Absolute Advantage: The ability of an individual, firm, or country to produce more of a good or service than competitors using the same amount of resources.

Capital (Goods): Physical assets like machinery, tools, and buildings used to produce goods and services; they are not consumed in the production process but are used to generate output.

Ceteris Paribus (Other Things Equal): A Latin phrase meaning "all other things being equal," used in economics to isolate the effect of one variable by holding other relevant factors constant.

Command Economy: An economic system where the government makes all decisions about what to produce, how to produce it, and who receives the output.

Comparative Advantage: The ability of a country or firm to produce a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than its competitors, leading to potential gains from trade.

Deflation: A decrease in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.

Depression: A severe and prolonged downturn in economic activity, often characterized by significant declines in output, employment, and investment.

Economics: The study of how individuals, firms, and societies use limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants; it explores decision-making, resource allocation, and the factors that influence economic behavior.

Economy: The system of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services within a particular geographic area, usually a country.

Efficient: Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense; in economics, it often refers to the optimal allocation of resources to maximize output.

Entrepreneur: An individual who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise, often by bringing together resources to produce goods and services.

Incentive: Something that motivates or encourages a person to take action, particularly in economic behavior (e.g., financial rewards, penalties).

Inflation: A sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.

Labor: The human effort, both physical and mental, used in the production of goods and services.

Labor Force: The total number of people employed or actively seeking employment in an economy.

Land: Natural resources used in the production of goods and services, including physical land and any resources that come from it (e.g., minerals, water, forests).

Marginal Analysis: The examination of the additional benefits of an activity compared to the additional costs incurred by that same activity.

Macroeconomics: The branch of economics that studies the behavior and performance of an economy as a whole, including inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.

Market Economy: An economic system in which decisions about production, investment, and distribution are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand.

Microeconomics: The branch of economics that studies individual agents and markets, such as households, firms, and the interactions between them.

Model: A simplified representation of reality used to explain or predict economic behavior; often represented mathematically or graphically.

Normative Economics: The part of economics that expresses value judgments about what the economy should be like; focuses on what ought to be rather than what is.

Opportunity Cost: The value of the next best alternative that is foregone when making a decision.

Output: The total amount of goods and services produced by an economy, industry, or firm.

Positive Economics: The branch of economics that focuses on the description and explanation of economic phenomena; it is based on facts and cause-and-effect relationships.

Production Possibilities Curve (PPC): A graphical representation showing the maximum quantity of two goods that can be produced within a given set of resources and technology, assuming that all resources are fully and efficiently utilized.

Property Rights: The legal rights to use, control, and transfer ownership of property, whether it's physical property like land or intangible property like patents.

Resource: Any input used to produce goods and services, including land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.

Scarcity: The fundamental economic problem of having limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants.

Specialization: The process of focusing on a narrow area of production, allowing individuals or firms to become more efficient and produce at a lower cost.

Terms of Trade: The rate at which one good can be exchanged for another between countries; it represents the relative prices of exports and imports.

Trade-off: The concept that, because resources are limited, producing or consuming more of one good or service means producing or consuming less of another.

Unemployment: The condition of someone who is capable of working, is actively seeking work, but is unable to find any employment.

Production Possibilities Curve (PPC): A graph that illustrates the trade-offs between two goods, showing the maximum possible production levels for each good given a fixed set of resources.

Black Market: An illegal market where goods and services are traded at prices or in quantities that violate government regulations.

Change in Demand: A shift of the entire demand curve to the left (decrease) or right (increase) due to factors other than the price of the good itself, such as changes in income, tastes, or the price of related goods.

Change in Supply: A shift of the entire supply curve to the left (decrease) or right (increase) due to factors other than the price of the good itself, such as changes in production costs or technology.

Competitive Market: A market structure characterized by many buyers and sellers, where each has little to no influence on the market price.

Complement: A good that is often used together with another good, where an increase in the price of one leads to a decrease in the demand for the other.

Demand Curve: A graphical representation showing the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity demanded at various prices.

Demand Schedule: A table that lists the quantity of a good that consumers are willing to buy at different prices.

Equilibrium: The point where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied, and there is no tendency for the price to change.

Equilibrium (Clearing) Price: The price at which the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied.

Equilibrium Quantity: The quantity of a good or service bought and sold at the equilibrium price.

Inferior Good: A good for which demand decreases as consumer income rises, and vice versa.

Input: Resources used in the production process, such as labor, capital, and raw materials.

Law of Demand: The principle that, ceteris paribus, an increase in the price of a good will lead to a decrease in the quantity demanded, and vice versa.

Law of Supply: The principle that, ceteris paribus, an increase in the price of a good will lead to an increase in the quantity supplied, and vice versa.

Market: Any arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange goods and services.

Minimum Wage: The lowest legal wage that can be paid to workers, set by government regulation.

Normal Good: A good for which demand increases as consumer income rises, and vice versa.

Price Ceiling: A maximum legal price that can be charged for a good or service, set below the equilibrium price.

Price Controls: Government-imposed limits on the prices that can be charged in a market, including price ceilings and price floors.

Price Floor: A minimum legal price that can be charged for a good or service, set above the equilibrium price.

Quantity Demanded: The amount of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at a given price.

Quantity Supplied: The amount of a good or service that producers are willing and able to sell at a given price.

Shortage: A situation in which the quantity demanded exceeds the quantity supplied at a given price.

Substitute: A good that can be used in place of another good, where an increase in the price of one leads to an increase in the demand for the other.

Supply Curve: A graphical representation showing the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity supplied at various prices.

Supply Schedule: A table that lists the quantity of a good that producers are willing to sell at different prices.

Surplus: A situation in which the quantity supplied exceeds the quantity demanded at a given price.

Production Possibilities Curve: A graph that shows the maximum combinations of two goods that can be produced with available resources and technology.

Supply and Demand: A graphical representation where the demand curve shows the quantity of a good consumers are willing to buy at various prices, and the supply curve shows the quantity of a good producers are willing to sell at various prices. The point where they intersect represents the equilibrium price and quantity.