Diminishing Marginal Utility
An economic principle describing the decrease in added satisfaction or utility as additional units of a good or service are consumed.
Diminishing Returns to Scale
When the marginal product of a factor falls as more of that factor is used, holding the quantity of other factors constant.
Direct Investment Abroad
An overview and analysis of direct investment abroad, referring to foreign direct investment.
Direct Labour
The use of a local authority's own employees for certain types of work.
Direct Tax
A comprehensive entry on the concept of Direct Tax in economics, its definition, context, and comparative analysis.
Directive of the European Union
A legislative act of the European Union that requires member states to achieve a specified outcome but which does not dictate the method of achieving the outcome.
Director
An overview of the term 'director' in the context of economics and business
dirigisme
The willingness of the state to intervene in the economy, either systematically or in an ad hoc manner.
Dirty Floating
An exchange rate regime where a currency's value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign exchange market mechanisms with occasional government intervention.
Discount
A detailed exploration of the term 'discount' and its various economic applications.
Discount House
A financial institution specializing in discounting bills of exchange
Discount Rate
The interest rate at which future receipts or payments are discounted to find their present value.
Discount Window
An overview of the discount window as a key entity in monetary policy and central banking operations
Discounted Cash Flow
A method of calculating the net present value of a stream of payments by adding the present discounted values of all net cash flows at various future dates.
Discounting the Future
Placing a lower value on future receipts than on the present receipt of an equal sum
Discouraged Worker
A comprehensive overview of the term 'Discouraged Worker' in economics.
Discrete Choice Models
Examining the regression models concerned with categorical dependent variables in economics.
Discrete Distribution
A probability distribution for variables that take countable values, represented by a probability mass function.
Discrete Random Variable
Understanding the definition and implications of a discrete random variable in economics.
Discrete Time
The representation of time in a dynamic economic model as a discrete variable with specific time periods.
Discrete Variable
A detailed description and analysis of the economic term 'discrete variable'.
Discretion in Economic Policy
An overview of the term 'discretion' in the context of economic policy formulation, including theories and frameworks.
Discretionary Policy
Understanding discretionary policy in economics where policy measures are based on the judgment of policy-makers.
Discretionary Spending
An examination of discretionary spending and its role in economic policy, contrasting with mandatory spending.
Discriminating Monopoly
A situation where a monopolist sells different units of output at different prices, employing various degrees of price discrimination to maximize profit.
Discrimination in Economics
An in-depth analysis of discrimination in employment relationships, its historical context, definitions, and economic implications.
Discriminatory Analysis
Term used for allocating an individual to the correct population group using existing samples and statistical methods.
Diseconomies of Scale
Understanding the concept of diseconomies of scale in economics.
Disembodied Technical Progress
Improvements in technical knowledge that increase output without needing new equipment investments.
Disequilibrium
A situation in which planned economic actions cannot be carried out due to inconsistencies between ex ante plans.
Disguised Unemployment
A detailed exploration of the concept of disguised unemployment, its origin, and its relevance in various economic frameworks.
Disincentives in Economics
Economic arrangements which weaken the inducement to undertake a particular action.
Disintermediation
Replacement of the use of financial intermediaries by direct contact between the providers and users of capital.
Disinvestment
An in-depth look into the concept of disinvestment and its implications in economics.
Dismissal for Cause
Termination of employment due to unsatisfactory conduct or failure to meet employment standards.
Dispersion
Scattering or spread of data points around the sample mean.
Disposable Income
Income available for consumption or saving after direct taxes and mandatory contributions (as defined in national accounts).
Dissaving
Exploring the concept of dissaving, where net assets are decreased by spending in excess of income.
Distorted Prices
Definition, context, and implications of distorted prices in economics.
Distortions in Economics
Examination of how distortions impact the efficiency of price mechanisms in an economy.
Distribution
An exploration of the term 'distribution' in economics, detailing its meaning, historical context, and analytical frameworks.
Distributional Equity
An exploration into the concept of distributional equity within economics.
Distributional Weight
The relative importance given to different members of a society in the evaluation of social welfare
Distributive Judgement
Definition and concept of distributive judgement in economics, associated with equity.
Distributive Justice
An exploration of the concept of distributive justice in economics, aligning closely with the idea of equity.
Disturbance Term
Definition and Meaning of Disturbance Term
Disutility
A loss in utility derived from the consumption of a 'bad', often interchanged with the disutility from labor.
Divergence Indicator
A measure of how far the exchange rates of currencies of members of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System (EMS) diverged from their agreed central parities with the European Currency Unit (ECU).
Diversification
A comprehensive examination of diversification in economics, including its definitions, frameworks, case studies, and related terms.
Divestment
The process of a firm disposing of part of its activities either for strategic reasons or as required by regulators.
Dividend
The payment of a share in the profits of a company to its shareholders.
Dividend Control
Restrictions on the distribution of dividends by firms to balance wage controls and regulate profits.
Dividend Cover
The ratio of total earnings for equity in a company to dividends paid out, often indicating financial health and sustainability of dividend payments.
Division of Labour
The system by which different members of any society do different types of work, emphasizing specialization and efficiency.
Divorce of Ownership and Control of Companies
The separation between the ownership and control in companies, typically seen in widely-held corporations.
Do It Yourself (DIY)
Tasks carried out within a household which could have been performed by a paid specialist, primarily in the fields of decorating, home improvements, and motor repairs.
Dollar
The term 'dollar' and its usage in various countries.
Dollar Standard
An exchange rate management system where other countries peg their currencies to the US dollar and hold reserves primarily in US dollars.
Dollarization
The use by a country of a foreign currency (often the dollar) in parallel with, or as an alternative to, the domestic currency.
Domestic Credit Expansion
The increase in the money supply within an economy, not due to a balance-of-payments surplus but owing to lending by the banking system to the state or private sector.
Domestic Product
Overview of the economic term 'domestic product,' its definition, historical context, and analytical frameworks.
Domestic Rates
A UK system of local taxation on householders that operated until 1990.
Dominant Firm
A dominant firm is a company that possesses a significant market share in a given sector, typically 40% or more, often due to economies of scale, essential patents, or legal barriers to entry.
Dominant Strategy
A strategy in game theory that results in the highest payoff for a player, regardless of the strategy adopted by others.
Domino Effect
The tendency of one country's accession to an organization, or adoption of a policy, to induce other countries to follow suit.
Dotcom Company
A company devoted to providing internet access and various activities, including sales over the internet.
Double Coincidence of Wants
A fundamental concept in the barter system that refers to the challenge where two parties each hold an item the other wants, allowing them to engage in a direct exchange.
Double Counting
An error in economic measurements that occurs when gross amounts are summed instead of net amounts, leading to inflated totals.
Double Entry Bookkeeping
The system of keeping accounts in which every payment appears twice in different accounts to ensure accuracy and consistency, once as a credit and once as a debit.
Double Taxation
The collection of taxes on the same flow by two tax instruments, often referring to international taxation issues.
Double Taxation Agreement
An agreement between two countries to avoid double taxation of the same income.
Double-Dip Recession
Understanding the concept of a double-dip recession, its historical occurrence, and economic implications.
Double-Dividend Hypothesis
Exploring the double-dividend hypothesis, which argues that environmental taxes can simultaneously reduce negative externalities and provide fiscal benefits.
Dow Jones
A leading index of US stock market prices, including the 30 most widely traded US industrial shares.
Down Payment
A part of the price of goods sold on hire purchase or instalment credit that has to be paid immediately.
Downside Risk
An in-depth exploration of downside risk in economics.
Downstream
Definition and implications of the term in an economic context focusing on the sequential stages of production and distribution.
Downward-Sloping Demand Curve
A demand curve depicting the inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded.
Drawing Rights
The right of IMF members to acquire foreign currency from the IMF in exchange for their own currency.
Drobisch Price Index
An economic term referring to a specific type of price index formed by averaging the Laspeyres and Paasche indices.
Dual Currency Bond
A fixed income security that makes coupon payments in one currency and pays the principal in another currency.
Dual Economy
An in-depth examination of an economic structure where modern industries coexist with traditional sectors.
Duality in Economics
Analysis of duality in economic optimization problems, particularly in consumer theory.
Dummy Variable
Definition and meaning of dummy variable in economics, including its significance and application in various economic analyses.
Dumping
The practice of selling goods in a foreign country at unfairly low prices.
Duopoly
An in-depth look into the concept of a duopoly in economics.
Duopsony
A market situation with only two buyers, analogous to a duopoly involving only two sellers.
Durable Good
A good that provides long-term utility, typically lasting three years or more.
Durbin-Watson Test
A statistical test for detecting the presence of first-order serial correlation in the error terms of a linear regression model.
Durbin’s test
Durbin’s test: Evaluating first-order serial correlation in the presence of a lagged dependent variable
Dutch Auction
An overview and economic analysis of the Dutch auction, an auction format starting with a high price that decreases until a buyer accepts or a minimum reserve is reached.
Dutch Disease
Analysis of the economic concept of Dutch Disease, its implications, and associated frameworks.
Duties
An exploration of various types of duties including anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty, customs duty, death duties, estate duty, excise duty, and stamp duty.
Dynamic Equilibrium
Definition and meaning of dynamic equilibrium in economics
Dynamic Inconsistency
A situation in which the optimal plan of a decision-maker made at one point in time is no longer optimal later in time.
Dynamic Inefficiency
An overview of the concept of dynamic inefficiency in an intertemporal economy.
Dynamic Programming
A method for solving intertemporal optimization problems by maximizing the sum of current and future pay-offs.
Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE)
Definition and meaning of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE), a class of theoretical models used in macroeconomics.
Dynamics
The study of the time path of an economy, determined by a combination of exogenous and endogenous factors.
Economic Depression
An in-depth examination of an economic depression, its historical contexts, definitions, and major frameworks.