Search Council for Economic Education's full glossary for terms and definitions

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A job or profession; also a category of work, sometimes identified by the degree of skill required.

A market structure in which a few, relatively large firms account for all or most of the production or sales of a good or service in a particular market, and where barriers to new firms entering the market are very high. Some oligopolies produce homogeneous products; others produce heterogeneous products.

The buying and selling of government bonds by the Federal Reserve to control bank reserves and the money supply.

The expenses of doing business.

The second-best alternative (or the value of that alternative) that must be given up when scarce resources are used for one purpose instead of another.

Sometimes called offshoring, outsourcing occurs when a firm in one country tries to reduce costs by locating production facilities in other countries and/or by hiring cheaper foreign workers.

A check written for more than the balance in one's checking account; in colloquial terms, a check that bounces. The bank will mark such a check NSF, for "non-sufficient funds," and will charge a penalty fee for the nuisance involved in handling a bounced check.