Concepts: Economy and society
Introduction
Homo economicus Concept developed by neoclassical economists. The assumption that individuals are seen as “rational” and self-
interested actors who maximize their utility by making decisions that are based on full information.
Neoliberalism A set of policies grounded in neoclassical economic theory and aimed at maximizing the role of markets in the
allocation of economic resources and reducing the role of the state to the principle enforcer of “market efficiency”
in the economy.
Aggregate demand Total demand of goods in a particular market
Macroeconomic policy Refers to the tools of the government to manage the business cycle and fight unemployment during economic
recessions.
Social policy and industrial relations About the organisation of the welfare state and the labour market.
Corporate governance Consists of formal and informal rules and norms shaping firms’ business strategies and the distribution of profits
between their main stakeholders.
Financial policy The regulation of the banking and credit system.
Monetary sovereignty The capacity to issue the debt in a currency controlled by the national central bank.
Chapter 1: economic inequality and instability in democratic capitalism
Gini index A very abstract measure of income distribution, ranging from zero (indicating “perfect equality”, when every
citizen earns the same income) to one (meaning “complete inequality”, when one citizen has all the income and
the rest has nothing). The Gini coefficient is calculated by the ratio of the area between the line of perfect equality
and the observed Lorenz curve to the area between the line of perfect equality. The higher the coefficient, the
more unequal the distribution is
Distribution tables Tables that present data on the shares of different “income groups” in the total income that is earned every year
in a particular country and see how these shares have evolved over time.
The dominant class The income share of the top 1%.
The lower classes (Pikkety) The income share of the bottom 50%.
The middle classes (Pikkety) The income share of the middle 40%.
Income growth adjusted for inflation Real national income growth per adult
Superelites The income share of the top 0,1%, they derive most of their income from capital rather than from their labor.
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, Stocks Shares of individual companies. A person who buys a stock is buying an actual share of the company, which makes
him or her a partial owner.
Bonds Represent debt, it is a certificate of indebtedness that specifies the obligations of the borrower to the holder of
the bond.
Date of maturity The time at which the loan will be repaid.
Personal income distribution The distribution of income between the various individuals or households in a country.
Functional income distribution The distribution of income between the two “factors of production”.
Factors of production The inputs that are needed by firms to produce goods and services: capital and labour.
Gross domestic product (GDP) The market value of all final goods and services produced within a country at a given period of time, whereby final
means that the value of intermediate goods are not included.
Gross National Product (GNP) The total income earned by a nation’s permanent residents.
Net National Product (NNP) Derived by subtracting all the losses from depreciation from the GNP.
Depreciation The wear and tear on the economy’s stock of equipment and structures, which need to be replaced over time.
National income The total income earned by a nation’s residents in the production of goods and services.
Average labour productivity The amount of real output (GDP) produced by an hour of labour.
Sound money A combination of low inflation and low public deficits and debt levels.
Wealth inequality The unequal distribution of a country’s net national wealth.
Net national wealth All the financial and non-financial assets owned by the residents of a country minus all the liabilities owned by
them.
Patrimonial middle class The principal structural transformation of the distribution of wealth in the developed countries in the twentieth
century.
Industrialisation The process that shifts the centre of gravity in the economy from the agricultural sector to the manufacturing
sector. Economic activity moves from the rural areas to the cities.
Marginal productivity The worker’s individual contribution to the output and the profitability of the firm he or she works for.
Educational progress The degree to which children attain levels of education higher than those of their parents.
Equilibrium price Also called the “market clearing price”. A single price which brings demand and supply into balance. It is the price
at which the exact quantity that producers supply to market will be bought by consumers.
Commodification of labour-power A fundamental feature of the capitalist mode of production. The majority of people have to sell their labour-
power to capitalist employers in order to make a living, leading to a dependent relationship that allows the
capitalist class to exploit the working classes by extracting “surplus value” from their labour.
Surplus value (Marx) The difference between the amount of value extracted from the worker his labour power and the paid wage.
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Introduction
Homo economicus Concept developed by neoclassical economists. The assumption that individuals are seen as “rational” and self-
interested actors who maximize their utility by making decisions that are based on full information.
Neoliberalism A set of policies grounded in neoclassical economic theory and aimed at maximizing the role of markets in the
allocation of economic resources and reducing the role of the state to the principle enforcer of “market efficiency”
in the economy.
Aggregate demand Total demand of goods in a particular market
Macroeconomic policy Refers to the tools of the government to manage the business cycle and fight unemployment during economic
recessions.
Social policy and industrial relations About the organisation of the welfare state and the labour market.
Corporate governance Consists of formal and informal rules and norms shaping firms’ business strategies and the distribution of profits
between their main stakeholders.
Financial policy The regulation of the banking and credit system.
Monetary sovereignty The capacity to issue the debt in a currency controlled by the national central bank.
Chapter 1: economic inequality and instability in democratic capitalism
Gini index A very abstract measure of income distribution, ranging from zero (indicating “perfect equality”, when every
citizen earns the same income) to one (meaning “complete inequality”, when one citizen has all the income and
the rest has nothing). The Gini coefficient is calculated by the ratio of the area between the line of perfect equality
and the observed Lorenz curve to the area between the line of perfect equality. The higher the coefficient, the
more unequal the distribution is
Distribution tables Tables that present data on the shares of different “income groups” in the total income that is earned every year
in a particular country and see how these shares have evolved over time.
The dominant class The income share of the top 1%.
The lower classes (Pikkety) The income share of the bottom 50%.
The middle classes (Pikkety) The income share of the middle 40%.
Income growth adjusted for inflation Real national income growth per adult
Superelites The income share of the top 0,1%, they derive most of their income from capital rather than from their labor.
1
, Stocks Shares of individual companies. A person who buys a stock is buying an actual share of the company, which makes
him or her a partial owner.
Bonds Represent debt, it is a certificate of indebtedness that specifies the obligations of the borrower to the holder of
the bond.
Date of maturity The time at which the loan will be repaid.
Personal income distribution The distribution of income between the various individuals or households in a country.
Functional income distribution The distribution of income between the two “factors of production”.
Factors of production The inputs that are needed by firms to produce goods and services: capital and labour.
Gross domestic product (GDP) The market value of all final goods and services produced within a country at a given period of time, whereby final
means that the value of intermediate goods are not included.
Gross National Product (GNP) The total income earned by a nation’s permanent residents.
Net National Product (NNP) Derived by subtracting all the losses from depreciation from the GNP.
Depreciation The wear and tear on the economy’s stock of equipment and structures, which need to be replaced over time.
National income The total income earned by a nation’s residents in the production of goods and services.
Average labour productivity The amount of real output (GDP) produced by an hour of labour.
Sound money A combination of low inflation and low public deficits and debt levels.
Wealth inequality The unequal distribution of a country’s net national wealth.
Net national wealth All the financial and non-financial assets owned by the residents of a country minus all the liabilities owned by
them.
Patrimonial middle class The principal structural transformation of the distribution of wealth in the developed countries in the twentieth
century.
Industrialisation The process that shifts the centre of gravity in the economy from the agricultural sector to the manufacturing
sector. Economic activity moves from the rural areas to the cities.
Marginal productivity The worker’s individual contribution to the output and the profitability of the firm he or she works for.
Educational progress The degree to which children attain levels of education higher than those of their parents.
Equilibrium price Also called the “market clearing price”. A single price which brings demand and supply into balance. It is the price
at which the exact quantity that producers supply to market will be bought by consumers.
Commodification of labour-power A fundamental feature of the capitalist mode of production. The majority of people have to sell their labour-
power to capitalist employers in order to make a living, leading to a dependent relationship that allows the
capitalist class to exploit the working classes by extracting “surplus value” from their labour.
Surplus value (Marx) The difference between the amount of value extracted from the worker his labour power and the paid wage.
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