The Penguin Dictionary of Economics [antikvár]

FOREWORD* no dictionary of a living tongue can ever be perfect, since while it is hastening to publication, some words are budding, and some falling away ' - samuel johnson, The Dictionary of English (1755)The general aim of this book is to provide a companion (not an oracle) to two sorts of users of economics. First, it is intended to be of use to the general reader who wants to follow economic discussion in the press or elsewhere and to the increasing number of people who need a knowledge of economic terms and concepts in their daily work - town planners, trade unionists, civil servants, teachers, journalists, politicians and businessmen among them. Secondly, it is aimed at students up to the second year of a university course in the subject.We have tried to eschew an examination-crammer treatment, and to write as far as possible as practitioner s of the art, to recognize controversy where it exists and to indicate wherever possible the practical applications of the terms and concepts defined. Economics, and economic theory in particular, cannot be mastered solely by reference to a dictionary or any other single book, and it is not always an easy subject to express in simple language. For these reasons, our entries on the more technical terms are not intended to be fully comprehensible to the layman. We have, of course, done our best, and the length of our entries is related more to the space required for exposition than to our assessment of their relative importance.To avoid repetition, and in the interests of brevity and coherence, the entries are elaborately cross-referenced, small capitals indicating where reference to another entry will help understanding. There is less difference between British and American terminology in economics than in many other subjects, and, except in institutional matters, it is hoped that our dictionary will have equal value to British and American readers. In some instances where a term has a specialized meaning in the United States, or is little used in this coimtry, we have inserted '(U.S.)' after the term concerned.Our subject is a large one, and we have had to be highly selective in our treatment of it. Words in common usage are not included unless they have a specialized meaning in economics. Economic theory,