Chapter 8 - Introduction to Global Studies by John McCormick

The study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, including such matters as money, markets, supply, demand, costs, competition and efficiency.

The core measure of the size of economies, calculated by giving a monetary value to all goods and services produced within a country in a given year, regardless of who owns the different means of production.

An economic philosophy based on leaving as many decisions as possible on production, distribution, and prices to the free market.

An economic philosophy based on redistributing opportunity and wealth through greater government involvement in the marketplace.

An economic philosophy based on economic liberalization that has been adopted by many Northern countries since the 1980s.

A measure of income inequality, used to show the distribution of wealth in a given population.

The improvement of the economic and social well-being of peoples, communities, or states. Often used only in the context of poorer states.

The crisis sparked in 2007 by financial deregulation and speculation in the United States, which spread quickly to Europe.

The value of one currency relative to another.

An arrangement by which countries fixed the value of their currencies to gold. Abandoned by Britain and the United States in the 1930s, and no longer used.

A foreign currency that is held by governments, and is used to help them pay off debts or to reduce exchange rate risks.

A national bank responsible for maintaining the value of a state’s currency, limiting the amount of money in circulation, setting interest rates, and guarding against inflation.

An artificial currency created and maintained by the IMF, supplementing standard reserve currencies.

A bank set up and run within a given region, pooling contributions from its shareholders to offer low-interest loans to countries in the region.

The amount that a government owes as a result of running a budget deficit and/or a trade deficit, much of it often owed to foreign investors.