politics of the world economy terms

Legal capacity

The government's ability to enforce deals and protect property through courts, judges, and land records.

Fiscal capacity

The government's ability to collect taxes through an agency that tracks income and enforces payment.

Complements

Two elements that work better together, where each increases the usefulness of the other, such as courts and tax offices.

Public goods

Resources or services that benefit everyone, where one person's usage does not prevent others from using them.

Common-interest public goods

Shared resources or services supported and desired by all groups within a society, such as national defense during a war.

Redistribution

The process of taking money or resources from one group and giving them to another.

Inclusive politics

A political system, such as a democracy, that accounts for and listens to the interests of multiple groups rather than just the ruling party.

Informal sector

Unrecorded, 'off-the-books' work where transactions and income are not taxed or monitored by government authorities.

Legal origins

The historical system of law inherited by a country (e.g., English, French, German, Scandinavian) that shapes its state institutions.

Correlation vs. cause

The distinction where two events happening together does not automatically mean that one event directly produces the other.