| A | B |
|---|
| business cycles | The ups and downs of the economy |
| recession | A period of significant decline in the economy, usually lasting six months to a year. |
| depression | A major economic slowdown, loonger lasting and more serious than a recession. |
| inflation | A general, prolonged rise in the prices of goods and services. |
| interest | A fee paid for the opportunity to use someone else's money over a period of time. |
| economic indicators | Measurments used to monitor the health of the economy. |
| gross domestic product | The total dollar value of goods and services produced in a country during the year. |
| consumer price index | A measurment of the change in prices over time of a specific group of goods and services. |
| budget | An estimate of anticipated income and expenses for a certain period of time. |
| budget surplus | An amount by which revenue exceeds spending |
| deficit spending | The practice of spending more money than was received in revenue. |
| budget deficit | An amount by which spending exceeds revenue. |
| national debt | The total amount of money that the federal government owes. |
| fiscal policy | The federal government's use of taxing spending policies to help stabilize the economy. |
| money supply | The total amount of money in circulatioon at any given time. |
| monetary policy | Efforts by which the Federal Reserve Board to stabilize the economy by regulating the money supply. |
| Federal Reserve System | The cenral bank of the United States. |
| Federal Reserve Board | The governing body of the Federal Reserve System. |
| federal funds rate | The interest rate at which banks lend money to another overnight. |
| discount rate | The interest rate that banks pay when borrowing money from the Federal Reserve Bank. |
| reserve requirement | The percentage of a bank's deposits that it must keep on hand. |
