Hamburg Abitur Politics, Society and Economics - independent foundations key terms

Pooling resources according to defined contribution rules to cover need across people with differing incomes, health risks and family circumstances.

An allocation mechanism accounting for differences in insured populations so competing funds have weaker incentives to seek only low-risk members.

The relationship between resources used and valued outputs or outcomes, requiring an explicit quality and time horizon rather than merely low spending.

A judgment about fair distribution of opportunities, burdens or services, which must state the relevant principle and affected groups.

A problem arising when private information about risk affects participation in insurance pools and can destabilize coverage or pricing.

A flow of resources received over a specified period, distinguished from assets and liabilities measured at a particular time.

A stock of assets less liabilities at a specified date, requiring separate measurement from periodic earnings or disposable income.

The lifelong interaction through which people acquire and reinterpret norms, roles, identities and expectations within changing social environments.

A summary distribution measure whose interpretation depends on the defined resource, population and scale, rather than directly counting people in poverty.

Deprivation measured against a specified society-relative benchmark, which can change when the reference distribution changes even without identical absolute income changes.

An unsupported inference about individuals from an aggregate relationship, such as assuming every resident shares a neighborhood average or motive.

The arithmetic difference between two percentages, distinct from their relative percentage change calculated against a stated starting value.

A systematic difference between those observed and the target population that can distort an inference even when the observed sample is large.

A variable related to both a proposed explanatory factor and an outcome, potentially producing a misleading association if not addressed.

The outcome that would have occurred under a different action or exposure, which cannot simply be read from a single observed before-and-after change.

A concrete means of public action, such as information, regulation, spending or a price incentive, distinguished from the goal it seeks.

The process through which adopted decisions become practical action, involving resources, interpretation, incentives and possible gaps between design and delivery.

Identification of affected actors, their interests, resources and responsibilities, without assuming that every interest has identical authority or legal standing.

A statement about what ought to be valued or done, requiring an explicit evaluative standard rather than empirical verification alone.

A statement concerning observable conditions or relationships that can be assessed against appropriately gathered evidence and a stated method.

An account of justified authority emphasizing participation, representation and the procedures through which citizens can influence public decisions.

An account of justified authority emphasizing effective problem-solving and public outcomes, which does not by itself settle participation or rights concerns.

The selective organization and presentation of an issue that makes certain interpretations salient without necessarily changing every underlying factual observation.

The process through which a policy’s results and experiences alter interests, public interpretations or later decisions, challenging a purely linear policy-cycle picture.

The middle value in an ordered distribution, with a convention for even counts, distinguished from an arithmetic average influenced by extreme values.

Household income adjusted by a specified household-size and composition scale, intended to support comparison while depending on the chosen convention.

The limits arising from measurement, sampling, assumptions or incomplete information, which should influence the strength and scope of a conclusion.

The value of the next-best alternative forgone when choosing an action, not the sum of every rejected possibility.

Freedom understood as absence of interference within an identified sphere, distinguished from self-government or the practical capacity to act.

Reason-giving discussion in which participants examine public arguments, evidence and objections rather than treating preference aggregation as the entire decision process.