Skip to main content
Social Sci LibreTexts

11.32: Glossary: Macro Workings

  • Page ID
    84566
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    aggregate demand (AD) curve
    the relationship between the total spending on domestic goods and services and the price level for output
    aggregate demand (AD)
    the relationship between the total spending in an economy on domestic goods and services and the price level for output
    aggregate production function
    the process whereby an economy as a whole turns economic inputs such as human capital, physical capital, and technology into output measured as GDP per capita
    aggregate supply (AS) curve
    the relationship between real GDP and the price level for output, holding the price of inputs fixed
    aggregate supply (AS)
    the relationship between real GDP and the price level for output, holding the price of inputs fixed
    aggregate supply–aggregate demand model
    a model that shows what determines total supply or total demand for the economy, and how total demand and total supply interact at the macroeconomic level
    business cycle
    the relatively short-term movement of the economy in and out of recession
    capital deepening
    an increase by society in the average level of physical and/or human capital per person
    compound growth rate
    the rate of growth when multiplied by a base that includes past GDP growth
    contractual rights
    the rights of individuals to enter into agreements with others regarding the use of their property providing recourse through the legal system in the event of noncompliance
    convergence
    pattern in which economies with low per capita incomes grow faster than economies with high per capita incomes
    depression
    an especially lengthy and deep decline in output
    full-employment GDP
    another name for potential GDP, when the economy is producing at its potential and unemployment is at the natural rate of unemployment
    human capital
    the accumulated skills and education of workers
    Industrial Revolution
    the widespread use of power-driven machinery and the economic and social changes that occurred in the first half of the 1800s
    infrastructure
    a component of physical capital such as roads, rail systems, and so on
    innovation
    putting advances in knowledge to use in a new product or service
    intermediate zone
    portion of the AS curve where GDP is below potential but not so far below as in the Keynesian zone; the AS curve is upward-sloping, but not vertical in the intermediate zone
    invention
    advances in knowledge
    Keynesian zone
    portion of the AS curve where GDP is far below potential and the AS curve is flat
    Keynes’ law
    “demand creates its own supply”
    labor productivity
    the value of what is produced per worker, or per hour worked (sometimes called worker productivity)
    modern economic growth
    the period of rapid economic growth from 1870 onward
    neoclassical economists
    economists who generally emphasize the importance of aggregate supply in determining the size of the macroeconomy over the long run
    neoclassical zone
    portion of the AS curve where GDP is at or near potential output where the AS curve is steep
    peak
    during the business cycle, the highest point of output before a recession begins
    physical capital
    the plant and equipment used by firms in production; this includes infrastructure
    potential GDP
    the maximum quantity that an economy can produce given full employment of its existing levels of labor, physical capital, technology, and institutions
    production function
    the process whereby a firm turns economic inputs like labor, machinery, and raw materials into outputs like goods and services used by consumers
    recession
    a significant decline in national output
    rule of law
    the process of enacting laws that protect individual and entity rights to use their property as they see fit. Laws must be clear, public, fair, and enforced, and applicable to all members of society
    Say’s law
    “supply creates its own demand”
    special economic zone (SEZ)
    area of a country, usually with access to a port where, among other benefits, the government does not tax trade
    stagflation
    an economy experiences stagnant growth and high inflation at the same time
    technological change
    a combination of invention—advances in knowledge—and innovation
    technology
    all the ways in which existing inputs produce more or higher quality, as well as different and altogether new products
    trough
    during the business cycle, the lowest point of output in a recession, before a recovery begins
    CC licensed content, Shared previously

    11.32: Glossary: Macro Workings is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?