CLEP Social Sciences and History key terms

An economic doctrine holding that a nation's wealth is measured by its stock of gold and silver, so governments should encourage exports, limit imports, and treat colonies as sources of raw materials and captive markets.

The difference between a country's exports and imports of goods and services. A surplus means exports exceed imports; a deficit means imports exceed exports.

The principle that a country gains from trade by specializing in goods it can produce at a lower opportunity cost than trading partners, even if it is less efficient at everything.

The value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is made. It underlies decisions by consumers, firms, and governments about how to allocate scarce resources.

The condition in which human wants exceed the limited resources available to satisfy them. It forces individuals and societies to make choices and is the central problem economics studies.

The interaction of how much producers offer at each price and how much buyers want at each price. Their intersection sets market price and quantity in a competitive market.

A measure of how much the quantity demanded or supplied responds to a change in price. Demand is elastic when buyers change quantity sharply and inelastic when they barely respond.

Products that can replace one another for a buyer, such as butter and margarine. A rise in the price of one tends to increase demand for the other.

Products used together, such as printers and ink cartridges. A fall in the price of one tends to raise demand for the other because they are consumed jointly.

A sustained rise in the general price level, which reduces the purchasing power of money. It is commonly measured by changes in a consumer price index.

A statistic that tracks the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by typical households, used to estimate changes in the cost of living over time.

The total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given period. It is the standard measure of a nation's economic output.

The recurring pattern of expansion and contraction in economic activity, marked by booms, recessions, and recoveries. It is tracked through changes in output, employment, and income.

Government use of taxation and spending to influence the economy. Raising spending or cutting taxes can stimulate demand; the reverse can cool inflation.

Central bank actions that manage the money supply and interest rates to promote stable prices and full employment. Tools include open market operations and reserve requirements.

A tax imposed on imported goods. Tariffs raise revenue and can protect domestic producers, but they also raise consumer prices and may invite retaliation from trading partners.

A system of government in which power is divided between a national government and regional governments, each with authority granted by a constitution rather than by the other level.

The division of governmental authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches so that no single branch holds all power and each can check the others.

Constitutional arrangements that let each branch of government limit the actions of the others, such as a presidential veto or judicial review of legislation.

The power of courts to examine laws and government actions and declare them invalid if they conflict with the constitution. In the United States it was established in Marbury v. Madison.

Powers not granted to the national government nor denied to the states, which are retained by the states or the people under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The principle that governmental power should be limited by a written or unwritten constitution that defines authority, protects rights, and constrains arbitrary rule.

The idea that ultimate political authority rests with the people, who create and consent to their government. It underlies democratic elections and constitutional ratification.

The theory that people agree, implicitly or explicitly, to surrender some freedom to a government in exchange for protection of their remaining rights and for social order.

Rights believed to belong to all people by virtue of being human, such as life, liberty, and property, and which governments are expected to protect rather than grant.

The body of electors chosen by states that formally selects the U.S. president and vice president. Each state's elector count equals its congressional representation.

An organized association that seeks to influence public policy on behalf of its members or a shared cause, typically through lobbying, campaign support, and public advocacy.

Direct efforts by individuals or organizations to persuade legislators and officials to support or oppose particular policies, often through meetings, testimony, and information campaigns.

A view of politics holding that power is dispersed among many competing groups, so policy results from bargaining and compromise rather than from a single ruling elite.

The practice of one country establishing political control over another territory and its people, often to extract resources, settle land, or secure trade advantages.

The extension of a nation's power through territorial acquisition, economic domination, or political influence over other regions, prominent in the late nineteenth century.

Identification with and loyalty to a nation, often accompanied by the belief that a national group deserves its own state or should assert its interests over others.

The shift of an economy from agriculture and handicrafts toward machine-based manufacturing in factories, bringing urbanization, new social classes, and changed labor conditions.

The growth of cities as people move from rural areas, typically driven by industrial employment and accompanied by crowding, sanitation problems, and new municipal services.

An economic outlook favoring minimal government interference in markets, holding that private enterprise and competition best allocate resources and promote growth.

An eighteenth-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, individual rights, and skepticism toward traditional authority, which shaped modern political thought and revolutions.

The movement of people from one place to another, whether voluntary or forced, across regions or borders. It reshapes population distribution, labor markets, and cultural patterns.

Conditions that drive people away from a place, such as war or unemployment, and conditions that attract them to another, such as jobs or safety, together explaining migration flows.

The historical shift from high birth and death rates to low ones as a society develops, passing through a stage of rapid population growth in between.

The average number of people per unit of land area, used to compare how crowded regions are and to relate settlement patterns to resources and geography.

The spread of ideas, customs, technologies, or languages from one society to another through trade, migration, conquest, or communication, often blending with local traditions.

The growing interconnection of economies and societies worldwide through trade, investment, travel, and communication, producing shared markets and cultural exchange along with new inequalities.