Summaries

Henry Ford, (born July 30, 1863, Wayne county, Mich., U.S.—died...

George Soros, (born Aug. 12, 1930, Budapest, Hung.), Hungarian-born...

Henry Ford, (born July 30, 1863, Wayne county, Mich., U.S.—died...

Ford Motor Co., U.S.

Disney Company, U.S.

Martha Stewart, née Martha Helen Kostyra , (born Aug. 3, 1941,...

accounting, Systematic development and analysis of information...

advertising, Techniques and practices used to bring products,...

Airbus S.A.S., European aircraft manufacturer that is the world’s...

ABC, in full American Broadcasting Co. , Major U.S.

American Express Co., U.S.

Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc. , Microcomputer design...

Philip Danforth Armour, (born May 16, 1832, Stockbridge, N.Y.,...

AT&T Inc., formerly American Telephone and Telegraph Co. , U.S.

auction, Buying and selling of property through open public...

Austrian school of economics, Body of economic theory developed...

BAE Systems, British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics,...

bank, Institution that deals in money and its substitutes and...

economic system, Set of principles and techniques by which a...

economics, Social science that analyzes and describes the consequences...

government budget, Forecast of governmental expenditures and...

industrial relations, or organizational relations , Study of...

insurance, Contract that, by redistributing risk among a large...

marketing, Activities that direct the flow of goods and services...

money, Commodity accepted by general consent as a medium of...

social security, Public provision for the economic security...

Michael Eisner, (born March 7, 1942, Mount Kisco, N.Y., U.S.),...

Timeline of important events in the life of American industrialist...

List of some of the significant achievements of John D. Rockefeller,...

Organization of American States (OAS), International organization...

arbitrage , Business operation involving the purchase of foreign...

Walter Bagehot, (born Feb. 3, 1826, Langport, Somerset, Eng.—died...

Jeremy Bentham, (born Feb. 15, 1748, London, Eng.—died June...

Jeff Bezos, (born Jan. 12, 1964, Albuquerque, N.M., U.S.), U.S.

BP PLC, formerly Anglo-Persian Oil Co., Ltd., British Petroleum...

Andrew Carnegie, (born Nov. 25, 1835, Dunfermline, Fife, Scot.—died...

consumer price index (CPI), Measure of living costs based on...

e-commerce, in full electronic commerce , business-to-consumer...

Friedrich Engels, (born Nov. 28, 1820, Barmen, Rhine Province,...

Milton Friedman, (born July 31, 1912, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died...

Fugger family, German mercantile and banking dynasty that dominated...

General Motors Corp. (GM), U.S.

gross domestic product (GDP), Total market value of the goods...

Friedrich von Hayek, (born May 8, 1899, Vienna, Austria—died...

William Randolph Hearst, (born April 29, 1863, San Francisco,...

John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, (born June 5, 1883,...

Thomas Robert Malthus, (born Feb. 13/14, 1766, Rookery, near...

Akio Morita, (born Jan. 26, 1921, Nagoya, Japan—died Oct. 3,...

H.

Philips Electronics NV, in full Royal Philips Electronics NV...

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), U.S.

Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI), U.S.

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, baron de l’Aulne, (born , May 10,...

Thorstein Veblen, (born July 30, 1857, Manitowoc county, Wis.,...

Volkswagen AG (VW), Major German automobile manufacturer.

Energia, also called RKK Energia formerly OKB-1 , Russian aerospace...

Paul Volcker, (born Sept. 5, 1927, Cape May, N.J., U.S.—died...

Bill Gates, in full William Henry Gates III , (born Oct. 28,...

Chrysler, U.S.

euro, Single currency of 18 countries of the European Union...

Facebook, American company offering online social networking...

Facebook, American company offering online social networking...

Steve Jobs, (born Feb. 24, 1955, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—died...

defense economics, Field of national economic management concerned...

economic development, Process whereby simple, low-income national...

security, In finance, written evidence of ownership conferring...

socialism, System of social organization in which private property...

money market, Set of institutions, conventions, and practices...

Intel Corp., U.S.

Motorola, Inc., U.S.

De Beers S.A., World’s largest producer and distributor of diamonds.

monetary policy, Measures employed by governments to influence...

Daimler AG, German automotive manufacturer.

land reform, Deliberate change in the way agricultural land...

Motown, U.S.

Citigroup, U.S.

Sony Corp., Major Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronics.

Alan Greenspan, (born March 6, 1926, New York, N.Y., U.S.),...

Sears, Roebuck and Company, U.S.

John D.

tariff, or customs duty , Tax levied upon goods as they cross...

Henry George, (born Sept. 2, 1839, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died...

Howard Hughes, (born Dec. 24, 1905, Houston, Texas, U.S.—died...

Michael R.

J.

George M.

David Ricardo, (born , April 18/19, 1772, London, Eng.—died...

David Sarnoff, (born Feb. 27, 1891, Minsk, Russia—died Dec....

Amartya Sen, (born Nov. 3, 1933, Santiniketan, India), Indian...

Ted Turner, orig.

chartered company, Type of corporation that evolved in the 16th...

property, In law, something that is owned or possessed.

trademark, Mark used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify...

political economy, Academic discipline that explores the relationship...

business law, or commercial law or mercantile law , Legal rules...

contract, Agreement between two or more parties that creates...

embargo, Legal action by a government or group of governments...

NBC, in full National Broadcasting Co. , Major U.S.

welfare, or social welfare , Any of a variety of governmental...

consumerism, Movement or policies aimed at regulating the products,...

Hewlett-Packard Co., U.S.

Novartis AG, Swiss pharmaceutical company.

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., U.S.

bankruptcy, Status of a debtor who has been declared by judicial...

corporation, Specific legal form of organization of persons...

Hudson’s Bay Co., Corporation prominent in Canadian economic...

TRW Inc., U.S.

Boeing Co., Major U.S.

chamber of commerce, or commercial association , Any of various...

economic growth, Process by which a nation’s wealth increases...

economic planning, Use of government to make economic decisions...

economic stabilizer, Any of the institutions and practices in...

fiscal policy, Measures employed by governments to stabilize...

futures, Commercial contracts calling for the purchase or sale...

inflation, In economics, increases in the level of prices.

Lockheed Martin Corp., U.S.

market, Means by which buyers and sellers are brought into contact...

price index, Measure of change in a set of prices, consisting...

Rolls-Royce PLC, British manufacturer of aircraft engines and...

supply and demand, Relationship between the quantity of a commodity...

foreign exchange, Purchase or sale of one national currency...

gold standard, Monetary system in which the standard unit of...

Nestlé SA, Multinational manufacturer of food products.

rent, In common usage, payment made in return for the right...

Rothschild family, European banking dynasty.

NEC Corp., Major Japanese computer, electronics, and telecommunications...

CBS Television Network, Major U.S.

Federal Reserve System, U.S.

income tax, Levy imposed by public authority on the incomes...

IBM Corp., in full International Business Machines Corporation...

labour economics, Study of how workers are allocated among jobs,...

macroeconomics, Study of the entire economy in terms of the...

migrant labour, Semiskilled or unskilled workers who move from...

physiocrat, Member of a school of economics, founded in 18th-century...

production management, or operations management , Planning,...

productivity, In economics, a measure of productive efficiency...

property tax, Levy imposed on real estate (land and buildings)...

sales tax, Levy imposed on the sale of goods and services.

Toyota Motor Corp., Largest Japanese automobile manufacturer...

Wells Fargo & Co., Leading U.S.

work, In economics and sociology, the activities and labour...

Xerox Corp., Major U.S.

audit, Examination of the records and reports of an enterprise...

Belmont family, U.S.

business cycle, Periodic fluctuation in the rate of economic...

business finance, Raising and managing of funds by business...

capitalism, or free-market economy or free-enterprise system...

central bank, Institution, such as the U.S.

Coca-Cola Co., U.S.

consumption, In economics, the final using up of goods and services.

credit card, Small card that authorizes the person named on...

DuPont Co., in full E.I.

econometrics, Statistical and mathematical analysis of economic...

economic forecasting, Prediction of future economic activity...

mortgage, In Anglo-American law, the method by which a debtor...

trust, In law, a relationship between parties in which one,...

employee training, or job training or occupational training...

foreign aid, Transfer of capital, goods, or services from one...

Microsoft Corp., U.S.