Government budget balanceThe government budget balance, also referred to as the general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the difference between government revenues and spending. For a government that uses accrual accounting (rather than cash accounting) the budget balance is calculated using only spending on current operations, with expenditure on new capital assets excluded.
Gross domestic productGross domestic product (GDP) is a monetarymeasure of the total market value of all of the final goods and services which are produced and rendered during a specific period of time (usually a year) by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic activity of a country or region. The major components of GDP are consumption, government spending, net exports (exports minus imports), and investment.
Financial marketGeneric term for all markets in which trading takes place with capital Part of a series onFinancial markets Public market Exchange · Securities Bond market Bond valuation Corporate bond Fixed income Government bond High-yield debt Municipal bond Securitization Stock market Common stock Growth stock Preferred stock Registered share Shareholder Stock Stockbroker Stock certificate Stock exchange Watered stock Other markets Derivatives (Credit derivativeFutures exchangeHybrid security) Foreign exchange (CurrencyExchange rate) Commodity ETF Money Mutual fund Option Real estate Reinsurance Structured product Swap (finance) Alternative investment Private equity Private credit Leveraged buyout Venture Growth Secondaries SPAC Carried interest Leveraged finance Over-the-counter (off-exchange) ForwardsOptions Spot marketSwaps Trading Participants Regulation Clearing Related areas Asset management Banks and banking Bulls and Bears Diversification ESG Climate finance Eco-investing Impact investing Sustainable finance Greenwashing Financial technology Investment management Market risk Market trend Speculative attack vte Part of a series on financial servicesBanking Types of banks Advising Banq Bulge bracket Central Commercial Community development Cooperative Credit union Custodian Depository Development Direct Export credit agency Investment Industrial Merchant Middle market Money center Mutual savings Neobank Offshore Participation Payments Postal savings Private Public Retail Savings Savings and loan Universal Wholesale Bank holding company Lists of banks Accounts · Cards Accounts Christmas club Deposit Interest rate Money-market Savings Time deposit (Bond) Transaction (checking / current) Cards ATM Credit Debit Prepaid Funds transfer Cheque Card Electronic Bill payment Instant payment Mobile Wire RTGS NS Direct debit ACH Giro SWIFT Correspondent account CLS CIPS SPFS BRICS PAY Terms Asset allocation management Automated teller machine Bad debt Bank rate List Bank regulation Debanking Bank secrecy Asset growth Capital asset Cash Climate finance Corporate finance Disinvestment Diversification (finance) Eco-investing Economic bubble Economic expansion Enterprise value Enterprise risk management Environmental finance ESG Ethical banking Financial analysis analyst asset economics engineering forecast plan planner services Fractional-reserve banking Full-reserve banking Fundamental analysis Growth investing Hedge (finance) Impact investing Investment advisory Investment management Loan Mathematical finance Mobile banking Money creation Pension fund Private banking Relationship banking Sustainability Sustainable finance Speculation Statistical finance Strategic financial management Stress test (financial) Structured finance Structured product Toxic asset Related topics Asset pricing Bond (finance) Capital structure Corporate finance Cost of capital Equity (finance) Ethical banking Exchange-traded fund Financial law market participants regulation risk system History of banking List of banks Market risk Personal finance Public finance Security (finance) Shares Sustainable Development Goals Systematic risk Systemic risk Time value of money Too big to fail Too connected to fail Watered stock Category Commons Portalvte Part of a series onCapitalism Concepts Austerity Business cycle Capital Capital accumulation Capital markets Company Corporation Competition law Definitions Economic interventionism Economic liberalism Economic liberalization Economic surplus Entrepreneurship Fictitious capital Financial market Fiscal conservatism Free price system Free market Goods and services Investor Invisible hand Visible hand Marginalism Private property Privatization Profit Rent seeking Supply and demand Surplus value Tariff Value Wage labour Systems Anglo-Saxon Authoritarian Corporate Dirigist Free-market Humanistic Laissez-faire Liberal Libertarian Market Mercantilist Mixed Monopoly National Neoliberal Nordic Raw Regulated market Regulatory Rhine Social Political State State-sponsored Welfare Theories American Austrian Chartalism MMT Chicago Classical Institutional Keynesian Neo- New Post- Market monetarism Critique of political economy Critique of work Marxist Monetarist Neoclassical New institutional Supply-side Ideologies Anarcho Authoritarian Classical liberalism Democratic Dirigisme Eco Gladstonian Humanistic Inclusive Liberal Liberalism Libertarian Nationalist Neo Neoliberalism Objectivism Ordoliberalism Privatism Third Way Intellectuals Petty Cantillon Smith Bentham Malthus Say Ricardo Mill Hamilton Bastiat Marshall Pareto Bawerk Weber von Mises Schumpeter Keynes Hayek Rand Coase Stigler Friedman Buchanan Rothbard Sowell Becker Lucas Laffer Block Hoppe Origins Age of Enlightenment Capitalism and Islam Commercial Revolution Feudalism Industrial Revolution Mercantilism Merchant capitalism Primitive accumulation Physiocracy Simple commodity production Development Advanced Consumer Community Corporate Crony Finance Global Illiberal Late Marxist Merchant Progressive Rentier State monopoly Technological Related Anti-capitalism Capitalism in Singapore Capitalist propaganda Capitalist realism Capitalist state Consumerism Crisis theory Criticism of capitalism Critique of political economy Critique of work Cronyism Culture of capitalism Evergreening Exploitation of labour Globalization History History of theory Market economy Periodizations of capitalism Perspectives on capitalism Post-capitalism Speculation Spontaneous order Venture philanthropy Wage slavery Capitalism portal Economics portalvte A financial market is a marketplace where the pricing and trade of securities, commodities, currency, derivatives, or other financial products takes place.
COVID-19 recessionEconomic downturn, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemicThe COVID-19 recession was a global economic recession caused by COVID-19 lockdowns. The recession began in most countries in February 2020. After a year of global economic slowdown that saw stagnation of economic growth and consumer activity, the COVID-19 lockdowns and other precautions taken in early 2020 drove the global economy into crisis. Within seven months, every advanced economy had fallen into recession.
Great RecessionThe Great Recession was a period of contraction in economies around the world (particularly in the western world and associated countries) that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009, overlapping with the closely related 2008 financial crisis. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map).Fiscal policyIn economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variables developed in reaction to the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the previous laissez-faire approach to economic management became unworkable.
Economic growthMeasure of increase in market value of goodsHistoric world GDP per capitaCountries by real GDP growth rate in % for 2024 (IMF WEO database) Real GDP per capita growth in % for 2025 In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and services that a society produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted output of an economy in a given year or over a period of time.Sovereign creditSovereign credit is the credit of a sovereign country backed by the financial resources of that state. Sovereign credit is the opposite of sovereign debt. Fiat money is sovereign credit and sovereign bonds are sovereign debts. When money buys bonds, sovereign credit cancels sovereign debt.
State formationState formation is the process of the development of a centralized government structure in a situation in which one did not exist. State formation has been a study of many disciplines of the social sciences for a number of years, so much so that Jonathan Haas writes, "One of the favorite pastimes of social scientists over the course of the past century has been to theorize about the evolution of the world's great civilizations."
DemocracyGovernment system where political power lies with the people
External debtA country's gross external debt (or foreign debt) is the liabilities that are owed to nonresidents by residents. The debtors can be governments, corporations or citizens. External debt may be denominated in domestic or foreign currency. It includes amounts owed to private commercial banks, foreign governments, or international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
State-buildingState-building as a specific term in social sciences and humanities, refers to political and historical processes of creation, institutional consolidation, stabilization and sustainable development of states, from the earliest emergence of statehood up to the modern times.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.