Black Monday
Black Monday was the global stock-market crash of October 19, 1987, when equity prices fell sharply in a single day.
Black Swan
A black swan is a rare event with very large consequences that standard models often fail to anticipate.
Black-Scholes Equation
The Black-Scholes equation is the no-arbitrage differential equation used to value options in continuous time under standard assumptions.
Blair House Agreement
The Blair House Agreement was a 1992 U.S.-EC deal that helped break the agricultural deadlock in the Uruguay Round trade talks.
Blue Book
The Blue Book is the United Kingdom's main national-accounts publication, reporting GDP, income, expenditure, and related macroeconomic data.
Blue Chip
A blue-chip stock is the share of a large, established company with a long record of profitability, liquidity, and market credibility.
Blue-Collar Worker
A blue-collar worker is a worker whose job is centered on manual, technical, production, maintenance, or transport tasks.
Bond
A bond is a debt security in which an investor lends money to an issuer in exchange for coupons and repayment at maturity.
Bond Default Swap
A bond default swap usually refers to a credit default swap written on a bond, transferring default risk from the protection buyer to the protection seller.
Bond-Rating Agency
A bond-rating agency evaluates the creditworthiness of bond issuers and assigns ratings that summarize default risk.
Bonus
A bonus is pay given in addition to base wages or salary, usually to reward performance, retention, or a specific outcome.
Bonus Issue
A bonus issue is a distribution of additional shares to existing shareholders without requiring them to pay cash for the new shares.
Book Value
Book value is the accounting value recorded on the balance sheet, often measured for a firm as assets minus liabilities.
Boom
A boom is a phase of rapid economic expansion marked by strong spending, rising output, tight labor markets, and often upward pressure on prices.
Bootstrap
A resampling technique that approximates a statistic’s sampling distribution by repeatedly sampling with replacement from observed data.
Borda Count
A voting system where voters rank alternatives, assigning points based on ranks, which are then summed to determine the winner.
Borrowing
The act of incurring debts to finance spending, applicable to individuals, firms, and governments.
Bottleneck
An in-depth exploration of the economic concept of bottlenecks, focusing on its definition, context, and relevance.
Bottom Line
The profit or loss on an activity, typically shown at the foot of financial statements.
Bounded Rationality
An examination of the concept of bounded rationality and its significance in economic theory.
Box–Cox Transformation
An overview and analysis of the Box–Cox transformation, its definition, application, and relevance in economics.
Box–Jenkins Approach
A method for identification, estimation, and diagnostic checking of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models in time series analysis.
Boycott
An examination of the term 'boycott' in economic contexts, its origins, applications, and significance
BP Curve
The set of income–interest rate combinations where the balance of payments is in equilibrium within the IS–LM–BP framework.
Brady Plan
A 1989 agreement for restructuring Mexico’s external debt, proposed by the US Secretary of the Treasury.
Brain Drain
A pejorative description of the tendency for talented individuals to migrate from poorer countries to richer countries in search of better employment opportunities and living standards.
Branch Banking
The banking system under which banks are allowed to have branches. Branch banking in some countries, including the United States, has sometimes been restricted to reduce the monopoly power of banks.
Brand
A term used to identify the maker or distributor of a good, with historical roots and significant economic implications.
Brand Loyalty
An exploration of brand loyalty, its economic implications, and its impact on consumer behavior and market dynamics.
Brand Recognition
Understanding the concept of Brand Recognition in Economics and Marketing.
Brandt Report
The report of the Independent Commission on International Development Issues aimed at fostering North-South cooperation, chaired by Willy Brandt, and published in 1980.
Break-Even
Understanding the Break-Even Point in Economics
Break-up Value
The sum a business could realize by ceasing operation entirely and selling off its assets.
Breitung test
A statistical test for unit root or stationarity in panel data.
Bretton Woods
Discussion of the Bretton Woods conference and the resulting international monetary arrangements established in 1944
Breusch-Pagan Test
A test in the context of linear regression models for examining homoscedasticity against specific forms of heteroscedasticity.
BRICS
An overview of the economic coalition comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa focused on their global impact and developmental strategies.
British Household Panel Survey
A comprehensive survey conducted in the UK from 1991 to 2009, collecting extensive demographic, economic, and social data.
Broad Money
A relatively inclusive definition of money, encompassing measures such as M2 and M3.
Broker
A person or company who facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers in various markets for a commission.
Brokerage
The fee charged by a broker for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller.
Brownian Motion
An examination of Brownian motion, its definition, historical context, and significance in various fields of economics.
Bubble
Definition and Meaning of Economic Bubbles
Budget
A comprehensive examination of the term 'budget' with a specific focus on its meaning, usage, and theoretical implications in economics.
Budget Constraint
The limit to expenditure for an economic agent based on the ability to finance it.
Budget Deficit
Understanding the concept of budget deficit, its implications, measurement, and analytical frameworks.
Budget Line
A comprehensive look at the concept of the budget line in economics, its implications, and its role in consumer theory.
budget surplus
The excess of a government’s total income over its expenditure.
Budget Year
The fiscal year used by the US federal government, running from October 1 to September 30 in the following year.
Buffer Stock
A detailed explanation of buffer stock, its functioning, and its implications on price stabilization.
Building and Loan Association
A US cooperative institution providing mortgage finance for homeowners, equivalent to a UK building society.
Building Society
A comprehensive entry on building societies in the UK, focusing on their role in the financial system, historical development, and evolution.
Built-in Stabilizers
Features of the economy that limit economic fluctuations through routine behaviour, such as tax revenues and unemployment benefits.
Bull
A trader who expects prices to rise on the stock or commodity market.
Bull Market
A comprehensive overview of the bull market, including its definition and economic implications.
bullion
Gold held in bulk, usually in the form of gold bars, largely held by central banks as part of foreign exchange reserves.
Bundesbank
The German central bank renowned for its financial caution and monetary stability, now part of the European System of Central Banks.
Bundle of Goods
A comprehensive look at the term 'bundle of goods,' its implications in economics, and how it is applied in constructing price indices.
Bundling
The marketing of related products as a single unit with a price typically less than the sum of the prices of the separate items.
Burden in Economics
Detailed examination of the concept of burden in economic contexts, specifically debt burden and tax burden.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Explanation of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, its role, and significant contributions to US economic data.
Business
An exploration of the term 'business' encompassing all forms of industrial and commercial profit-seeking activity, including its cycle, lobby, and broader economic significance.
Business Cycle
The fluctuation of economic activity around the long-term growth path, involving periods of growth and decline.
Business Ethics
The standards and principles businesses observe in their dealings beyond compliance with the law.
Business Expansion Scheme (BES)
A UK tax incentive (1983–1994) that encouraged individuals to invest equity in qualifying unlisted companies.
Business Rate
A UK tax on business premises used to finance local authorities, now levied at a uniform national rate.
Buy-out
Change in control of a company through its previous shareholders being bought out by new owners.
Buyer
Definition and meaning of the term 'buyer' within an economic context.
Buyer Concentration
A measure of market power on the demand side of a market, indicating the proportion of total market purchases by the largest buyers.
Buyer's Market
A comprehensive look at the term 'buyer's market' in economics, its implications, and its contextual significance.
By-Product
A comprehensive overview of the term 'by-product' in the context of economics, detailing its definition, relevance, and implications.
bygones
Past events which play no part in rational present decision-making in the context of economics.