| Balance-of-payments accounts | a summary of all transactions between Canadians and foreigners that involve exchanging Canadian dollars for other currencies
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| Capital resources | the processed materials, equipment, and buildings used in production; also known as capital
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| Ceteris paribus | the assumption that all other things remain the same
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| Command economy | an economic system based on public ownership and central planning
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| Consumer sovereignty | the effect of consumer needs and wants on production decisions
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| Dependent variable | the variable in a causal relationship that is affected by another variable
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| Direct relationship | a relationship in which a change in the independent variable causes a change in the same direction of the dependent variable
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| Economic efficiency | employing scarce resources in such a way as to derive the highest benefit
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| Economic growth | an increase in an economy's total output of goods and services
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| Economic models | generalizations about or simplifications of economic reality; also known as laws, principles, or theories
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| Economic problem | the problem of having unlimited wants, but limited resources with which to satisfy them
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| Economic resources | basic items that are used in all types of production, including natural, capital, and human resources
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| Economics | the study of how to distribute scarce resources among alternative ends
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| Economic system | the organization of an economy, which represents a country's distinct set of social customs, political institutions, and economic practices
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| Entrepreneurship | initiative, risk-taking, and innovation necessary for production
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| Independent variable | the variable in a causal relationship that causes change in another variable
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| Inflation | a rise in the general level of prices
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| Inverse relationship | a relationship in which a change in the independent variable causes a change in the opposite direction of the dependent variable
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| Labour | human effort employed directly in production
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| Law of increasing opportunity costs | the concept that as more of one item is produced by an economy, the opportunity cost of additional units of that product rises
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| Macroeconomics | the branch of economics that takes a wide-ranging view of the economy, studying the behaviour of economic sectors
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| Market | a set of arrangements between buyers and sellers of a certain item
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| Market economy | an economic system based on private ownership and the use of markets in economic decision-making
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| Microeconomics | the branch of economics that focuses on the behaviour of individual participants in various markets
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| Modern mixed economy | an economic system that combines aspects of a market economy and a command economy; production decisions are made both in private markets and by government
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| Natural resources | the resources from nature that are used in production, including land, raw materials, and natural processes
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| Normative economics | the study of how the economy ought to operate
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| Opportunity cost | the utility that could have been gained by choosing an action's best alternative
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| Positive economics | the study of economic facts and how the economy operates as it does
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| Production possibilities curve | a graph that illustrates the possible output combinations for an economy
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| Production possibilities schedule | a table that shows the possible output combinations for an economy
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| Product markets | markets in which consumer, or final, products are traded
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| Resource markets | markets in which economic resources are traded
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| Self-interest motive | the assumption that people act to maximize their own welfare
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| Traditional economy | an economic system in which economic decisions are made on the basis of custom
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| Traditional mixed economies | economic systems in which a traditional sector co-exists with modern sectors
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| Unemployment rate | the percentage of a labour force that is involuntarily unemployed
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| Utility | the satisfaction gained from any action
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| Variables | factors that have measurable values
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education