ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY FOR ECONOMISTS A ability-to-pay principle: principle that states taxes
ought to be paid by those who can best afford them.
absolute advantage: occurs when one nation can
produce an item more efficiently than another.
accounts payable: the amount a company owes for
goods already received.Not unlike a person's credit card bal-
ance; you've got the video cassette recorder (VCR), but you
haven't taken the money out of the bank yet.
accounts receivable: the amount a company is owed for
goods it sold on credit
accrual method of accounting: used for most corporate
financialstatements. Revenues are counted during the time
they're earned, and expenses are counted during the time
they're incurred. Cash doesn't need to change hands to be
recorded. This is a fuller way of looking at financial health. It's
as if you kept records not just of checks you'd written and
deposits you made, but also of what you owed on your credit
cards and what you were owed by others. You can feel pretty
rich if your checking account is flush, but if you owe
thousands on your credit card and don't take that into account,
you can spend yourself into trouble.
advertisement: a public notice usu. printed in a
newspaper, of goods for sale or services offered; or of goods
or services wanted.
aggregate demand: total planned spending by consumers,
business and govern-ment to purchase the aggregate supply.
aggregate supply: all the goods and services provided
by the economy.
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allowance for bad debt: the amount of debt a
company expects not to collect. This is subtracted from what
the company is owed for goods it sold on credit (accounts
receivable), so the balance sheet better reflects the company's
true economic health.
annual percentage rate (APR): the APR is the
percentage cost of credit calculated on an annual basis.
annual report: report to stockholders containing
pertinent financial information.
antitrust laws: laws regulating the growth and use of
monopolistic power or tendencies.
application: a letter of an employee asking for
employment.
appointment: an office for which a person has been
chosen.
arbitration: one method of settling disputes,
including union-employerbattles. The parties choose a third