Earned income
Earned income credit
Earnings
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Remuneration (pay, wages) of a worker or group of workers for services performed during a specific period of time. The term invariably carries a defining word or a combination; e.g., straight-time average hourly earnings. Since a statistical concept is usually involved in the term and its variations, the producers and users of earnings data have an obligation to define them. In the absence of such definition, the following may serve as rough guides: Hourly, daily, weekly, annual–Period of time to which earnings figures, as stated or computed, relate. The context in which annual earnings (sometimes weekly earnings) are used may indicate whether the reference includes earnings from one employer only or from all employment plus other sources of income; average–usually the arithmetic mean; that is, total earnings (as defined) of a group of workers (as identified) divided by the number of workers in the group; gross–usually total earnings, before any deductions (such as tax withholding) including, where applicable, overtime payments, shift differentials, production bonuses, cost-of-living allowances, commissions, etc.; straight-time–usually gross earnings excluding overtime payments and (with variations at this point) shift differentials and other monetary payments (Also see Wages and Salaries).
Easy money policy
ECI
Related Term(s): Employment cost index (ECI)
E-commerce
Econometric model
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
Economic growth
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Sustained period during which a nation’s total output of goods and services increases
Definition: Referred to in CBO reports as EGTRRA, it was signed into law on June 7, 2001. The law significantly reduces tax liabilities (the amount of tax owed) over the 2001-2010 period by cutting individual income tax rates, increasing the child credit, repealing estate taxes, raising deductions for married couples, increasing tax benefits for pensions and individual retirement accounts, and creating additional tax benefits for education. The law phases in many of those changes over time, including some that are not fully effective until 2010. All of the law’s provisions are now scheduled to expire at or before the end of 2010.
Definition: Profits of corporations, adjusted to remove the distortions in depreciation allowances caused by tax rules and to exclude the effect of inflation on the value of inventories. Economic profits are a better measure of profits from current production than are the book profits reported by corporations. (BEA) See also book profits and depreciation.
Related Term(s): Book profits, Depreciation
Related Term(s): Economic system
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Corporation chartered by the Federal Reserve to engage in international banking. The Board of Governors acts on applications to establish Edge Act corporations and also examines the corporations and their subsidiaries. Named after Senator Walter Edge of New Jersey, who sponsored the original legislation to permit formation of such organizations. See also agreement corporation.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Corporation chartered by the Federal Reserve to engage in international banking. The Board of Governors acts on applications to establish Edge Act corporations and also examines the corporations and their subsidiaries. Named after Senator Walter Edge of New Jersey, who sponsored the original legislation to permit formation of such organizations. See also agreement corporation.
Related Term(s): Agreement corporation
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: The highest diploma or degree, or level of work towards a diploma or degree, an individual has completed.
Definition: Data on educational attainment are derived from a single question that asks, ”What is the highest grade of school…has completed, or the highest degree…has received?” The single educational attainment question now in use was introduced in the CPS beginning January 1992, and is similar to that used in the 1990 Decennial Census of Population and Housing. Consequently, data on educational attainment from the 1992 CPS are not directly comparable to CPS data from earlier years. The new question replaces the previous two-part question used in the CPS that asked respondents to report the highest grade they had attended, and whether or not they had completed that grade. The questions on educational attainment apply only to progress in ”regular” schools. Such schools include graded public, private, and parochial elementary and high schools (both junior and senior high schools), colleges, universities, and professional schools, whether day schools or night schools. Thus, regular schooling is that which may advance a person toward an elementary school certificate or high school diploma, or a college, university, or professional school degree. Schooling in other than regular schools was counted only if the credits obtained are regarded as transferable to a school in the regular school system.
Definition: The ratio of taxes paid to a given tax base. For individual income taxes, the effective tax rate is typically expressed as the ratio of taxes to adjusted gross income. For corporate income taxes, it is the ratio of taxes to book profits. For some purposes–such as calculating an overall tax rate on all income sources–an effective tax rate is computed on a base that includes the untaxed portion of Social Security benefits, interest on tax-exempt bonds, and similar items. The effective tax rate is a useful measure because the tax code’s various exemptions, credits, deductions, and tax rates make actual ratios of taxes to income very different from statutory tax rates. See also adjusted gross income and book profits.
Related Term(s): Adjusted gross income (AGI), Book profits
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: The transmission of tax information directly to the IRS using telephones or computers. Electronic filing options include (1) TeleFile using a touch-tone telephone, (2) Online self-prepared using a personal computer and tax preparation software, or (3) using a tax professional. Electronic filing may take place at the taxpayer’s home, a volunteer site, the library, a financial institution, the workplace, malls and stores, or a tax professional’s place of business.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: The Authorized IRS e-file Provider that originates the electronic submission of an income tax return to the IRS. EROs may originate the electronic submission of income tax returns they either prepared or collected from taxpayers. Some EROs charge a fee for submitting returns electronically.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Persons 16 years and over in the civilian noninstitutional population who, during the reference week, (a) did any work at all (at least 1 hour) as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family, and (b) all those who were not working but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, bad weather, childcare problems, maternity or paternity leave, labor-management dispute, job training, or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs. Each employed person is counted only once, even if he or she holds more than one job. Excluded are persons whose only activity consisted of work around their own house (painting, repairing, or own home housework) or volunteer work for religious, charitable, and other organizations.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: A person or business that employees one or more people for wages or salary; the legal entity responsible for payment of quarterly unemployment insurance taxes or for reimbursing the state fund for unemployment insurance benefits costs in lieu of paying the quarterly taxes.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Contributions consisting of employer payments (including payments-in-kind) to private pension and profit-sharing plans, publicly administered government employee retirement plans, private group health and life insurance plans, privately administered workers’ compensation plans, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans, formerly called “other labor income.”
Definition: An index of the weighted-average cost of an hour of labor–comprising the cost to the employer of wage and salary payments, employee benefits, and contributions for social insurance programs. The ECI is structured so that it is affected by changes in the mix of occupations as well as changes in employment by industry. (BLS)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Often referred to as total compensation cost (see Total Compensation). The National Compensation Survey program publishes data on trends in employment costs, including quarterly and annual percent changes in labor cost (Employment Cost Index) and employer costs per hour worked for each component of compensation (Employer Cost for Employee Compensation).
Related Term(s): Total compensation (Employment Cost Index)
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: The percentage of the labor force that is employed. The employment rate is one of the economic indicators that economists examine to help understand the state of the economy. See also unemployment rate.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: The percentage of the labor force that is employed. The employment rate is one of the economic indicators that economists examine to help understand the state of the economy. See also unemployment rate.
Related Term(s): Unemployment rate
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: A business, service, or membership organization consisting of one or more establishments under common, direct or indirect, ownership or control. It is the highest level of establishment aggregation. An enterprise may vary in composition, ranging from a single- establishment company to a complex family of parent and subsidiary companies (firms under common ownership or control).
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Program or benefit using established eligibility requirements to provide health, nutritional, or income supplements to individuals
Office of Management and Budget
Definition: An entitlement program is one in which the federal government is legally obligated to make payments or provide aid to any person who meets the legal criteria for eligibility. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Food Stamps.
Definition: A legal obligation on the federal government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government that meets the criteria set in law. The Congress generally controls entitlement programs by setting eligibility criteria and benefit or payment rules–not by providing budget authority in an appropriation act. The source of funding to liquidate the obligation may be provided in either the authorization act that created the entitlement or a subsequent appropriation act. The best-known entitlements are the major benefit programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. See also appropriation act, authorization act, budget authority, and direct spending.
Citizen’s Guide to the Federal Budget
Definition: An entitlement is a program that legally obligates the Federal Government to make payments to any person who meets the legal criteria for eligibility. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: An entitlement is a program that legally obligates the federal government to make direct payments to any person who meets the legal criteria for eligibility. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Entitlements make up nearly half of all federal government spending (interest on the debt makes up most of the other half).
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: The rate that would be consistent with the full employment of labor and industrial capacity, and with real GDP being at its long-run potential level. This rate is needed as a benchmark to judge whether a given real interest rate is expansionary or contractionary.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Investment in equipment and software consists of capital account purchases of new machinery, equipment, furniture, vehicles, and computer software; dealers’ margins on sales of used equipment; and net purchases of used equipment from government agencies, persons, and the rest of the world. Own-account production of computer software is also included.
Related Term(s): Fixed investment, Nonresidential fixed investment
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Equity capital increases and decreases. Equity capital increases consist of payments by parent companies to third parties abroad for the purchase of capital stock or other equity interests when they acquire an existing business, payments made to acquire additional ownership interests in their affiliates, and capital contributions to their affiliates. Equity capital decreases are funds that parent companies receive (except from distributions of earnings) when they reduce their equity interest in their affiliates.
Related Term(s): Direct investment capital flows
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: The physical location of a certain economic activity, for example, a factory, mine, store, or office. Generally a single establishment produces a single good or provides a single service. An enterprise (a private firm, government, or non-profit organization) could consist of a single establishment or multiple establishments. A multi-establishment enterprise could have all its establishments in one industry (i.e., a chain), or could have various establishments in different industries (i.e., a conglomerate).
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: An economic unit–business or industrial–at a single geographic location, where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. An establishment is not necessarily identical to an enterprise or company, which may consist of one or more establishments.
Definition: People of Hispanic origin were identified by a question that asked for self-identification of the persons’ origin or descent. Respondents were asked to select their origin (and the origin of other household members) from a ”flash card” listing ethnic origins. People of Hispanic origin, in particular, were those who indicated that their origin was Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or some other Hispanic origin. It should be noted that people of Hispanic origin may be of any race. People who were Non-Hispanic White origin, were identified by crossing the responses to two self-identification questions: (1) origin or descent and (2) race. Respondents were asked to select their race (and the race of other household members) from a ”flash card” listing racial groups. Beginning with March 1989, the population is divided into five groups on the basis of race: White, Black, American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut, Asian or Pacific Islander, and Other races. The last category includes any other race except the four mentioned. Respondents who selected their race as White and indicated that their origin was not one of the Hispanic origin subgroups Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, were called Non-Hispanic White origin.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Deposits denominated in U.S. dollars at banks and other financial institutions outside the United States. Although this name originated because of the large amounts of such deposits held at banks in Western Europe, similar deposits in other parts of the world are also called Eurodollars.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Deposits denominated in U.S. dollars at banks and other financial institutions outside the United States. Although this name originated because of the large amounts of such deposits held at banks in Western Europe, similar deposits in other parts of the world are also called Eurodollars.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Deposits denominated in U.S. dollars at banks and other financial institutions outside the United States. Although this name originated because of the large amounts of such deposits held at banks in Western Europe, similar deposits in other parts of the world are also called Eurodollars.
Definition: The number of units of a foreign currency that can be bought with one unit of the domestic currency, or vice versa.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: The price of a country’s currency in terms of another country’s currency.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition:A tax on the sale or use of specific products or transactions.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A security that is exempted from most provisions of the securities laws, including the margin rules. Such securities include U.S. government and agency securities, municipal securities designated by the SEC.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: Amount that taxpayers can claim for themselves, their spouses, and eligible dependents. There are two types of exemptions-personal and dependency. Each exemption reduces the income subject to tax. The exemption amount is a set amount that changes from year to year.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: Amount that taxpayers can claim for themselves, their spouses, and eligible dependents. There are two types of exemptions-personal and dependency. Each exemption reduces the income subject to tax. The exemption amount is a set amount that changes from year to year.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: Amount that taxpayers can claim for themselves, their spouses, and eligible dependents. There are two types of exemptions-personal and dependency. Each exemption reduces the income subject to tax. The exemption amount is a set amount that changes from year to year.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A policy of the Federal Reserve System that is designed to expand the growth of money and credit in the economy. See also monetary policy.
Related Term(s): Monetary policy
Definition: An account established within federal funds and trust funds to record appropriations, obligations, and outlays usually financed from the associated receipt account. See also federal funds, receipt account, and trust funds.
Related Term(s): Federal funds, Receipt account, Trust funds
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Expenditures consist of the transaction costs, including excise and sales taxes, of goods and services acquired during the interview or recordkeeping period. Expenditure estimates include expenditures for gifts, but exclude purchases or portions of purchases directly assignable to business purposes. Also excluded are periodic credit or installment payments on goods or services already acquired. The full cost of each purchase is recorded even though full payment may not have been made at the date of purchase. Expenditure categories include: Food, alcoholic beverages, housing, apparel and services, transportation, health care, entertainment, personal care products and services, reading, education, tobacco products and smoking supplies, miscellaneous, cash contributions, and personal insurance and pensions).
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: A domestic good or service that is sold (export sale) abroad. Exports include government and non-government goods and services; however they exclude goods and services to the U.S. military, diplomatic, and consular institutions abroad. Exports do include goods and services that were previously imported.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: A sale is the price paid for the good or service, free alongside ship, as well as the inland freight, insurance, and other charges to transport the good or service to the carrier leaving the U.S. The sale price does not include the costs incurred after the good or service leaves the U.S. A sale, therefore, does not include personal and household movements of travelers and in-transit shipments.