192 definitions by abu yahya
(EU GOVERNMENT) agency of the European Union that publishes harmonized statistics for the 27 member states of the EU. The EU does not collect the statistics, but reviews and edits statistics collected by its member states so that the data is comparable for all of the countries in it.
BILL: I'm blogging about the economy of Europe, but I don't know what the economic indicators are. You know, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, hours worked, and so on.
ANNA: Go to the Eurostat web page. It's really awesome!
ANNA: Go to the Eurostat web page. It's really awesome!
by abu yahya July 15, 2010
a{n alleged} miracle that serves no purpose or is actively evil. For example, in the Apocryphal New Testament, in the book *Protevangelion*, XI. Mary's immaculate conception has caused immense turmoil for Joseph and Mary, not merely because Joseph assumes Mary has conceived with another mortal, but also because she does so far too soon. This is therefore resolved by more miracles, that fail to convince anyone (xi.19). In XIII., Joseph has to get a midwife, and finds that time has stopped (so he can find her quickly?). But in the following chapter, the midwife is useless and Mary delivers miraculously too. So there was no point at all to the miracle.
Other examples: a story in the Talmud of a slain holy man's blood, which bubbled miraculously on the spot where he was killed. Nebuchadnezzar is said to arrive there after his conquest of Jerusalem and demand to know why the blood bubbles. When he finds out, he believes he has to appease the spirit of the holy man and so he "sacrifices" 80,000 people on the spot where the blood bubbles. Wouldn't God stop the bubbling just to get Nebuchadnezzar to stop murdering people there?
Other examples: a story in the Talmud of a slain holy man's blood, which bubbled miraculously on the spot where he was killed. Nebuchadnezzar is said to arrive there after his conquest of Jerusalem and demand to know why the blood bubbles. When he finds out, he believes he has to appease the spirit of the holy man and so he "sacrifices" 80,000 people on the spot where the blood bubbles. Wouldn't God stop the bubbling just to get Nebuchadnezzar to stop murdering people there?
If Bush was a perverse miracle sent from God to punish our nation for its wickedness, then would it not have been more godlike to make us less wicked--instead?
by abu yahya February 15, 2009
title of book by John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) outlining the general concept of Keynesian economics. The book was published in 1936.
*Context*
______________________________
Prior to the Great Depression, opinions about how to properly manage the economy were dominated by Neoclassical economics, which advocated little government intervention. In particular, unemployment was regarded as the consequence of workers failing to accept wages sufficiently low to permit full employment.
During the Great Depression, unemployment soared to 25% in the USA and Germany. Economics had no advice to give to leaders anxious to do something, and none of the neoclassical predictions were coming true. The government of the UK commissioned J.M. Keynes to lead a commission of top British economists in a general review of economic theory; their finding were summarized by Keynes in *The General Theory*.
*The Findings*
______________________________
The Cambridge team did not have access to statistics of national income and product accounting (NIPA). They did have some data on unemployment and prices, especially from the USA.
Keynes also identified several inherent logical problems with neoclassical economic theory about saving and investment. The theory said that all economic output of an economy would tend to be consumed; all saving would be invested; and all workers would be employed, *provided wages fell low enough*.
Keynes noted the economic mechanism by which investment occurs has little to do with the existing rate of saving; both are influenced by interest rates, but other forces come into play (e.g., liquidity preference for saving, business opportunities and user cost for investment). Hence, aggregate demand can drift very far out of alignment with output (or potential output).
Another finding was that employment rates actually did not respond in a predictable way to the fall in wages. The US economy suffered periods when a reduction in the wage level lead to increases in employment, despite the assumption that workers would have withdrawn from the labor market.
Finally, Keynes proposed the use of monetary policy and fiscal policy for regulating business cycles.
*Context*
______________________________
Prior to the Great Depression, opinions about how to properly manage the economy were dominated by Neoclassical economics, which advocated little government intervention. In particular, unemployment was regarded as the consequence of workers failing to accept wages sufficiently low to permit full employment.
During the Great Depression, unemployment soared to 25% in the USA and Germany. Economics had no advice to give to leaders anxious to do something, and none of the neoclassical predictions were coming true. The government of the UK commissioned J.M. Keynes to lead a commission of top British economists in a general review of economic theory; their finding were summarized by Keynes in *The General Theory*.
*The Findings*
______________________________
The Cambridge team did not have access to statistics of national income and product accounting (NIPA). They did have some data on unemployment and prices, especially from the USA.
Keynes also identified several inherent logical problems with neoclassical economic theory about saving and investment. The theory said that all economic output of an economy would tend to be consumed; all saving would be invested; and all workers would be employed, *provided wages fell low enough*.
Keynes noted the economic mechanism by which investment occurs has little to do with the existing rate of saving; both are influenced by interest rates, but other forces come into play (e.g., liquidity preference for saving, business opportunities and user cost for investment). Hence, aggregate demand can drift very far out of alignment with output (or potential output).
Another finding was that employment rates actually did not respond in a predictable way to the fall in wages. The US economy suffered periods when a reduction in the wage level lead to increases in employment, despite the assumption that workers would have withdrawn from the labor market.
Finally, Keynes proposed the use of monetary policy and fiscal policy for regulating business cycles.
The *The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money* completely shook up the world of economic policy. Hereafter, governments took responsibility for economic conditions or they lost power.
by abu yahya March 3, 2009
*noun*; term coined by Adam Smith (1723-1790) to refer to things used to produce other things. Usually people refer to four factors of production:
1.labor (not the same thing as workers); a worker can work more or less hours per week, and can exchange her labor for payment
2. capital; includes tools, machinery, plants and fixtures, seed corn, etc. Adam Smith distinguished between inventories, which he called circulating capital, and tools, which he called fixed capital;
3. land; understood as a specific area on the earth's surface, but sometimes incorporates the natural productivity or mineral resources as well;
4. entrepreneurship; sometimes lumped with capital. Includes the combination of skills required to start a business.
1.labor (not the same thing as workers); a worker can work more or less hours per week, and can exchange her labor for payment
2. capital; includes tools, machinery, plants and fixtures, seed corn, etc. Adam Smith distinguished between inventories, which he called circulating capital, and tools, which he called fixed capital;
3. land; understood as a specific area on the earth's surface, but sometimes incorporates the natural productivity or mineral resources as well;
4. entrepreneurship; sometimes lumped with capital. Includes the combination of skills required to start a business.
Different economic systems vary in their view of who should own the factors of production. In capitalism, this would be private individuals; in communism, it would be a collective. In the Marxist transition to communism, it would be the state.
by abu yahya March 3, 2009
(FINANCE) a type of bank that raises money for clients by issuing stock (see initial public offering and follow-on offering) or by issuing bonds.
Prior to the repeal (1999) of the Glass-Steagall Act, commercial banks and investment banks were required to be separate entities. Subsequently, the law was changed so that a bank holding company could own a commercial bank and an investment bank. Outside of the USA, commercial banks have always been allowed to engage in underwriting securities.
Investment banks usually sell shares of stock on a major exchange, such as the NYSE or NASDAQ. They give a fixed amount of money to the borrower, but also an agreed-upon number of shares, so if the shares soar in price after the public offering, then the investment bank makes an immense amount of money.
Investment banks also underwrite other kinds of securities, such as bonds.
Prior to the repeal (1999) of the Glass-Steagall Act, commercial banks and investment banks were required to be separate entities. Subsequently, the law was changed so that a bank holding company could own a commercial bank and an investment bank. Outside of the USA, commercial banks have always been allowed to engage in underwriting securities.
Investment banks usually sell shares of stock on a major exchange, such as the NYSE or NASDAQ. They give a fixed amount of money to the borrower, but also an agreed-upon number of shares, so if the shares soar in price after the public offering, then the investment bank makes an immense amount of money.
Investment banks also underwrite other kinds of securities, such as bonds.
Goldman Sachs is the largest and most successful investment bank in the USA. Prior to 1999 it was a limited partnership; now it is a publicly traded corporation and also a bank holding company.
by abu yahya September 24, 2010
A currency whose value is set by the currency markets; money whose exchange rate relative to other currencies is determined mainly or entirely by unrestricted trading in the currency. Most currencies are dirty float|dirty floats, which means that the government issuing them attempts to manage their traded value in some way; or else hard peg|hard pegs, in which the value is tied to something specific.
When a currency is floating, then its value may rise because the county is running a trade surplus, or it is running a capital account surplus. Floating currencies are not fiat money, although they are often confused for each other.
When a currency is floating, then its value may rise because the county is running a trade surplus, or it is running a capital account surplus. Floating currencies are not fiat money, although they are often confused for each other.
by abu yahya August 4, 2008
(MATHEMATICS) each positive number has another number that, when multiplied times itself, equals that number. So, for example, 4 has a square root of 2 (2 x 2 = 4).
The square root of a negative number is an imaginary number. Imaginary numbers are not, by themselves, useful solutions to math problems; but they can be used to find them.
The square root of a negative number is an imaginary number. Imaginary numbers are not, by themselves, useful solutions to math problems; but they can be used to find them.
BILL: Anna, we have a rectangle that's 3 x as long as it is wide, and it encloses an area of 300 square meters. What are the dimensions?
ANNA: Well, that's like 3 squares of 100 square meters. The square root of 100 is 10, so the rectangle is 10 by 30.
_________________________________________
The logarithm of a square root is one half the log of the number itself; hence, the natural log of 25 is 3.2189, while the natural log of 5 is 1.6094.
ANNA: Well, that's like 3 squares of 100 square meters. The square root of 100 is 10, so the rectangle is 10 by 30.
_________________________________________
The logarithm of a square root is one half the log of the number itself; hence, the natural log of 25 is 3.2189, while the natural log of 5 is 1.6094.
by abu yahya April 23, 2010