World Economy Flashcards

These flashcards cover key concepts related to the world economy, including definitions of terms, examples of economic processes, and important organizations.

Outsourcing

Hiring another company to perform tasks to reduce costs.

Offshoring

Moving company operations to another country for lower expenses.

Reshoring

Returning jobs to a company's home country.

EPZ

Export-Processing Zone – area with tax breaks and relaxed regulations to attract foreign businesses.

Maquiladora

U.S.-owned factory in Mexico for low-cost manufacturing.

Fordism

Assembly line mass production of standardized goods.

Post-Fordist production

Flexible production using automation and multi-skilled workers.

Substitution principle

Replacing expensive inputs (like labor) with cheaper alternatives (like machines).

Just-in-time delivery

System where materials arrive exactly when needed to reduce storage costs.

Agglomeration

Clustering of businesses to share services, labor, and infrastructure.

Technopole

Cluster of tech industries and research near universities.

Growth poles

Areas with concentrated economic growth attracting more development.

Backwash effects

Brain drain, loss of services and tax revenue in less-developed regions.

Brownfields

Abandoned industrial areas often left unused.

Rust Belt

Region in the U.S. known for industrial decline and factory closures.

Major trade organizations

EU, WTO, Mercosur, OPEC.