Abbreviated applications
Definition: An SSI application in which all nondisability factors of eligibility are verified before the case is sent for a disability determination.
Ability to pay
Definition: A concept of tax fairness that states that people with different amounts of wealth or different amounts of income should pay tax at different rates. Wealth includes assets such as houses, cars, stocks, bonds, and savings accounts. Income includes wages, interest and dividends, and other payments.
Ability-to-pay principle of taxation
Definition: belief that taxes should be paid according to level of income regardless of benefits received (p. 228)
Absence rate
Definition: The ratio of workers with absences to total full-time wage and salary employment. Absences are defined as instances when persons who usually work 35 or more hours per week worked less than 35 hours during the reference week for one of the following reasons: own illness, injury, or medical problems; child-care problems; other family or personal obligations; civic or military duty; and maternity or paternity leave.
Absolute advantage
Definition: country's ability to produce more of a given product than another country (p. 469)
Definition: A person, company or country has an absolute advantage if its output per unit of input of all goods and services produced is higher than that of another person, company or country.
Definition: A country has an absolute advantage if its output per unit of input of all goods and services produced is higher than that of another country.
Academic consultants
Definition: An advisory group initiated by the Board in the 1960's to provide a forum for the exchange of views between the Federal Reserve Board and members of the academic community in economics and banking.
Accelerated depreciation
Definition: schedule that spreads depreciation over fewer years than normal to generate larger tax reductions (p. 245)
Accelerator
Definition: change in investment spending caused by a change in overall spending (p. 448)
Accidental death and dismemberment
Definition: Policy that pays additional benefits to the beneficiary if the cause of death is found to be accidental. Fractional amounts of the policy will be paid out if the covered employee loses a bodily appendage or sight because of an accident.
Accretion of discount
Definition: A straight-line accumulation of capital gains on discount bonds in anticipation of being paid par at maturity.
Accrual accounting
Definition: A system of accounting in which revenues are recorded when earned and outlays are recorded when goods are received or services performed, even though the actual receipt of revenues and payment for goods or services may occur, in whole or in part, at a different time. Compare with cash accounting.
Accrual method of accounting
Definition: See cash method of accounting.
Accrual method of measuring cost
Definition: This accounting method records cost when the liability is incurred. As applied to federal employee retirement benefits, cost is recorded when the benefits are earned rather than when they are paid or at some other time.
Acid rain
Definition: pollution in form of rainwater mixed with sulfur dioxide, a mild form of sulfuric acid (p.554)
Additive, additivity
Definition: A characteristic of a measurement series whereby the summed components equal the aggregate.
Adjusted gross income
Definition: Gross income reduced by certain amounts, such as a deductible IRA contribution or student loan interest
Adjusted gross income (AGI)
Definition: All income subject to taxation under the individual income tax after subtracting ”above-the-line” deductions, such as certain contributions for individual retirement accounts and alimony payments. Personal exemptions and the standard or itemized deductions are subtracted from AGI to determine taxable income.
Adult
Definition: A person who is older than age 21, is aged 18-21 but is not a student, is under 21 and married, or is the head of a household.
Advance appropriation
Definition: Budget authority provided in an appropriation act that is first available for obligation in a fiscal year after the year for which the appropriation was enacted. The amount of the advance appropriation is included in the budget totals for the fiscal year in which it will become available. See also appropriation act, budget authority, fiscal year, and obligation; compare with forward funding and obligation delay.
Advance estimate
Definition: The first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) and its components for a quarter. It is released 25-30 days after the end of the quarter and is based on source data that are incomplete and subject to revision.
Aged person
Definition: A person aged 65 or older.
Agency shop
Definition: arrangement under which non-union members must pay union dues (p. 201)
Aggregate
Definition: Any total (e.g., the gross national product; the sum of monthly sales).
Aggregate demand
Definition: the total quantity of goods and services demanded at different price levels (p.444)
Definition: Total purchases of a country's output of goods and services by consumers, businesses, government, and foreigners during a given period. Compare with domestic demand.
Aggregate demand curve
Definition: hypothetical curve showing different levels of real GDP that could be purchased at various price levels (p.444)
Aggregate supply
Definition: the total value of goods and services that all firms would produce in a specific period of time at various price levels (p.442)
Aggregate supply curve
Definition: hypothetical curve showing different levels of real GDP that could be produced at various price levels (p.442)
Aggregation
Definition: Combining index relatives from one level to the next higher level. The procedure for the International Price Program begins with the aggregation of item level relatives to weight group relatives. The weight group relatives are then aggregated to the classification group relatives. The classification group relatives are then aggregated to the stratum lower relatives which in turn are aggregated up the tree of stratum upper relatives to the All Import or All Export index level.
AGI
Definition: See adjusted gross income
Agreement corporation
Definition: Corporation chartered by a state to engage in international banking: so named because the corporation enters into an “agreement” with the Fed's Board of Governors that it will limit its activities to those permitted and Edge Act Corporation.
Definition: Corporation chartered by a state to engage in international banking; so named because the corporation enters into an 'agreement' with the Board of Governors to limit its activities to those permitted an Edge Act corporation.
All other occupational illnesses
Definition: Examples: Anthrax, brucellosis, infectious hepatitis, malignant and benign tumors, food poisoning, histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis.
Allowance
Definition: A determination by the Disability Determination Services, an administrative law judge, or the Appeals Council that an applicant meets the medical definition of disability under the law.
Alternative minimum tax
Definition: personal income tax rate that applies to cases where taxes would otherwise fall below a certain level (p.245)
Alternative minimum tax (AMT)
Definition: A tax intended to prevent higher-income taxpayers from excessively reducing their tax liability (the amount they owe) through the use of preferences in the tax code. Taxpayers subject to the AMT are required to recalculate their tax liability on the basis of a more limited set of exemptions, deductions, and tax credits than would normally apply.
Amortization
Definition: The process of fully paying off indebtedness by installments of principal and earned interest over a definite time.
Definition: The process of fully paying off indebtedness by installments of principal and earned interest over a definite time.
Definition: The process of fully paying off indebtedness by installments of principal and earned interest over a definite time.
Amount due
Definition: Money that taxpayers must pay to the government when the total tax is greater than their total tax payments.
Annual input-output (I-O) accounts
Definition: The first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) and its components for a quarter. It is released 25-30 days after the end of the quarter and is based on source data that are incomplete and subject to revision.
Annual percentage rate - APR
Definition: The cost of credit on a yearly basis expressed as a percentage.
Annual percentage rate (APR)
Definition: The cost of credit on a yearly basis expressed as a percentage.
Definition: The cost of credit on a yearly basis expressed as a percentage.
Appeal
Definition: To call for a review of an IRS decision or proposed adjustment.
Appraisal fee
Definition: The charge for estimating the value of property offered as security.
Definition: The charge for estimating the value of property offered as security.
Appreciation
Definition: See currency appreciation.
Definition: See currency appreciation.
Appropriation
Definition: An appropriation provides legal authority for federal agencies to incur obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Thirteen regular appropriations bills are considered every year by the Congress and supplemental appropriations are considered from time to time.
Definition: An appropriation is an act of Congress that enables Federal agencies to spend money for specific purposes.
Appropriation act
Definition: Legislation under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations that provides budget authority for federal programs or agencies. By law, such an act has a particular style and title--for example, ”An act making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the year ending September 30, 2001.” Generally, 13 regular appropriation acts are considered annually to fund the operations of the federal government; the Congress may also consider supplemental or continuing appropriation acts, but each follows the statutory style and title. See also budget authority.
Appropriations bill
Definition: legislation earmarking funds for certain purposes (p.261)
Aquifer
Definition: underground water-bearing rock formation (p.550)
Arbitration
Definition: method of settling a labor-management dispute whereby both sides place their differences before a third party whose decision will be final and binding; can be voluntary or compulsory (p.202)
ASEAN
Definition: group of ten Southeast Asian nations working to promote regional cooperation, economic growth, and trade (p.535)
Assets
Definition: properties, possessions, and claims on others; usually listed as entries on a balance sheet (p.416)
Auction
Definition: A method of determining price and interest.
Autarky
Definition: National economic self-sufficiency or independence.
Authorization
Definition: An authorization is an act of the Congress that establishes or continues a federal program or agency, and sets forth the guidelines to which it must adhere.
Definition: An authorization is an act of Congress that establishes or continues a Federal program or agency, and sets forth the guidelines to which it must adhere.
Authorization act
Definition: Legislation under the jurisdiction of a committee other than the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations that establishes or continues the operation of a federal program or agency, either indefinitely or for a specified period of time. An authorization act may suggest a level of budget authority needed to fund the program or agency, which then is provided in a future appropriation act. However, for some programs, the authorization itself may provide the budget authority. See also budget authority.
Authorized IRS e-file provider
Definition: A business authorized by the IRS to participate in the IRS e-file Program. The business may be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or an organization. Authorized IRS e-file Providers include Electronic Return Originators (EROs), Transmitters, Intermediate Service Providers, and Software Developers. These categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, an ERO can at the same time, be a Transmitter, a Software Developer, or an Intermediate Service Provider, depending on the function being performed.
Automated clearinghouse - ACH
Definition: Electronic clearing and settlement system for exchanging electronic transactions among participating depository institutions; such electronic transactions are substitutes for paper checks and are typically used to make recurring payments such as payroll or loan payments. The Federal Reserve Banks operate an automated clearinghouse, as do some private-sector firms.
Automated clearinghouse (ACH)
Definition: A computer-based clearing and settlement operation, often operated by a Federal Reserve Bank, established for the exchange of electronic transactions among participating depository institutions. Such electronic transactions can be substituted for paper checks used to make recurring payments such as payroll or preauthorized insurance premiums. The U.S. Treasury uses the ACH extensively to pay certain obligations of the government.
Definition: Electronic clearing and settlement system for exchanging electronic transactions among participating depository institutions; such electronic transactions are substitutes for paper checks and are typically used to make recurring payments such as payroll or loan payments. The Federal Reserve Banks operate an automated clearinghouse, as do some private sector firms.
Automated teller machine (ATM)
Definition: Computer-controlled terminal located on the premises of financial institutions or elsewhere, through which customers may make deposits, withdrawals or other transactions as they would through a bank teller. Other terms sometimes used to describe such terminals are customer-bank communications terminal (CBCT) and remote service unit (RSU). Groups of banks sometimes share ATM networks located throughout a region of the country that may include portions of several states.
Automated teller machines - ATM
Definition: Computer-controlled terminals located on the premises of financial institutions or elsewhere, through which customers may make deposits, withdrawals, or other transactions as they would through a bank teller. Other terms sometimes used to describe such terminals are customer-bank communications terminal (CBC) and remote service unit (RSU). Groups of banks sometimes share ATM networks located throughout a region of the country that may include portions of several states.
Automatic stabilizer
Definition: program that automatically provides benefits to offset a change in people's incomes; unemployment insurance, entitlement programs (p.449)
Automatic transfer service (ATS) account
Definition: A depositor's savings account from which funds may be transferred automatically to the same depositor's checking account to cover a check written or to maintain a minimum balance.
Definition: A depositor's savings account from which funds may be transferred automatically to the same depositor's checking account to cover a check written or to maintain a minimum balance.
Automatic transfer service account - ATS
Definition: A depositor's savings account from which funds may be transferred automatically to the same depositor's checking account to cover a check written or to maintain a minimum balance.
Automation
Definition: production with mechanical or other processes that reduces the need for workers (p.386)
Auxiliary benefit (OASDI)
Definition: Monthly benefit payable to a spouse or a child of a retired or disabled worker, or to a survivor of a deceased worker.
Average tax rate
Definition: total taxes paid divided by the total taxable income (p.229)
Award
Definition: An administrative determination that an individual is entitled to receive monthly benefits.
