definitions

• BRICS


  Economies considered to be: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
• Economic growth


  An increase in the GDP - value of output of goods and services produced in an economy over time
• Economy


  An area/country where goods and services are produced, sold and bought
• Emerging economy


  The economies of developing countries where there is rapid growth, but also significant risk
• Employment patterns


  A key indicator of growth looking at unemployment rates, trends, labour costs and productivity as well as education qualifications and potential employees
• GDP


  Gross Domestic Product. Measures the output of goods and services in an economy over a period of time
• HDI


  Is a composite index focusing on three basic measures of human development: Life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling and standard of living, measured by gross national income per capita
• Health


  A key indicator of the level of development and may include, life expectancy at birth, mortality, pollution exposure and clean access to water
• Literacy


  A key indicator of growth. The literacy rate looks at the percentage of adults that can read and write
• MINTS


  Economies considered to be Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey
• Exports


  Goods or services that a firm produces in its home market, but sells in a foreign market
• FDI


  Foreign Direct Investment, when a business invests by setting up operations or buying assets in businesses in another country
• Imports


  Goods and service that are bought into one country from another
• Specialisation


  When an economy or a business concentrate on a specific range of products or services
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)


  When a business with head office in one country, sets up factories, offices etc in another country
• Globalisation


  A process by which economies and cultures have been drawn deeper together and have become more interconnected through networks of trade and the rapid spread of technology
• International trade barriers


  A regulation or policy that restricts international trade, for example: tariffs, quotas, customs duties, rules and regulations
• Migration


  The movement of people from one country to another to seek employment or a better life
• Structural change


  Where some businesses grow while others will shrink or close down e.g. those in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
• Trade liberalisation


  The reduction, and sometimes removal, of trade barriers between countries
• Transnational companies


  Companies that own or control production or service facilities outside the country in which they are based
• Domestic subsidies


  Financial support given to a domestic producer to help compete with overseas firms
• Import quotas


  A physical limit on the quantity of imports allowed into a country
• Protectionism


  Policies used by a government to protect domestic businesses by making foreign owned products less attractive. Examples include tariffs, quotas, subsidies and regulation
• Tariffs


  A tax on imports to make them more expensive
• Trade barriers


  Measures designed to restrict trade
• ASEAN


  The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• EU


  The European Union, the most powerful trading bloc in the world. A single market that guarantees the free movement of people, goods, services and capital through member states
• NAFTA


  The North American Free Trade Area. Replaced by the USMCA
• Single market


  A market where almost all trade barriers between member have been removed and common laws or policies aim to make the movement of goods, services, capital and labour between countries easy
• Trading bloc


  A group of countries that trade freely with reduced or no tariffs and quotas on trade between businesses in these countries
• Outsourcing


  Moving a business function or department to a specialist external provider which may or may not be overseas
• Pull factors


  The conditions that exist elsewhere that appear to be more advantageous and may cause a business to move to those areas to take advantage of them
• Push factors


  The conditions that make a business' current location less desirable and may cause it to leave and move elsewhere
• Relocating


  When a business moves to a new location. This can improve the use of premises and can lead to lower costs, such as lower rent
• Risk spreading


  Limit the various risk that a business faces eg avoiding over dependence upon one market
• Saturated market


  Where most of the customers who would buy a product already have it, or there is limited opportunity for growth
• Disposable income


  The amount of money that households have available for spending and saving after taxes have been paid
• Ease of doing business

  The number and severity of barriers a business faces when entering a new market/country. A high ranking means a business faces fewer barriers. Such barriers include dealing with/amount of government regulations, access to energy sources, tax regimes, employment law and enforcing contracts
• Infrastructure


  The systems and services that an economy needs to function effectively, these include transport links and communications