Social glossary

Economic activity: the different processes involved in the production and consumption of goods and services

Economic agent: a person, group or institution involved in the economy

Goods: tangible economic products, such as food, that are usually consumed after production

Services: economic activities, such as banking or education, that are intangible

Production: an activity that provides goods and services for consumption. the production of goods combines natural resources, skills, financial investment and labour

Distribution: the marketing, delivery and sale of goods and services

Marketing: the act of researching, promoting and advertising a product or service in order to sell it

Consumption: the use of a product or service to satisfy needs or desires

Supply: availability of something of use or sale

Demand: the desire to own something in the market and the willingness to pay for it

Inflation: a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in the economy or a decrease in value of the purchasing power of money

Profit: the monetary gain of a business after all expenses have been met

Tax: a monetary contribution to the government requires of people, groups or business

Raw material: material on which a particular manufacturing process is carried out

Telecommuting: the use of home computers, telephones, etc, to enable a person to work from home while maintaining contact with colleagues, customers, or a central office

Employer: a person, business, firm, etc, that employs workers

Employee: a person who is hired to work for another or for a business, firm, etc, in return for payment

Self-employed: earning one's living in one's own business or through freelance work, rather than as the employee of another

Active population: people currently employed in the production of goods and services  and the people who are unemployed or looking for their first job

Inactive population: people not in active service

Disabled: lacking one or more physical powers, such as the ability to walk or to coordinate one's movements, as from the effects of a disease or accident, or through mental impairment

Retired: to give up or to cause (a person) to give up his work, a post, etc, esp on reaching pensionable age

Full-time contracts:  a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by his/her employer.

Part-time contracts: a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job.