Chapter 9 - Global Studies 2nd Edition - John McCormick

Capitalism

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

Development

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

Development aid

Assistance provided by wealthier countries to poorer countries, in the form mainly of technical aid targeted at the long-term alleviation of poverty.

Economics

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

Exchange rate

The value of one currency relative to another.

Foreign direct investment

Any large-scale investment made in a business by foreign governments, businesses, or individuals.

Gini coefficient

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

Global financial crisis

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

Gold standard

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.

Gross domestic product

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

Microfinance

Lending and investing at a small scale to help small businesses in developing countries.

Neo-liberalism

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

Outsourcing

The process by which a company uses an external vendor to provide a service that the company might normally have provided for itself.

Poverty

A scarcity of money, material possessions, opportunity, and basic needs, which can be measured in both quantity and quality

Regional development bank

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.

Reserve currency

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

Resource curse

A situation in which the value of a single profitable resource can create economic problems for a country.

Small and medium enterprises

Businesses with small numbers of employees and small turnovers, making them distinct from larger (and often multinational) enterprises.

Socialism

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

Special Drawing Right

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

State capitalism

A system in which the state wields a high degree of control over the economy, taking responsibility for many of the functions and activities that would be left - in a capitalist system - to the free market.

Wealth

An abundance of money, material possessions, and opportunity, which can be measured in both quantity and quality.