsbasic competitive model 基本竞争模型the model of the economy that pulls together the assumptions ofself-interestedconsumers, profit maximizing firms, and perfectly competitive markets bequest savings motive 储蓄的遗产动机people save so that they can leave an inheritance to their children 伯特兰竞争 Bertrand competitionan oligopoly in which each firm believes that its rivals are committed to keepingtheir prices fixed and that customers can be lured away by offering lower pricesbilateral trade 双边贸易trade between two partiesboom 繁荣a period of time when resources are being fully used and GDP is growing steadilyCCapital 资本The equipment and structures used to produce goods and services Capital flight 资本外流A large and sudden reduction in the demand for assets located in a country Cartel 卡特尔A group of firms acting in unisonCatch-up effect 追赶效应The property that countries that start off poor tend to grow more rapidly thancountries that start off rich中央银行Central bankAn institution designed to oversee the banking system and regulate the quantityof money in the economyCeteris paribus 其它条件相同A Latin phrase, translated as other things being equal, used as a reminder thatall variables other than the ones being studied are assumed to be constant Circular-flow diagram 循环流向图A visual model of the economy that shows how dollars flow through markets amonghouseholds and firmsClassical dichotomy 古典二分法The theoretical separation of nominal and real variablesClosed economy 封闭经济An economy that does not interact with other economies in the world Coase theorem 科斯定理The proposition that if private parties can bargain without cost over the allocationof resources, they can solve the problem of externalities on their own Collective bargaining 集体谈判The process by which unions and firms agree on the terms of employment 勾结CollusionAn agreement among firms in a market about quantities to produce or prices to chargeCommodity money 商品货币Money that takes the form of a commodity with intrinsic value Common resources 共有资源Goods that are rival but not excludableComparable worth 同工同酬A doctrine according to which jobs deemed comparable should be paid the same wageComparative advantage 比较优势The comparison among producers of a good according to their opportunity costCompensating wage differential 补偿性工资差别A difference in wages that arises to offset the nonmonetary characteristics ofdifferent jobsCompetitive market 竞争市场A market with many buyers and sellers trading identical products so that each buyerand seller is a price takerComplements 互补品Two goods for which an increase in the price of one good leads to a decrease inthe demand for the other goodConstant returns to scale 规模收益不变The property that long-run average total cost stays the same as the quantity ofoutput changesConsumer price index 消费物价指数A measure of the overall cost of the goods and services bought by a typical consumerConsumer surplus 消费者剩余A buyers willingness to pay minus the amount the buyer actually pays Consumption 消费Spending by households on goods and services, with the exception of purchases ofnew housingCost 成本The value of everything a seller must give up to produce a goodCost-benefit analysis 成本—收益分析A study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public goodCrowding-out effect 挤出效应The offset in aggregate demand that results whenexpansionary fiscal policy raises the interest rate and thereby reduces investmentspendingCurrency 通货The paper bills and coins in the hands of the publicCyclical unemployment 周期性失业The deviation of unemployment from its natural ratecapital gain 资本增值the increase in the value of an asset between the time it is purchased and the timeit is soldcapital market 资本市场the market in which savings are made available to investors categorical assistance 分类帮助public assistance aimed at a particular category of people, like the elderly orthe disabledcausation 因果关系relationship that results when an change in one variable is not only correlatedwith but actually causes the change in another onecentral planning 中央计划the system in which central government bureaucrats (as opposed to private producedbe will what determine bureaucrats) government local even or entrepreneursan how it will be producedcentralization 集权organizational structure in which decision making is concentrated at the topcentrally planned economy 中央计划经济an economy in which most decisions about resource allocation are made by the centralgovernmentcertificate of deposit (CD) 存单account in which money is deposited for a preset length of time, that must yielda slightly higher return to compensate for the reduced liquidity circular flow 循环流程how funds move through the capital, labor, and product markets between households,firms, the government, and the foreign sectorclassical economists 古典经济学家economists prevalent before the Great Depression who believed that the basiccompetitive model provided a good description of the economy and that if shortperiods of unemployment did occur, market forces would quickly restore the economyto full employment古典失业classical unemploymentunemployment that results from too-high real wages; it occurs in the supplyconstrained equilibrium, so that rightwards shifts in aggregate supply reduce thelevel of unemploymentcompetitive equilibrium price 竞争性均衡价格the price at which the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded are equal toeach otherconsumer protection legislation 消费者保护法laws aimed at protecting consumers, for instance by assuring that consumers havemore complete information about items they are considering buying consumer sovereignty 消费者权益the principle that holds that each individual is the best judge of what makes himbetter offconsumption function 消费函数the relationship between disposable income and consumption contingency clauses 应变条款statements within a contract that make the level of payment or the work to beperformed conditional upon various factors公司所得税corporate income taxa tax based on the income, or profit, received by a corporation correlation 相关relationship that results when a change in one variable is consistently associatedwith a change in another onecost-push inflation 成本推动型通货膨胀inflation whose initial cause is a rise in production costsCournot competition 古诺竞争an oligopoly in which each firm believes that its rivals are committed to a certainlevel of production and that rivals will reduce their prices as needed to sell thatamountcredentials competition 文凭竞争the trend in which prospective workers acquire higher educational credentials, notso much because of anything they actually learn in the process but to convincepotential employers to hire them by signaling that they will be more productiveemployees than those with weaker credentialscredit constraint effect 信贷约束效应when prices fall, firms revenues also fall, but the money they owe creditors remainsunchanged; as a result, firms have fewer funds of their own to invest. Because ofcredit rationing, firms cannot make up the difference; accordingly, investmentdecreasescredit rationing 信贷配给credit is rationed when no lender is willing to make a loan to a borrower or theamount lenders are willing to lend to borrowers is limited, even if the borroweris willing to pay more than other borrowers of comparable risk who are getting loanscross subsidization 交叉补贴the practice of charging higher prices to one group of consumers in order tosubsidize lower prices for another groupDDeadweight loss 无谓损失The reduction in total surplus that results from a taxDemand curve 需求曲线A graph of the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demandedDemand deposits 活期存款Balances in bank accounts that depositors can access on demand by writinga checkDemand schedule 需求表A table that shows the relationship between the price of a good and the quantitydemandedDepreciation 贬值A decrease in the value of a currency as measured by the amount of foreign currencyit can buyDepression 萧条A severe recessionDiminishing marginal product 边际产量递减The property whereby the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity ofthe input increasesThe property that the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of theinput increasesDiminishing returns 收益递减The property that the benefit from an extra unit of an input declines as the quantityof the input increasesDiscount rate 贴现率The interest rate on the loans that the Fed makes to banks Discouraged workers 丧失信心的工人Individuals who would like to work but have given up looking for a job歧视DiscriminationThe offering of different opportunities to similar individuals who differ only byrace, ethnic group, sex, age, or other personal characteristics Diseconomies of scale 规模不经济The property that long-run average total cost rises as the quantity of outputincreasesDominant strategy 优势战略A strategy that is best for a player in a game regardless of the strategies chosenby the other playersdebt 债务capital, such as bonds and bank loans, supplied to a firm by lenders; the firmpromises to repay the amount borrowed with interestdecentralization 分权化organizational structure in which many individuals or subunits can make decisionsdecision tree 决策树a device for structured decision making that spells out the choices and possibleconsequences of alternative actionsdeficit spending 赤字支出the situation that exists when government expenditures are greater than revenuesdeflation 通货紧缩a persistent decrease in the general level of pricesdemand-constrained equilibrium 受需求约束的平衡the equilibrium that occurs when prices are stuck at a level above that at whichaggregate demand equals aggregate supply at the current price level demand-pull inflation 需求拉动型通货膨胀inflation whose initial cause is aggregate demand exceeding aggregate supply atthe current price leveldemographic effects 人口效应effects that arise from changes in characteristics of the population such as age,birthrates, and locationderegulation 放松管制the lifting of government regulations to allow the market to function more freelydevaluation 贬值a reduction in the rate of exchange between one currency and other currencies undera fixed exchange rate systemdeveloped countries 发达国家或工业化国家the United States,Western Europe, the world, including wealthiest nations in the Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealanddiminishing marginal utility 边际效用递减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 shareholdersdownward rigidity of wages 工资下降刚性the situation that exists when wages do not fall quickly in response toa shiftin the demand or supply curve for labor, resulting in an excess supply of labordual economy 二元经济the separation in many LDCs between an impoverished rural sector and an urban sectorthat has higher wages and more advanced technologyduopoly 双头垄断an industry with only two firmsdurable goods 耐用品goods that provide a service over a number of years, such as cars, major appliances,and furniture动态一致性dynamic consistencya policy is said to have dynamic consistency when government announcesa courseof action and then has the incentives to actually carry out that policy EEconomics 经济学The study of how society manages its scarce resourcesEconomies of scale 规模经济The property that long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of outputincreasesEfficiency 效率The property of a resource allocation of maximizing the total surplus received byall members of society; The property of society getting the most it can from itsscarce resourcesEfficiency wages 效率工资Above-equilibrium wages paid by firms in order to increase worker productivityEfficient scale 有效规模The quantity of output that minimizes average total costElasticity 弹性A measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded or quantity supplied to oneof its determinantsEquilibrium 均衡A situation in which supply and demand have been brought into balance Equilibrium price 均衡价格The price that balances supply and demandEquilibrium quantity 均衡数量The quantity supplied and the quantity demanded when the price has adjusted tobalance supply and demandEquity 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 ofsocietyExcess demand 超额需求A situation in which quantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied Excess supply 超额供给A situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded 排他性ExcludabilityThe property of a good that a person can be prevented from using it Exports 出口Goods and services that are produced domestically and sold abroad; Goods produceddomestically and sold abroadExternality 外部性The impact of one persons actions on the well-being of a bystander economic rents 经济租金payments made to a factor that are in excess of what is required to elicit the supplyof that factorefficiency wage theory 效率工资理论the theory that paying higher wages (up to a point) lowers total production costs,for instance by leading to a more productive labor forceeconomies of scope 范围经济what exists when it is less expensive to produce two products together than it wouldbe to produce each one separatelyefficient markets theory 有效市场理论the theory that all available information is reflected in the current price of anassetelasticity of labor supply 劳动供给弹性the percentage change in labor supplied resulting from a 1% change in wages equity, shares, stock 股票terms that indicate part ownership of a firm, which the firm sells in order to raisemoney, or capitalequity capital 股份资本capital, such as shares (or stock), supplied to a firm by itsowners(shareholders);the returns received by the owners are not guaranteed but depend on how well thefirm doesexchange efficiency 交换的效率the condition in which whatever the economy produces is distributed among individuals in an efficient wayexchange rate 汇率the rate at which one currency (such as dollars) can be exchanged for another(suchas marks, yen, or pounds)excise tax 货物税a tax on a particular good or service预期收益expected returnthe average return--a single number that combines the various possible returns perdollar invested with the chances that each of these returns will actually be paidexport-led growth 出口导向型增长the strategy that government should encourage exports in which the country has acomparative advantage to stimulate growthFFactors of production 生产要素The inputs used to produce goods and servicesFederal Reserve (Fed) 联邦储备The central bank of the United StatesFiat money 法定货币Money without intrinsic value that is used as money because of government decreeFinancial intermediaries 金融中介机构Financial institutions through which savers can indirectly provide funds toborrowersFinancial markets 金融市场borrowersto funds provide directly can savers which through institutions Financial Financial system 金融体系The group of institutions in the economy that help to match one persons saving withanother persons investmentFisher effect 费雪效应The one-for-one adjustment of the nominal interest rate to the inflation rateFixed cost 固定成本Costs that do not vary with the quantity of output producedFractional-reserve banking 部分准备金银行体系A banking system in which banks hold only a fraction of deposits as reservesFree rider 搭便车者A person who receives the benefit of a good but avoids paying for it factor demand 要素需求the amount of an input demanded by a firm, given the price of the input and thequantity of output being produced; an input will be demanded up to the point wherethe value of the inputs marginal product equals the price of theinput federal government structure 联邦政府结构a system in which government activity takes place at severallevels--national,state, county, city, and othersfirm wealth effect 厂商的财富效应lower prices or lower demand cause firms profits and net worth to fall, and thismakes them less willing to undertake the risks involved with investment fiscal policies 财政政策policies that affect the level of government expenditures and taxes fixed exchange rate system 固定汇率体系an exchange rate system in which the value of each currency is fixed in relationshipto other currenciesflexible exchange rate system 浮动汇率体系a system in which exchange rates are determined by market forces, the law of supplyand demand, without government interferencefixed or overhead inputs 不变投入或分摊投入inputs that do not change depending on the quantity of output, at least over theshort termflow statistics 流量统计measurements of a certain rate of quantity per period of time, such as GDP, whichmeasures output per year充分就业赤字full-employment deficitthe budget deficit that would have prevailed if the economy were at full employment,thus with higher tax revenues and lower public assistance expenditures full-employment output/ potential output 充分就业产出或潜在产出the level of output that would prevail if labor were fully employed (output mayexceed that level if workers work more than the normal level of overtime) GGDP deflator 平减指数A measure of the price level calculated as the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDPtimes 100Game theory 博弈理论The study of how people behave in strategic situationsGiffen good 吉芬物品A good for which an increase in the price raises the quantity demanded Gross domestic product (GDP) 国内生产总值The market value of all final goods and services produced within a countryin agiven period of timeGross national product (GNP) 国名生产总值The market value of all final goods and services produced by permanent residentsof a nation within a given period of timegains from trade 交易所得the benefits that each side enjoys from a tradeGDP per capita 人均国内生产总值the value of all goods and services produced in the economy divided by populationgeneral equilibrium analysis 一般均衡分析a simultaneous analysis of all capital, product, and labor markets throughout theeconomyGini coefficient 基尼系数a measure of inequality (equal to twice the area between the 45 degree line andthe Lorenz curve)green revolution 绿色革命the invention and dissemination of new seeds and agricultural practices that ledto vast increases in agricultural output in LDCs during the 1960s and 1970s HHorizontal equity 横向公平The idea that taxpayers with similar abilities to pay taxes should pay the sameamountHuman capital 人力资本The knowledge and skills that workers acquire through education, training, andexperience;The accumulation of investments in people, such as education andon-the-job traininghorizontal integration 横向一体化the integration of a firm with other firms producing the same product (at the samelevel of production)horizontal merger 横向兼并a merger between two firms that produce the same goodshorizontal restrictions 横向约束restrictions (such as an agreement not to compete in price or to enter each othersmarkets) by competing firms (at the same level of production, for instance, amongproducers, or among wholesalers, or among retailers)hostile takeover 恶意收购when one management team (one firm) takes over the control of another, against thewill of the second firmI进口限额Import quotaA limit on the quantity of a good that can be produced abroad and sold domesticallyImports 进口Goods and services that are produced abroad and sold domesticallyIn-kind transfers 实物转移支付Transfers to the poor given in the form of goods and services rather thancashIncome effect 收入效应The change in consumption that results when a price change moves the consumer toa higher or lower indifference curveIncome elasticity of demand 需求收入弹性A measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change inconsumers income, computed as the percentage change in quantity demanded dividedby the percentage change in incomeIndexation 指数化The automatic correction of a dollar figure for the effects of inflation by lawor contractIndifference curves 无差异曲线Curves that show consumption bundles that give the consumer the same level ofsatisfaction A good for which an increase in income reduces the quantity demandedInferior good 低档商品A good for which, other things being equal, an increase in income leads to a decreasein quantity demandedInflation 通货膨胀An increase in the overall level of prices in the economyInflation rate 通货膨胀率The percentage change in the price index from the preceding period Internalizing an externality 外部性的内在化Altering incentives so that people take account of the external effects of theiractionsInvestment 投资Spending on capital equipment, inventories, and structures, including householdpurchases of new housingimperfect competition 不完全竞争any market structure in which there is some competition but firms face downward-sloping demand curvesimplicit contract 隐含合同an unwritten understanding between two groups involved in an exchange, such as anunderstanding between employer and employees that employees will receive a stablewage throughout fluctuating economic conditionsimport function 进口函数the relationship between imports and national incomeincomplete markets 不完全市场situations in which no market may exist for some good or for some risk, or in whichsome individuals cannot borrow for some purposesincreasing, constant or diminishing returns to scale 规模收益递增/不变/递减when all inputs are increased by a certain proportion, output increases by a greaterproportion (also known as economies of scale)indexing 指数化the formal linking of any payment to a price indexindividual income tax 个人所得税a tax based on the income received by any individual or household infant industry argument for protection 幼稚工业保护论the argument that industries must be protected from foreign competition while theyare young, until they have a chance to acquire the skills to enable them to competeon equal termsinfinite elasticity of demand 无限需求弹性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 无限供给弹性situation that exists when any amount will be supplied at a particular price, butnothing will be supplied if the price falls even a small amount inflation tax 通货膨胀税the decrease in buying power (wealth) that inflation imposes on those who holdcurrency (and other assets, like bonds, the payments for which are fixed in termsof dollars)inflationary spiral 通货膨胀螺旋a self-perpetuating system in which price increases lead to higher wages, whichlead to further price increasesinfrastructure 基础设施the roads, ports, bridges, and legal system that provide the necessary basis fora working economy。