natural log

(MATHEMATICS) a logarithm whose base is e (2.71828...)

The number e is a transcendental irrational, which means that it has infinitely many decimal places but cannot be expressed as a fraction.

A useful feature of the natural log function is that the derivative of (ln x) is 1/x.
The natural log of n is equal to the {log(base x)n} divided by the {log(base x)e}.
by Abu Yahya May 05, 2010
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trade balance

the amount of goods and services that a country exports, minus the goods and services that it imports *in a calendar year*. In 1999 Japan exported much more than it imported, so it had a trade surplus. The same year, the United States imported more than it exported, and therefore had a large trade deficit.

The trade balance is negative if a country runs a trade deficit, and positive if it runs a trade surplus.
The trade balance is an extremely important indicator of economic health for most countries. Typically (not not always) the value of the currency is strongly influenced by the trade balance also.
by Abu Yahya February 14, 2009
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external deficit

a current account deficit; a negative net flow of liquid assets to the citizens of a particular country. The external balance includes the trade balance, net foreign factor income, and net foreign aid *received*. Usually the main cause of an external deficit is a trade deficit.
Internal deficits are sometimes blamed for external deficits, especially if both are chronic.
by Abu Yahya February 14, 2009
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U-6

(ECONOMICS) Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force. Put another way, U-6 = U-3 (headline unemployment) + discouraged workers + part-time workers in need of full-time jobs.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes six estimates of unemployment. The others are U-1, U-2, U-3, U-4, and U-5. Eurostat publishes one monthly estimate of unemployment for the European Union, which is approximately midway between U-3 and U-4.

The unemployment statistics for the USA are collected through a monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) (also known as the household survey) and an establishment survey.
U-6 is often referred to as "real unemployment" because it attempts to measure the total number of people who would like to have more work than they do have. Some have argued that U-6 is closer to historic measures of unemployment than U-3 is (we didn't have either during the Great Depression).
by Abu Yahya July 15, 2010
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U-3

(ECONOMICS) Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate). Does not include discouraged workers. Also referred to as "headline unemployment" because it is the statistic reported in the news.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes six estimates of unemployment. The others are U-1, U-3, U-4, U-5, and U-6. Eurostat publishes one monthly estimate of unemployment for the European Union, which is approximately midway between U-3 and U-4.

The unemployment statistics for the USA are collected through a monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) (also known as the household survey) and an establishment survey.
U-3 is the official unemployment rate in the USA; it excludes passive jobseekers (people who are just looking for available job openings without applying). Passive jobseekers are counted as part of the labor force in Europe, but not in the USA. Prior to the 2008 economic crisis, this caused unemployment rates in the USA to be about 1% lower than they would have been if the BLS had used European methods of estimating.
by Abu Yahya July 16, 2010
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complex number

(MATHEMATICS) a number consisting of a real number and an imaginary number; imaginary numbers are multiples of the square root of -1.
You need a complex number to express the value of an electromagnetic wave function.
by Abu Yahya April 23, 2010
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distributional efficiency

In the social sciences, refers to the effectiveness with which a social benefit reaches its intended beneficiaries. When most of the cost of a particular social good is absorbed by intermediaries, such as scalpers and profiteers, distributional efficiency is low.
The state-owned auditorium hands out a fixed number of free tickets to students to promote the arts, but nearly all of them sell the tickets to scalpers for the money. It's very poor distributional efficiency.
by abu yahya July 11, 2008
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