Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Money supply components conforming to money’s role as medium of exchange; coins, currency, checks, other demand deposits, traveler’s checks
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: The sum of currency outside the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve Banks, and the vaults of depository institutions, plus travelers checks of nonbank issuers, plus demand deposits at all commercial banks other than those owed to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign banks and official institutions, less cash items in the process of collection and Federal Reserve float, plus other checkable deposits consisting of negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) and automatic transfer service (ATS) accounts at depository institutions, credit union share draft accounts, and demand deposits at thrift institutions.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of currency held by the public, travelers checks, demand deposits and other checkable deposits including NOW (negotiable order of withdrawal) and ATS (automatic transfer service) account balances and share draft account balances at credit unions.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of currency held by the public, travelers checks, demand deposits, and other checkable deposits including NOW (negotiable order of withdrawal) and ATS (automatic transfer service) account balances and share draft account balances at credit unions.
M2
M3
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: M2 plus large-denomination time deposits (in amounts of $100,000 or more) plus balances in institutional money funds (money funds with minimum initial investments of $50,000 or more) plus repurchase agreement liabilities (overnight and term) issued by all depository institutions plus Eurodollars (overnight and term) held by U.S. residents at foreign branches of U.S. banks worldwide and at all banking offices in the United Kingdom and Canada. Excludes amounts held by depository institutions, the U.S. government, money market funds and foreign banks and official institutions.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of M2, time deposits of $100,000 or more at all depository institutions, term repurchase agreements in amounts of $100,000 or more, certain term Eurodollars and balances in money market mutual funds restricted to institutional investors.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of M2, time deposits of $100,000 or more at all depository institutions, term repurchase agreements in amounts of $100,000 or more, certain term Eurodollars, and balances in money market mutual funds restricted to institutional investors.
Macroeconomic equilibrium
Macroeconomics
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: That part of economic theory dealing with the economy as a whole and decision making by large units such as governments and unions
Majority-owned foreign affiliate (MOFA)
Related Term(s): Foreign parent, U.S. affiliate
Majority-owned U.S. affiliate
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: A U.S. affiliate in which the combined ownership of all foreign parents exceeds 50 percent.
Related Term(s): Foreign affiliate, U.S. parent
Make table
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: A table in the input-output (I-O) accounts. The make table shows the production of commodities by industries. It shows the value, in producers’ prices, of each commodity produced by each industry. In each row, one ”diagonal” cell shows the value of the production of the commodity for which the industry has been designated the primary producer. The entries in the other cells in the row show the values of the production of commodities for which the industry is a secondary producer. The entries in each column of the make table represent the production by both primary and secondary producers of the commodity in the column.
Related Term(s): Direct requirements table Use table
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Federal spending authorized by law that continues without the need for annual approvals of Congress
Office of Management and Budget
Definition: Mandatory spending is provided by permanent law rather than annual appropriations. An example is Social Security. The President and the Congress can change the law to revise the eligibility criteria or the payment formula, and thus change the level of spending on mandatory programs, but they don’t have to take annual action to ensure the continuation of spending. See also discretionary spending.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: With regard to securities, this term refers to a fractional amount of full value, or the equity outlay (down payment) required for an investment in securities purchased on credit.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Any stock listed on a national securities exchange, any over-the-counter security approved by the SEC for trading in the national market system, or appearing on the Board’s list of over-the-counter margin stock and most mutual funds.
Marginal cost
Marginal product
Marginal revenue
Marginal tax rate
Marginal utility
Marginally attached workers (Current Population Survey)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Individuals who want, and are available for work, and who have looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months), but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey. Discouraged workers are a subset of the marginally attached.
Related Term(s): Discouraged workers (Current Population Survey)
Marital status
Definition: The marital status classification identifies four major categories: never married, married, widowed, and divorced. These terms refer to the marital status at the time of the enumeration. The category ”married” is further divided into ”married, spouse present,” ”separated,” and ”other married, spouse absent.” A person was classified as ”married, spouse present” if the husband or wife was reported as a member of the household, even though he or she may have been temporarily absent on business or on vacation, visiting, in a hospital, etc., at the time of the enumeration. People reported as separated included those with legal separations, those living apart with intentions of obtaining a divorce, and other people permanently or temporarily separated because of marital discord. The group ”other married, spouse absent” includes married people living apart because either the husband or wife was employed and living at a considerable distance from home, was serving away from home in the Armed Forces, had moved to another area, or had a different place of residence for any other reason except separation as defined above. Single, when used as a marital status category, is the sum of never-married, widowed, and divorced people. ”Single,” when used in the context of ”single-parent family/household,” means only one parent is present in the home. The parent may be never-married, widowed, divorced, or married, spouse absent.
Market
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: An economic system based on private enterprise that rests upon three basic freedoms: freedom of the consumer to choose among competing products and services, freedom of the producer to start or expand a business, and freedom of the worker to choose a job and employer.
Market failure
Market interest rates
Market structure
Market supply curve
Marriage cohort
Marriage, age at first
Definition: The estimated median age at first marriage, is an approximation derived indirectly from tabulations of marital status and age. In computing this median, several steps are involved. First, the expected proportion of young people who will ever marry during their lifetime is computed. Second, one-half of this expected proportion is calculated. And third, the current age of young people who are at this halfway mark is computed. From the assumptions made and the procedures used, it follows that the date of the survey is also the date when this halfway mark is reached. Half of the young people of the given age who will ever get married had done so prior to the survey date and half are expected to marry in years to come.
Married couple
Definition: A married couple, as defined for census purposes, is a husband and wife enumerated as members of the same household. The married couple may or may not have children living with them. The expression ”husband-wife” or ”married-couple” before the term ”household,” ”family,” or ”subfamily” indicates that the household, family, or subfamily is maintained by a husband and wife. The number of married couples equals the count of married-couple families plus related and unrelated married-couple subfamilies.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Definition: You must be married. This method may benefit you if you want to be responsible only for your own tax or if this method results in less tax than a joint return. If you and your spouse do not agree to file a joint return, you may have to use this filing status.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: When the Federal Reserve makes a matched sale-purchase agreement, it sells a security outright for immediate delivery to a dealer or foreign central bank, with an agreement to buy the security back on a specific date (usually within 7 days) at the same price. Matched sale-purchase agreements are the reverse of repurchase agreements and allow the Federal Reserve to withdraw reserves on a temporary basis.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: An agreement in which the Federal Reserve sells a security outright for immediate delivery to a dealer or foreign central bank, with an agreement to buy the security back on a specific date (usually within 7 days) at the same price. Matched sale-purchase agreements are the reverse of repurchase agreements and allow the Federal Reserve to withdraw reserves on a temporary basis.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Transaction in which the Federal Reserve sells a government security to a dealer or a foreign central bank and agrees to buy back the security on a specified date (usually within seven days) at the same price (the reverse of a repurchase agreement). Such transactions allow the Federal Reserve to temporarily absorb excess reserves from the banking system, limiting the ability of banks to make new loans and investments.
Definition: Mean (average) income is the amount obtained by dividing the total aggregate income of a group by the number of units in that group. The means for households, families, and unrelated individuals are based on all households, families, and unrelated individuals, respectively. The means (averages) for people are based on people 15 years old and over with income.
Definition: Means by which a budget deficit is financed or a surplus is used. Means of financing are not included in the budget totals. The primary means of financing is borrowing from the public. In general, the cumulative amount borrowed from the public (debt held by the public) will increase if there is a deficit and decrease if there is a surplus, although other factors can affect the amount that the government must borrow. Those factors, known as other means of financing, include reductions (or increases) in the government’s cash balances, seigniorage, changes in outstanding checks, changes in accrued interest costs included in the budget but not yet paid, and cash flows reflected in credit financing accounts. See also debt, deficit, financing account, seigniorage, and surplus.
Related Term(s): Debt Deficit, Financing account Seigniorage, Surplus
Definition: Programs that provide cash or services to people who meet a test of need based on income and assets. Most means-tested programs are entitlements (such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income, family support programs, and veterans’ pensions), but in the case of a few such programs (for instance, subsidized housing and various social services), budget authority for the program is provided in appropriation acts. See also appropriation act and entitlement.
Related Term(s): Appropriation act, Entitlement
Definition: Median income is the amount which divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having incomes above the median, half having incomes below the median. The medians for households, families, and unrelated individuals are based on all households, families, and unrelated individuals, respectively. The medians for people are based on people 15 years old and over with income.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: A boundary. An occupational median wage estimate is the boundary between the highest paid 50% and the lowest paid 50% of workers in that occupation. Half of the workers in a given occupation earn more than the median wage, and half the workers earn less than the median wage.
Medical care coverage
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Type of insurance coverage that provides for the payment of benefits as a result of sickness or injury. Medical care coverage can be provided in a hospital or a doctor’s office. The three major types of medical care plans are: fee-for-service (FFS), preferred provided organization (PPO), and health maintenance organization (HMO).
Medicare
Medicare tax
Medium and large private establishments (Employee Benefits Survey)
Medium of exchange
Member bank
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A depository institution that is a member of the Federal Reserve. All national banks are required to be System members, and state-chartered commercial banks may elect to become members. Member banks own stock in Federal Reserve Banks and elect some of the Reserve Bank directors.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Depository institution that is a member of the Federal Reserve System. All federally chartered banks are automatically members of the System. State-chartered banks are divided into those that are members of the System (state member banks) and those that are not (nonmember banks).
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Depository institution that is a member of the Federal Reserve System. All federally chartered banks are automatically members of the System. State-chartered banks are divided into those that are members of the System (state member banks) and those that are not (nonmember banks).
Member bank reserves
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: The general concept of an MSA and an SMSA is one of a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities which have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. These are defined by the Office of Management and Budget as a standard for Federal agencies in the preparation and publication of statistics relating to metropolitan areas.
Definition: The general concept of a metropolitan area (MA) is one of a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. Some MA’s are defined around two or more nuclei. The MA classification is a statistical standard, developed for use by Federal agencies in the production, analysis, and publication of data on MA’s. The MA’s are designated and defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget, following a set of official published standards. These standards were developed by the interagency Federal Executive Committee on Metropolitan Areas, with the aim of producing definitions that are as consistent as possible for all MA’s nationwide. Each MA must contain either a place with a minimum population of 50,000 or a Census Bureau-defined urbanized area and a total MA population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England). An MA is comprised of one or more central counties, and an MA may also include one or more outlying counties that have closed economic and social relationships with the central county. An outlying county must have a specified level of commuting to the central counties and also must meet certain standards regarding metropolitan character, such as population density, urban population, and population growth. In New England, MA’s are composed of cities and towns rather than whole counties. The territory, population, and housing units in MA’s are referred to as ”metropolitan.” The metropolitan category is subdivided into ”inside central city” and ”outside central city.” The territory, population, and housing units located outside MA’s are referred to as ”nonmetropolitan.” To meet the needs of various users, the standards provide for a flexible structure of metropolitan definitions that classify an MA either as a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) or as a consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA) that is divided into primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSA’s). Documentation of the MA standards and how they are applied is available from the Secretary, Federal Executive Committee on Metropolitan Areas, Population Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. Central city. In each MSA and CMSA, the largest place and, in some cases, additional places are designated as ”central cities” under the official standards. A few PMSA’s do not have central cities. The largest central city and, in some cases, up to two additional central cities are included in the title of the MA; there are also central cities that are not included in an MA title. An MA central city does not include any part of that city that extends outside the MA boundary. Consolidated and primary metropolitan statistical area. If an area that qualifies as an MA has more than one million people, primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSA’s) may be defined within it. PMSA’s consist of a large urbanized county or cluster of counties that demonstrates very strong internal economic and social links, in addition to close ties to other portions of the larger area. When PMSA’s are established, the larger area of which they are component parts is designated a consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA). Metropolitan statistical area. Metropolitan statistical areas are relatively freestanding MA’s and are not closely associated with other MA’s. These areas are typically surrounded by nonmetropolitan counties.
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Branch of economic theory that deals with behavior and decision making by small units such as individuals and firms
Definition: The mobility data are derived from the answers to questions on residence 1 year before the survey date and the geographical location of the respondent’s current residence. These questions were asked for all members of the survey household who were 1 year old and over on the survey date. (See the section, ”Migration, Allocations of Data” for a discussion of the allocation of mobility data for people for whom no response or only partial responses to the mobility questions were given.)
Definition: In the March CPS, complete mobility information is usually not reported for about 10 percent of all people. In these cases, people missing mobility data are assigned the mobility status and previous residence obtained for other family members or allocated using the data for another sample person who did respond to the questions. The mobility status and previous residence allocated to a nonrespondent is that obtained for another person with similar demographic characteristics who has been selected systematically in the order in which individual records are processed. Characteristics used in these allocations (when assignment of data for other family members is not possible) are age, race, years of school completed, and metropolitan status and state of current residence. State of previous residence is used instead of state of current residence if the individual being allocated data reported state of previous residence but not city or county.
Definition: The population was classified according to mobility status on the basis of a comparison between the place of residence of each individual to the time of the March survey and the place of residence 1 year earlier. Nonmovers are all people who were living in the same house at the end of the migration period and the beginning of the migration period. Movers are all people who were living in a different house at the end of the period rather than at the beginning. Movers are further classified as to whether they were living in the same or different county, state, region, or were movers from abroad. Movers are also categorized by whether they moved within or between central cities, suburbs, and nonmetropolitan areas of the United States.
Related Term(s): School, modal grade
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: The sum of currency held by the public, plus total reserves held by Federal Reserve-member banks (reserves at the Federal Reserve plus vault cash), plus extra vault cash held by banks, plus required clearing balances and adjustments to compensate for float at Federal Reserve Banks.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: An Act which requires that all banks and all institutions that accept deposits from the public make periodic reports to the Federal Reserve System. Starting in September 1981, the Fed charged banks for a range of services that it had provided free in the past, including check clearing, wire transfer of funds, and the use of automated clearinghouse facilities.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Among its major provisions, this Act applied uniform reserve requirements to all depository institutions with certain types of accounts and required reports from these depository institutions. It also extended access to the Federal Reserve discount window and to other Federal Reserve services in step with the implementation of a fee schedule.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Act which requires that all banks and all institutions that accept deposits from the public make periodic reports to the Federal Reserve System. Starting in September 1981, the Fed charged banks for a range of services that it had provided free in the past, including check clearing, wire transfer of funds and the use of automated clearinghouse facilities.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Monetary or central bank independence refers to a central bank that is separated from and not accountable to the fiscal authority (in the United States, the Treasury). The intent of the separation is to remove the incentive that governments have to use seigniorage as a nonlegislated form of taxation to pay for government spending. See also seigniorage.
Related Term(s): Seigniorage
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Actions by the Federal Reserve System to expand or contract the money supply in order to affect the cost and availability of credit
Definition: The strategy of influencing movements of the money supply and interest rates to affect output and inflation. An ”easy” monetary policy suggests faster growth of the money supply and initially lower short-term interest rates in an attempt to increase aggregate demand, but it may lead to a higher rate of inflation. A ”tight” monetary policy suggests slower growth of the money supply and higher interest rates in the near term in an attempt to reduce inflationary pressure by lowering aggregate demand. The Federal Reserve System conducts monetary policy in the United States. See also aggregate demand, Federal Reserve System, inflation, money supply, and short-term interest rate.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Federal Reserve actions to influence the availability and cost of money and credit, as a means of helping to promote high employment, economic growth, price stability, and a sustainable pattern of international transactions. Tools of monetary policy include open market operations, discount policy, and reserve requirements
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, and a store of value
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Anything that serves as a generally accepted medium of exchange, a standard of value, and a means to save or store purchasing power. In the United States, paper currency (nearly all of which consists of Federal Reserve notes), coin and funds in checking and similar accounts at depository institutions are examples of money.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: Anything that serves as a generally accepted medium of exchange, a standard of value and a means to save or store purchasing power. In the United States, currency (the bulk of which is Federal Reserve notes), coin and funds in checking and similar accounts at depository institutions are examples of money.
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Market in which financial capital is loaned and/or borrowed for one year or less
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Figurative expression for the informal network of dealers and investors over which short-term debt securities are purchased and sold. Money market securities generally are highly liquid securities that mature in less than one year, typically in less than ninety days.
Related Term(s): Short-term interest rates
Related Term(s): Money, Money supply
Definition: Private assets that can readily be used to make transactions or are easily convertible into assets that can. The money supply includes currency and demand deposits and may also include broader categories of assets, such as other types of deposits and securities.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: The amount of money circulating in an economy. This includes paper and coin currency as well as other liquid assets (assets which can quickly be converted into cash with negligible penalty). It can be defined in several ways, depending upon which liquid assets are included. See also monetary aggregates.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Definition: Data series, released by the U.S. Treasury, which summarizes the financial activities of the federal government and off-budget Federal entities in accordance with the Budget of the U.S. Government.
Related Term(s): Directly estimated method
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: When the risks or costs (but not the benefits) associated with an action are transferred—from individuals who take the action to others—creating an incentive for individuals to take riskier and costlier actions than they otherwise would have. Insurance is a typically cited example of a system which creates moral hazard. For example, if individuals’ cars are insured against theft, they might not be as careful about locking them up or removing the keys from the ignition when they leave them unattended for a time.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Definition: The risk that a party to a transaction has not entered into a contract in good faith, has provided misleading information about its assets, liabilities or credit capacity, or has an incentive to take unusual risks in a desperate attempt to earn a profit before the contract settles.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: The risk that a party to a transaction has not entered into a contract in good faith, has provided misleading information about its assets, liabilities, or credit capacity, or has an incentive to take unusual risks in a desperate attempt to earn a profit before the contract settles.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: Mortgage pools are groups of mortgages that are put together by a lender or one of the secondary market agencies (Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac). These pools provide investors with diversification and liquidity compared to holding portfolios of individual mortgage loans. In addition, they are often guaranteed against default by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the private issuer.
Definition: Reasons for moving were collected from the householder and other persons, 1 year old and over, who were living in a different house/apartment 1 year prior to the March survey. Persons who moved with the householder were assigned the reason of the householder. Reasons for moving: Change in marital status: Person moved because of family formation or dissolution resulting in a change in marital status classification to one of the following categories: married, widowed, separated or divorced. To establish own household: People who moved out of an existing household in order to establish a separate one. Other family reason: All other reasons not listed above that are family related. New job or job transfer: People who moved because of a new job or location of existing job moved. This also included military transfers. To look for work or lost job: People who move in order to find work. To be closer to work/easier commute: People who move to be closer to their work and/or cut their commuting time. Retired: People who, after retirement from a job, have changed their place of residence. Other job related reason: All other reasons not listed above that are job related. Wanted to own home/not rent: People who wanted to own their own home and not rent a house or apartment. Wanted a new or better house/apartment: People who wanted to move from their current home/apartment to a new, bigger/better house/apartment. Wanted better neighborhood/less crime: People who wanted to move to a better neighborhood and or a neighborhood with less crime. Wanted cheaper housing: People who moved to cheaper/less expensive house/apartment. Other housing reason: All other reasons not listed above that are housing related. To attend/leave college: People who leave a place of residence to attend college or who leave college to return to previous place of residence or move elsewhere. Change of climate: People who moved to a better climate. Health reasons: Any change of residence based on the health of the individual or another person. Other reason: All other reasons not listed.
Multifactor productivity
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: In multifactor productivity measures, output is related to combined inputs of labor, capital and intermediate purchases. Labor is measured by the number of hours of labor expended in the production of output. Capital includes equipment, structures, land and inventories. Intermediate purchases are composed of materials, fuels, electricity, and purchased services.
Multilateralism
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: An international policy intended to free international trade from the restrictions of bilateralism. Multilateralism represents an effort to permit nations to specialize in production and exchange in accordance with the principle of comparative advantage.
Multinational
Multiple jobholders (Current Population Survey)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Definition: Employed persons who, during the reference week, either had two or more jobs as a wage and salary worker, were self-employed and also held a wage and salary job, or worked as an unpaid family worker and also held a wage and salary job. Excluded are self-employed persons with multiple businesses and persons with multiple jobs as unpaid family workers.
Multiplier
Municipal bond
Munis
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Companies that sell stock in themselves and use the proceeds to buy stocks and bonds issued by other companies
Related Term(s): Municipal bond
Economics: Principles & Practices
Definition: Company that sells stock in itself and uses the proceeds to buy stocks and bonds issued by other companies
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Definition: A company that pools the funds of many individuals to purchase corporate stocks, bonds, or other financial assets. Pooling funds reduces transactions costs and provides the opportunity to participate in financial markets that are typically closed to smaller investors. There are two types of mutual fund: open-ended and closed. Open-ended funds are the most common and set no limit on the number of shares issued. Close-ended funds issue a fixed number of shares that are then traded around.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Definition: Banks which accept deposits primarily from individuals and place a large portion of their funds into mortgage loans. These institutions are prominent in many of the northeastern states. Savings banks generally have broader asset and liability powers than savings and loan associations but narrower powers than commercial banks. Savings banks are authorized to offer checking-type accounts.