Births, out of wedlock
U.S. Census Bureau
Definition: Out-of-wedlock births are defined as births occurring in the 12-month period preceding the survey date to women who were currently divorced, widowed, or never married at the time of the interview.
Birth cohort
U.S. Census Bureau
Definition: A birth cohort is a group of people who were born in a specified calendar period.
Barter economy
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Moneyless economy that relies on trade or barter
Baby boom
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Historically high birthrate years in the United States from 1946 to 1964
Backward-looking interest rate rule
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A variant of the Taylor rules in which the funds rate responds to movements in past variables (such as yesterday’s inflation).
Balance of payments
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Record of transactions between U.S. residents and foreign residents during a given time period. Includes transactions in goods, services, income, assets, and liabilities. It is broken down into the current account (international), capital account (international), and financial account (international).
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Difference between money paid to, and received from, other nations in trade; balance on current account includes goods and services, merchandise trade balance counts only goods
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: An accounting statement for recording all payments that have a direct effect on the movement of funds among nations. The statement shows over a specific time period the sum of transactions of individuals, businesses, and government agencies located in one nation, against those of all other nations.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: An accounting statement of the money value of international transactions between one nation and the rest of the world over a specific time period. The statement shows the sum of transactions of individuals, businesses and government agencies located in one nation, against those of all other nations.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: An accounting statement of the money value of international transactions between one nation and the rest of the world over a specific time period. The statement shows the sum of transactions of individuals, businesses, and government agencies located in one nation, against those of all other nations.
Balance of trade
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: That part of a nation’s balance of payments dealing with imports and exports, that is trade in goods and services, over a given period. If exports of goods exceed imports, the trade balance is said to be ”favorable”; if imports exceed exports, the trade balance if said to be ”unfavorable.”
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: That part of a nation’s balance of payments dealing with imports and exports, that is trade in goods and services, over a given period. If exports of goods exceed imports, the trade balance is said to be favorable; if imports exceed exports, the trade balance if said to be unfavorable.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: That part of a nation’s balance of payments dealing with imports and exports, that is trade in goods and services, over a given period. If exports of goods exceed imports, the trade balance is said to be ‘favorable’; if imports exceed exports, the trade balance if said to be ‘unfavorable.’
Balance on current account
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Record of net receipts or payments on goods, services, income, and unilateral current transfers. Current transfers include U.S. government grants to foreign countries, private remittances, and other current transfers.
Related Term(s): Balance on goods, Balance on goods and services
Balance on current account, national income and product accounts
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Current receipts from the rest of the world less current payments to the rest of the world, formerly called ”net foreign investment.” Current receipts equal exports of goods and services plus income receipts from the rest of the world; current payments are the sum of imports of goods and services, income payments to the rest of the world, and current taxes and transfer payments to the rest of the world (net).
Balance on goods
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Record of the difference between exports of goods and imports of goods.
Related Term(s): Balance on current account, Balance on goods and services
Balance on goods and services
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Record of the difference between exports of goods and services and imports of goods and services. In the broad sense, this balance is conceptually equal to net exports of goods and services, which is a component of gross domestic product (GDP).
Related Term(s): Balance on current account, Balance on goods
Balance sheet
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Condensed statement showing assets, liabilities, and net worth of an economic unit
Balanced budget
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Annual budget in which expenditures equal revenues
Office of Management and Budget
Definition: A balanced budget occurs when total receipts equal total outlays for a fiscal year.
Citizen’s Guide to the Federal Budget
Definition: A balanced budget occurs when total revenues equal total outlays for a fiscal year.
Balanced budget amendment
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: State or federal constitutional amendment requiring government to spend no more than it collects in taxes and other revenues, excluding borrowing
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, or GRH)
Citizen’s Guide to the Federal Budget
Definition: The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 was designed to end deficit spending. It set annual deficit targets for five years, declining to a balanced budget in 1991. If necessary, it required across-the-board cuts in programs to comply with the deficit targets. It was never fully implemented.
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-177)
Definition: Referred to in CBO’s reports as the Deficit Control Act, it was originally known as Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. The law established specific deficit targets and a sequestration procedure to reduce spending if those targets were exceeded. The Deficit Control Act has been amended and extended several times–most significantly by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 and most recently by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. See also discretionary spending limits, pay-as-you-go, and sequestration.
Related Term(s): Discretionary spending limits (or caps), Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO), Sequestration
Balloon payment
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A large extra payment that may be charged at the end of a loan or lease.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: A large extra payment that may be charged at the end of a loan or lease.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A large extra payment that may be charged at the end of a loan or lease.
Bank for International Settlements – BIS
Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: The BIS, located in Basle, Switzerland, was established in 1930 to administer the post-World War I reparations agreements. Since the 1960s, the BIS has evolved into an important international monetary institution, and has provided a forum in which central bankers meet and consult on a monthly basis. As an independent financial organization, the BIS performs a variety of banking, trustee, and agent functions, primarily with central banks.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: International organization established in 1930 and based in Basle, Switzerland, that serves as a forum for central banks collecting information, developing analyses and cooperating on a wide range of policy-related matters.
Bank holding company
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A company that owns or controls one or more banks. The Board of Governors has responsibility for regulating and supervising bank holding companies, such as approving acquisitions and mergers and inspecting the operations of such companies. This authority applies even though a bank owned by a holding company may be under the primary supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency or the FDIC.
Bank holding company – BHC
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Company that owns, or has controlling interest in, one or more banks. A company that owns more than one bank is known as a multibank holding company. A bank holding company may also own another bank holding company, which in turn owns or controls a bank; the company at the top of the ownership chain is called the top holder. The Board of Governors is responsible for regulating and supervising bank holding companies, even if the bank owned by the holding company is under the primary supervision of a different federal agency (the Comptroller of the Currency or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).
Bank holiday
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Brief period during which all banks or depository institutions are closed to prevent bank runs
Bank note
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: A term used synonymously with paper money or currency issued by a bank. Notes are, in effect, a promise to pay the bearer on demand the amount stated on the face of the note. Today, only the Federal Reserve Banks are authorized to issue bank notes, i.e. Federal Reserve notes, in the United States.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A term used synonymously with paper money or currency issued by a bank. Notes are, in effect, a promise to pay the bearer on demand the amount stated on the face of the note. Today, only the Federal Reserve Banks are authorized to issue bank notes, i.e. Federal Reserve notes, in the United States.
Bank panic
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A series of unexpected cash withdrawals caused by a sudden decline in depositor confidence or fear that a bank will be closed by the chartering agency. That is, many depositors withdraw cash almost simultaneously. Since the cash reserve a bank keeps on hand is only a small fraction of its deposits, a large number of withdrawals in a short period of time can deplete available cash and force the bank to close and possibly go out of business. (Same as bank run)
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A series of unexpected cash withdrawals caused by a sudden decline in depositor confidence or fear that the bank will be closed by the chartering agency, i.e. many depositors withdraw cash almost simultaneously. Since the cash reserve a bank keeps on hand is only a small fraction of its deposits, a large number of withdrawals in a short period of time can deplete available cash and force the bank to close and possibly go out of business.
Related Term(s): Bank run
Bank regulation
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: The formulation and issuance by authorized agencies of specific rules or regulations, under governing law, for the conduct and structure of banking.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: The formulation and issuance by authorized agencies of specific rules or regulations, under governing law, for the conduct and structure of banking.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: The formulation and issuance by authorized agencies of specific rules or regulations, under governing law, for the conduct and structure of banking.
Bank run
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A series of unexpected cash withdrawals caused by a sudden decline in depositor confidence or fear that a bank will be closed by the chartering agency. That is, many depositors withdraw cash almost simultaneously. Since the cash reserve a bank keeps on hand is only a small fraction of its deposits, a large number of withdrawals in a short period of time can deplete available cash and force the bank to close and possibly go out of business. (Same as bank panic)
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A series of unexpected cash withdrawals caused by a sudden decline in depositor confidence or fear that the bank will be closed by the chartering agency, i.e. many depositors withdraw cash almost simultaneously. Since the cash reserve a bank keeps on hand is only a small fraction of its deposits, a large number of withdrawals in a short period of time can deplete available cash and force the bank to close and possibly go out of business.
Related Term(s): Bank run
Bank run (bank panic)
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: A series of unexpected cash withdrawals caused by a sudden decline in depositor confidence or fear that the bank will be closed by the chartering agency, i.e. many depositors withdraw cash almost simultaneously. Since the cash reserve a bank keeps on hand is only a small fraction of its deposits, a large number of withdrawals in a short period of time can deplete available cash and force the bank to close and possibly go out of business.
Bank supervision
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Concern of financial regulators with the safety and soundness of individual banks, involving the general and continuous oversight of the activities of this industry to ensure that banks are operated prudently and in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Oversight of individual banks to ensure that they are operated prudently and in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Oversight of individual banks to ensure that they are operated prudently and in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations..
Bankers acceptance
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Bankers acceptances are negotiable time drafts, or bills of exchange, that have been accepted by a bank which, by accepting, assumes the obligation to pay the holder of the draft the face amount of the instrument on the maturity date specified. They are used primarily to finance the export, import, shipment, or storage of goods.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Bankers acceptances are negotiable time drafts, or bills of exchange, that have been accepted by a bank that, by accepting, assumes the obligation to pay the holder of the draft the face amount of the instrument on the maturity date specified. They are used primarily to finance the export, import, shipment, or storage of goods.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Banker’s acceptances are negotiable time drafts, or bills of exchange, that have been accepted by a bank which, by accepting, assumes the obligation to pay the holder of the draft the face amount of the instrument on the maturity date specified. They are used primarily to finance the export, import, shipment or storage of goods.
Bankruptcy
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Court-granted permission to an individual or business to cease or delay payment on some or all debts for a limited amount of time
Bankwire
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: An electronic communications network owned by an association of banks and used to transfer messages between subscribing banks. Bankwire also offers a clearing service called Cashwire that includes a settlement facility.
Barter economy
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Moneyless economy that relies on trade or barter
Base period
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: A point in time used as a reference point for comparison with some later period. For example, in the theory of price indices the Laspeyres price index uses the earlier of the two years over which prices are compared for purposes of weighting the relative price changes. This earlier year is then the base period and the price index is a base period weighted index.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: The period from which the weights for a measurement series are derived. The national income and product accounts (NIPAs) currently use the year 2000 as the base period.
Base year
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Year serving as point of comparison for other years in a price index or other statistical measure
Baseline
Definition: A benchmark for measuring the budgetary effects of proposed changes in federal revenues or spending. For purposes of the Deficit Control Act, the baseline is the projection of current-year levels of new budget authority, outlays, revenues, and the surplus or deficit into the budget year and out-years based on current laws and policies, calculated in conformance with the rules set forth in section 257 of that act. See also fiscal year.
Related Term(s): Fiscal year
Basis point
Definition: One-hundredth of a percentage point. (For example, the difference between interest rates of 10.5 percent and 10.0 percent is 50 basis points.)
Bear market
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Period during which stock market prices move down for several months or years in a row
Beige Book
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Eight times a year, prior to FOMC meetings, each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key businessmen, economists, market experts and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector.
Benchmark
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A standard against which other measures may be judged or compared. In this case, the benchmark is a more complete source of employment data—the records submitted by companies to state unemployment insurance agencies.
Benchmark input-output (I-O) accounts
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Statistical description–presented in a make table, use table, direct requirements table, and total requirements tables–of the production of goods and services and the transaction flows of goods and services between different industries and to different components of final uses. These accounts are prepared every five years, coinciding with economic census years.
Related Term(s): Annual input-output (I-O) accounts, Input-output (I-O) accounts
Benefit incidence
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: A measure of the availability of a benefit. The National Compensation Survey presents data on the percent of workers with access to, and participate in employee benefits. Access is defined as the percent of workers in an occupation who are offered a benefit. For example, an employee may have access to an employer sponsored fitness center, but may or may not use it. Participation is defined as the percent of workers that actually participate in the benefit (meeting any service requirements, and if required, paying a share of the cost). The National Compensation Survey publishes participation data for Insurance and Retirement benefits.
Benefit principle of taxation
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Belief that taxes should be paid according to benefits received regardless of level of income
Benefits
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Non-wage compensation provided to employees. The National Compensation Survey groups benefits into five categories: Paid leave (vacations, holidays, sick leave); supplementary pay (premium pay for overtime and work on holidays and weekends, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses); retirement (defined benefit and defined contribution plans); insurance (life insurance, health benefits, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance) and legally required benefits (Social Security and Medicare, Federal and State unemployment insurance taxes, and workers’ compensation).
Benefits received
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: A concept of tax fairness that states that people should pay taxes in proportion to the benefits they receive from government goods and services.
Better Business Bureau
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Business-sponsored nonprofit organization providing information on local companies to consumers
Bilateralism
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: An international policy having as its objective the achievement of particular balances of trade between two nations by means of discriminatory tariffs, exchange, or other controls. The initiative is usually taken by the country having an ‘unfavorable’ balance of trade. Extensive bilateralism results in a shift of international trade away from channels that would result from the principle of comparative advantage. See also multilateralism.
Bill
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A short-term direct obligation of the U.S. Treasury (13, 26, or 52 weeks’ maturity). See also note and bond.
Bill consolidation loan
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Popular type of consumer loan used to pay off multiple existing loans
Birth cohort
U.S. Census Bureau
Definition: A birth cohort is a group of people who were born in a specified calendar period.
Births, out of wedlock
U.S. Census Bureau
Definition: Out-of-wedlock births are defined as births occurring in the 12-month period preceding the survey date to women who were currently divorced, widowed, or never married at the time of the interview.
Black market
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Market in which economic products are sold illegally
Blind
SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2002
Definition: ”Blindness,” for Social Security purposes, means either central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens or a limitation in the fields of vision so that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less (tunnel vision).
Blind work expenses (BWE)
SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2002
Definition: Permits the exclusion of any earned income of a blind person that is used to meet expenses reasonably attributable to earning the income.
Blue Chip consensus forecast
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: The average of about 50 economic forecasts compiled and published monthly by Aspen Publishers, Inc.
Blue collar and service occupations (National Compensation Survey)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Includes precision production, craft, and repair occupations; machine operators and inspectors; transportation and moving occupations; handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers; and service occupations.
Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Governmental agency of the Federal Reserve System, located in Washington, D.C., and composed of seven members who are appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The Board is responsible for domestic and international economic analysis; with other components of the System, for the conduct of monetary policy; for supervision and regulation of certain banking organizations; for operation of much of the nation’s payments system; and for administration of most of the nation’s laws that protect consumers in credit transactions.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Central, governmental agency of the Federal Reserve System, located in Washington, D.C., and composed of seven members who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Board of Governors is responsible for domestic and international economic analysis; with other components of the System, for the conduct of monetary policy; for supervision and regulation of certain banking organizations; for operation of much of the nation’s payments system; and for administration of most of the nation’s laws that protect consumers in credit transactions.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Central governmental agency of the Federal Reserve System, located in Washington, DC, and composed of seven members who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Board is responsible for domestic and international economic analysis with other components of the System; for the conduct of monetary policy; for supervision and regulation of certain banking organizations; for operation of much of the nation’s payments system; and for administration of most of the nation’s laws that protect consumers in credit transactions.
Bond
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Formal contract to repay borrowed money and interest on the borrowed money at regular future intervals
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A long-term obligation of the U.S. Treasury (more than 10 years’ maturity). See also bill and note.
Bonus
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: Compensation received by an employee for services performed. A bonus is given in addition to an employee’s usual compensation.
Book depreciation
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: See depreciation.
Related Term(s): Depreciation
Book profits
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: Profits calculated using book (or tax) depreciation and standard accounting conventions for inventories. Different from economic profits, book profits are referred to as ”profits before tax” in the national income and product accounts. See also depreciation, economic profits, and national income and product accounts.
Related Term(s): Depreciation, Economic profits, National income and product accounts (NIPAs)
Book-entry
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: One form in which Treasury and certain government agency securities are held. Book-entry form consists of an entry on the records of the U.S. Treasury Department, a Federal Reserve Bank, or a financial institution.
Book-entry securities
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Securities that are recorded in electronic records, called book entries, rather than as paper certificates. Ownership of U.S. government book-entry securities is transferred over Fedwire.
Boycott
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Protest in the form of a refusal to buy, including attempts to convince others to join
Break-even point
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Production needed if the firm is to recover its costs; production level where total cost equals total revenue
Bretton Woods Conference
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: The name commonly given to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, held (July 1-22, 1944) at Bretton Woods, N.H. The conference resulted in the creation of the International Monetary Fund, to promote international monetary cooperation, and of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. By December 1945, the required number of governments had ratified the treaties creating the two organizations, and by the summer of 1946 they had begun operation.
Bretton Woods system
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A system of fixed exchange rates across nations. It resembled the gold standard, which preceded it. Unlike a gold standard, in which the values of all currencies are tied directly to the price of gold, under Bretton Woods, all currency values were tied at a given exchange rate to the U.S. dollar. The dollar was then fixed in terms of gold (initially at $35 per ounce). The system was supported by IMF charter and lasted from 1945 to 1973. The immediate causes of the system’s demise were persistent U.S. balance-of-payment deficits and the reluctance of the United States to devalue, which led to speculative attacks against the U.S. dollar. See also gold standard and balance of payments.
Related Term(s): Balance of payments
Broker-dealer
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Any person, other than a bank, engaged in the business of buying or selling securities on its own behalf or for others.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Any person, other than a bank, engaged in the business of buying or selling securities on its own behalf or for others.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Any person, other than a bank, engaged in the business of buying or selling securities on her or his own behalf for others.
Brokers’ loans
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Money borrowed by brokers from banks for uses such as financing specialists’ inventories of stock, the underwriting of new issues of corporate and municipal securities, and customer margin accounts.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Money borrowed by brokers from banks for uses such as financing specialists’ inventories of stock, the underwriting of new issues of corporate and municipal securities, and customer margin accounts.
Budget authority
Definition: Authority provided by law to incur financial obligations that will result in immediate or future outlays of federal government funds. Budget authority may be provided in an appropriation act or authorization act and may take the form of authority to obligate offsetting collections or receipts. Offsetting collections and receipts are classified as negative budget authority. See also appropriation act, authorization act, offsetting collections, offsetting receipts, and outlays.
Related Term(s): Appropriation act, Authorization act, Offsetting collections, Offsetting receipts, Outlays
Budget authority
Office of Management and Budget
Definition: Budget authority is the authority provided by law to incur financial obligations that will result in outlays.
Citizen’s Guide to the Federal Budget
Definition: Budget authority is what the law authorizes, or allows, the Federal Government to spend for programs, projects, or activities.
Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990
Office of Management and Budget
Definition: The BEA is a recently expired law that was designed to limit discretionary spending while ensuring that any new entitlement program or tax cut did not increase deficits. It set annual limits on spending.
Citizen’s Guide to the Federal Budget
Definition: The BEA is the law that was designed to limit discretionary spending while ensuring that any new entitlement program or tax cuts did not make the deficit worse. It set annual limits on total discretionary spending and created ”pay-as-you-go’’ rules for any changes in entitlements and taxes (see ”pay-as-you-go’’).
Budget function
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: One of 20 broad categories into which budgetary resources are grouped so that all budget authority and outlays can be presented according to the national interests being addressed. There are 17 broad budget functions, including national defense, international affairs, energy, agriculture, health, income security, and general government. Three other functions–net interest, allowances, and undistributed offsetting receipts–are included to complete the budget. See also net interest and offsetting receipts.
Related Term(s): Net interest, Offsetting receipts
Budget resolution
Office of Management and Budget
Definition: The budget resolution is the annual framework that the Congress uses to set targets for total, discretionary and mandatory spending, total revenues, and the deficit, as well as allocations within the spending targets. These targets guide the appropriations committees’ deliberations. A budget resolution does not become law and is not binding on the Executive Branch.
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: A concurrent resolution, adopted by both Houses of Congress, that sets forth a Congressional budget plan for the budget year and at least four out-years. The plan consists of spending and revenue targets with which subsequent appropriation acts and authorization acts that affect revenues and direct spending are expected to comply. The targets established in the budget resolution are enforced in each House of Congress through procedural mechanisms set out in law and the rules of each House. See also appropriation act, authorization act, direct spending, fiscal year, and revenues.
Citizen’s Guide to the Federal Budget
Definition: The budget resolution is the annual framework within which Congress makes its decisions about spending and taxes. This framework includes targets for total spending, total revenues, and the deficit, as well as allocations, within the spending target, for discretionary and mandatory spending.
Budgetary resources
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: All sources of authority provided to federal agencies permitting them to incur financial obligations, including new budget authority, unobligated balances, direct spending authority, and obligation limitations. See also budget authority, direct spending, obligation limitation, and unobligated balances.
Related Term(s): Budget authority, Direct spending, Obligation limitation, Unobligated balances
Bull market
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Period during which stock market prices move up for several months or years in a row
Bundesbank
Economics: Principles and Practices
Definition: Established in 1875, the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Bureau of Labor Statistics – BLS
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A research agency of the U.S. Department of Labor; it compiles statistics on hours of work, average hourly earnings, employment and unemployment, consumer prices, and many other variables.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: An independent agency within the U.S. Department of Labor that serves as the principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the field of labor economics. The BLS collects, analyzes, and disseminates statistical labor information to Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments, business, and labor groups.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: A research agency of the U.S. Department of Labor; it compiles statistics on hours of work, average hourly earnings, employment and unemployment, consumer prices and many other variables.
Business
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: A continuous and regular activity that has income or profit as its primary purpose.
Business current transfer payments (net)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Net payments by businesses to persons, government, and the rest of the world for which no current services are performed.
Related Term(s): Business current transfer payments to government (net), Business current transfer payments to persons (net), Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net)
Business current transfer payments to government (net)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Consists of payments to the Federal government in the form of premiums for deposit insurance, fees for regulatory and inspection activities, and fines; payments to state and local governments in the form of fines, tobacco settlements, and donations; and net insurance settlements paid to governments as policyholders.
Related Term(s): Business current transfer payments (net), Business current transfer payments to persons (net), Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net)
Business current transfer payments to persons (net)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Consists of net insurance settlements and income payments by businesses to persons for which no current services are performed.
Related Term(s): Business current transfer payments (net), Business current transfer payments to government (net), Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net)
Business current transfer payments to the rest of the world (net)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Net insurance settlements paid to the rest of the world as policyholders. Excludes taxes paid by domestic corporations to foreign governments.
Related Term(s): Business current transfer payments (net), Business current transfer payments to government (net), Business current transfer payments to persons (net)
Business cycle
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Systematic changes in real GDP marked by alternating periods of expansion and contraction
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: Fluctuations in overall business activity accompanied by swings in the unemployment rate, interest rates, and corporate profits. Over a business cycle, real activity rises to a peak (its highest level during the cycle), then falls until it reaches a trough (its lowest level following the peak), whereupon it starts to rise again, defining a new cycle. Business cycles are irregular, varying in frequency, magnitude, and duration. (NBER)
Business fixed investment
Congressional Budget Office
Definition: Spending by businesses on structures, equipment, and software. Such investment is labeled ”fixed” to distinguish it from investment in inventories.
Business fluctuation
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Changes in real GDP marked by alternating periods of expansion and contraction that occur on a less than systematic basis
Business sector
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: All corporate and noncorporate private entities organized for profit and certain other entities that are treated as businesses in the national income and product accounts (NIPAs), including mutual financial institutions, private noninsured pension funds, cooperatives, nonprofit organizations that primarily serve businesses, Federal Reserve banks, federally sponsored credit agencies, and government enterprises.
Related Term(s): General government sector, Households and institutions sector
Business, professional, and technical services transactions (BPT)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Transactions covering a wide range of private services sold to or purchased from foreigners, such as advertising, telecommunications, computer and data processing services, and accounting and legal services.
Buydown
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A lump sum payment made to the creditor by the borrower or by a third party to reduce the amount of some or all of the consumer’s periodic payments to repay the indebtedness.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: A lump sum payment made to the creditor by the borrower or by a third party to reduce the amount of some or all of the consumer’s periodic payments to repay the indebtedness.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: A lump sum payment made to the creditor by the borrower or by a third party to reduce the amount of some or all of the consumer’s periodic payments to repay the indebtedness.