life expectancy - the length of time that a living thing, especially a human being, is likely to live
income per capita - if you state an amount per capita, you mean that amount for each person
the old Malthusian world - Asia, Africa and Europe
insourcing and outsourcing - the fact of work being done by the employees of a company rather than another organization being employed to do it/ If a company outsources, it pays to have part of its work done by another company
highly visible borders - the line that divides one country from another
a monopsony and a monopoly - a situation in a market in which there is only one buyer for goods or services offered by several sellers/ a buyer who is the only one in a market in which the goods or services are offered by several sellers/ (an organization or group which has) complete control of something, especially an area of business, so that others have no share
perfect competition - when someone is trying to win something or be more successful than someone else/ an organized event in which people try to win a prize by being the best, fastest, etc.
mercantilism the idea that a country's government should try to influence trade and business, especially by encouraging exports and putting limits on imports
the "fly in the ointment," a single thing or person that is spoiling a situation which could have been very positive or enjoyable
The Porter Forces
pick someone's pocket to steal small objects, especially money, from someone's pockets or bag
LECTURE 2
an autocracy [U] government by a single person or small group that has unlimited power or authority, or the power or authority of such a person or group
[C] a country or society which has this form of government
theocratic society [C] a country that is ruled by religious leaders
[U] when a country is ruled by religious leaders
exponential curve describes a rate of increase which becomes quicker and quicker as the thing that increases becomes larger-a line which bends continuously and has no straight parts
a division of labora way of organizing work, especially making things, so that it is done as a set of separate processes by different (groups of) people
diversified portfolio [I] to become more varied or different/ [I or T] If a business diversifies, it starts making new products or offering new services
coercion by men the use of force to persuade someone to do something which they are unwilling to do
a radical libertarian a person who believes that people should be free to think and behave as they want and should not have limits put on them by governments
an idea of the leviathan something or someone that is extremely large and powerful
the monopoly on force (an organization or group which has) complete control of something, especially an area of business, so that others have no share
Dead capital
?live capital
LECTURE 3
Stagflationan economic condition in which rising prices, high unemployment and little or no economic growth are present
Reserve currency a particular currency that is held by many countries who use it to make payments to other countries:
Securitization to borrow money in the form of bonds which can then be traded on financial markets
Mortgage equity an agreement which allows you to borrow money from a bank or similar organization, especially in order to buy a house or apartment, or the amount of money itself
Foreclosure (especially of banks) to take back property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being paid back as formally agreed
Inflationary pressures causing price increases and inflation
Hedge funds a financial service where money is invested (= given to companies hoping to get more back) in a way which tries to make very big profits, but which has a big risk
To write off to accept that an amount of money has been lost or that a debt will not be paid
Tradeoffsa balancing of two opposing situations or qualities, both of which are desired/A tradeoff is also a situation in which the achieving of something you want involves the loss of something else which is also desirable, but less so:
To be deep water to be in or get into serious trouble
Misconception an idea which is wrong because it has been based on a failure to understand a situation
LECTURE 4
Emigration to leave a country permanently and go to live in another one
Influx the arrival of a large number of people or things at the same time
Exploitation when you use something well so that you get an advantage from it
Affinity a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristics / a close similarity between two things
niche-audience a job or position which is very suitable for someone, especially one that they like / an area or position which is exactly suitable for a small group of the same type
legitimateallowed by law/ reasonable and acceptable/ A legitimate child is one whose parents are legally married at the time of his or her birth.
GDP Gross Domestic Product: the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year
Conventionsa large formal meeting of people who do a particular job or have a similar interest, or a large meeting for a political party
LECTURE 5
Clusters a group of similar things that are close together, sometimes surrounding something
Risk-taking the activity of taking risks in order to start a company, increase profits, etc.
Wild cards in computers, a symbol that has no particular meaning of its own so that its space can be filled by any real character that is necessary
Decision –making a group of people in a company or other organization who are responsible for making important decisions, especially decisions about whether to buy something
Emotiona strong feeling such as love or anger, or strong feelings in general
Irrelevantnot related to what is being discussed or considered and therefore of no importance
Carbon neutral If a person, organization, event, etc. is carbon neutral, it does things such as planting trees to reduce carbon dioxide by the same amount as it produces it.
Energy-efficient using little electricity, gas, etc
Charge transmitters a piece of equipment for broadcasting radio or television signals
Offsetto balance one influence against an opposing influence, so that there is no great difference as a result/ to pay for things that will reduce carbon in order to reduce the damage caused by carbon that you produce
Invest in to buy something because you think it will be useful, even if you think it is expensive
Product life cycle the stages in a particular product's existence: introduction, growth or increasing sales, maturity (= slow or no increase in sales), and decline or reduction in sales
Disposable describes a product that is intended to be thrown away after use
Biometricsthe use of detailed information about someone's body, for example the patterns of colour in their eyes, in order to prove who they are
Divergence strategy
Convergenceif two or more economies converge, they become more similar to each other/ if prices, levels, or rates converge or are converged, they become or are made more similar to each other/ if two different types of product, industry, etc. converge or are converged, they join together or are joined together
Innovation (the use of) a new idea or method
Verification to prove that something exists or is true, or to make certain that something is correct