Economics

Chartist
A trader in financial markets using patterns in market variable behavior to forecast movements.
Chicago Boys
A group of Chilean economists trained at the University of Chicago, known for their role in implementing free-market reforms in Chile.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
Understanding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and its role in futures trading.
Chicago School
Definition and exploration of the Chicago School of Economics and its principles
Choice of Technique
The decision-making process regarding the method of production when multiple methods are possible.
Circular Flow of Income
A comprehensive examination of the concept of circular flow of income in economics, detailing its meaning, mechanisms, and implications.
City - Definition and Meaning
An in-depth look at the City of London financial district and its significance in global finance
Classical Dichotomy
An examination of the classical dichotomy in economic theory, exploring its fundamental meaning, historical development, and analytical frameworks.
Classical Unemployment
Unemployment caused by wages being too high relative to productivity, leading to an inability of firms to profitably employ all available labor.
Clayton Act
An act of 1914 extending federal antitrust law in the United States.
Closed-Loop Equilibrium
An equilibrium concept in multi-stage games where players are informed about the previous strategy choices of opponents.
Coalition
A group of individuals or firms who have separate objectives but unite to adopt strategies or advocate policies. Often seen in government entities requiring support from multiple political parties.
Cobb–Douglas Function
An exploration of the Cobb–Douglas function, its historical context, definitions, and its significance in different economic frameworks
Cobweb Model
A model used to illustrate the fluctuations in the economy due to time lags in response between supply and price changes.
Coefficient of Variation
Understanding the coefficient of variation as a measure that expresses the standard deviation of a set of data as a percentage of its mean.
Cohort Study
A form of longitudinal study that follows a group of individuals sharing a common characteristic or experience within a defined period, aiming to determine the effect on the group of an experience or treatment.
Coin
Money consisting of solid tokens, typically of metal.
Coincidence of Wants
An exploration of the concept of 'coincidence of wants' in economics, fundamental to the function of barter systems.
Collateral
A valuable article or property pledged as the security for a loan.
Collusion
Collusion in economics refers to action in concert without any formal agreement, commonly observed among firms.
Commercial Bill
An extensive look at commercial bills, their definition, historical context, analytical frameworks, comparisons, and suggested readings.
Commercial Policy
The government policies affecting foreign trade, including tariffs, trade subsidies, quotas, and other regulations.
Commission
A payment for the services of an agent or intermediary in a transaction.
Commodity
A comprehensive overview of commodities, standardized goods that are traded in bulk and whose units are interchangeable.
Commodity Agreement
An agreement among producing and/or consuming countries to regulate the output and price of a particular commodity.
Commodity Exchange
An overview of commodity exchanges, their historical context, major analytical frameworks, and related concepts.
Commodity Market
A place or institution through which commodities are traded, including both spot and futures markets.
Commodity Price Index
A comprehensive overview of the Commodity Price Index and its application in economic analysis
Common Access Resource
A comprehensive overview and analysis of common access resources, their characteristics, and their economic implications.
Common External Tariff
The tariff charged on trade with non-members by all countries in a customs union or common market, often referring to the external tariff of the European Union.
common knowledge
A comprehensive entry discussing the concept of common knowledge, its implications, and how it is utilized in economics, particularly in game theory.
Community Indifference Curve
An economic concept representing the collective preferences of a community in international trade theory, under specific assumptions.
Company - Definition and Meaning
An explanation of the concept of a company in the context of business organization, including its formation, legal aspects, and variations.
Comparative Costs
An overview of the concept of comparative costs in economics, connecting it to comparative advantage and providing various analytical perspectives.
Compensated Demand
Analysis of compensated demand in the context of consumer behavior and utility maximization.
Compensating Variation
An economic measure quantifying the amount of additional income needed to restore an individual’s original level of utility after a change in the economic environment.
Competition
Understanding the concept and implications of competition in economics
competition policy - Definition and Meaning
Government policy to encourage competition, addressing both the structure of industries and the behavior of firms within them.
Competitive Advantage
Understanding competitive advantage and its significance in business and economics.
Competitive Economy
An overview of the concept of a competitive economy, where economic agents consider prices as given when making economic choices.
Competitive Equilibrium
Equilibrium in an economy with competitive markets where agents maximize their objectives under constraints, and all markets clear.
Competitive Fringe
The smaller firms that coexist with a dominant firm, or a small number of dominant firms, in an imperfectly competitive industry.
Competitive Tendering
A system of purchasing goods or services by inviting and evaluating bids to select a supplier.
Complementary Goods
Understanding the concept of complementary goods, products or services that are often consumed together, enhancing each other's value.
compliance costs
The costs to a firm of complying with laws and regulations affecting the markets it trades in.
Conciliation
Resolving disputes by producing an agreement acceptable to all parties.
Conditional Distribution
A comprehensive overview of the concept of conditional distribution in the context of economics, including definitions, major analytical frameworks, and case studies.
Conditionality
The practice of making loans conditional on adopting approved adjustment programmes or policy packages, especially by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Condorcet Paradox
The observation that the preference order resulting from pairwise majority voting can be intransitive.
Confederation of British Industry
A federation of UK companies, primarily from the manufacturing sector, founded in 1965 that lobbies government and collects information from members on various economic policies and regulations.
Conglomerate Merger
A merger between firms operating in different sectors of the economy.
Conjectural Variation
An analysis of a model in oligopoly where firms form expectations about their rivals’ reactions to changes in strategy.
Consortium
A group of companies or banks combining to run a project, often too large or risky for a single firm. Example: The Channel Tunnel.
Conspicuous Consumption
Spending on goods and services primarily to display income or wealth, or to attain a certain social status.
Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES)
An economics term denoting a production function or utility function with a constant elasticity of substitution between inputs.
Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES)
A detailed exploration of the constant elasticity of substitution, its definitions, concepts, historical context, and analytical frameworks.
Constant Prices
Valuing economic output using a constant set of prices over time to measure real activity
Constant Returns to Scale
An economic condition where an equal proportional increase in all inputs leads to an equal proportional increase in outputs.
Constrained Optimum
The solution of a constrained optimization problem where one or more constraints are binding, often involving maximization or minimization of an objective function.
Constraint
A condition that must be satisfied for any economic activity to be feasible.
Consumer
A purchaser of goods and services for personal satisfaction or household use.
Consumer Borrowing
Understanding the concept and dynamics of consumer borrowing in economics.
Consumer Debt
In-depth analysis and understanding of consumer debt as an economic term
Consumer Durables
Long-lived goods bought for final consumption, expected to be used over a period longer than a year. Examples include private cars, boats, and domestic items such as furniture and appliances.
Consumer Surplus
The excess benefit a consumer gains from purchasing a good over the amount paid for the good.
Consumerism - Definition and Meaning
An entry that explains the concept of consumerism, focusing on its economic implications and frameworks.
Consumption
The final use of goods and services by economic agents to satisfy their needs, as opposed to providing for future production.
Consumption Externality
An externality affecting the utility level of one or more individuals due to another's consumption.
Consumption Function
A function showing how the consumption of an individual or a country as a whole is determined.
Consumption Goods
An entry explaining the term 'consumption goods' within the context of economics
Consumption Possibility Line
An economic model illustrating the combinations of goods and services that a consumer can purchase given their budget constraint.
Contango
A structural term in the futures market where the futures price of a commodity is higher than its spot price.
Contestable Market - Definition and Meaning
A detailed exposition on the concept of a contestable market in economics, examining entry barriers, market conditions, and real-world implications.
Contingent Fee
A fee payable only if an activity is successful, commonly used in legal and real estate sectors.
Contingent Market
A dictionary entry detailing the meaning and economic implications of a contingent market.
Contingent Valuation
A method used to obtain an economic valuation of a non-market good such as the natural environment.
Continuous Compounding
Exploring the concept of continuous compounding, where interest or future receipts are computed continuously.
Continuous Random Variable
A comprehensive overview of continuous random variables, their essential components, and their application within various economic frameworks.
Continuous Time Process
An overview of the continuous time process as a stochastic process in economics.
Contract
A comprehensive overview of contracts in economics, detailing their definitions, contexts, and various frameworks.
Contract Curve
An exploration of the locus of Pareto-efficient allocations within an exchange economy.
Contract Theory
The study of contracts, focusing on the design of contracts to provide appropriate incentives.
Contracted-Out
Definition and meaning of contracted-out services in economics.
Contractual Savings
Understanding the concept, implications, and analytical frameworks around contractual savings.
Contributory Pension Scheme
A pension scheme in which scheme members contribute part of their salary to pension funds, typically matched by employer contributions.
Convergence in Distribution
A detailed examination of the concept of convergence in distribution within economics and probability theory
Convex Preferences
Definition and meaning of convex preferences in economic theory.
Cooperative Game
A comprehensive overview of cooperative game theory, including its definition, historical context, and major analytical frameworks.
Cooperative Society: Definition and Meaning
A detailed overview of a cooperative society, a business entity owned and operated by its employees or customers.