A closed economy refers to a country that produces all of its goods and services and does not participate in international trade.
Closed economies practically do not exist today, although some countries are closer than others to its creation.
Even in countries with relatively open economies, governments can isolate a particular sector or industry from international competition through quotas, subsidies, and tariffs—a practice often referred to as protectionism.
An economist is an expert who studies the relationship between a society’s resources and its production or output, using a number of different indicators to predict future trends.
An absolute advantage is when a manufacturer can provide a greater quantity of a product or service for the same price or the same quantity at a lower price than its competitors.
Animal spirits come from the Latin spiritus animalis: “breath that awakens the human mind.” It was introduced by the British economist John Maynard Keynes in 1936.
Autarky refers to a state of self-sufficiency and is commonly used to describe countries or economies that seek to reduce their dependence on international trade.
Automatic Stabilizers is a permanent government policy that automatically adjusts tax rates and transfers payments in a way that stabilizes income, consumption, and business spending over the business cycle.
The balance of trade (BOT) is the difference between the value of a country’s imports and exports over a given period and is the largest component of a country’s balance of payments (BOP).
“Best Effort” is a legal term that represents the obligation of a party to a contract to take all possible steps to fulfill the terms of the agreement.