Term | Definition |
Adolesent fertility rate | The number of births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 |
Developed country | A country that has progressed relatively far along a continuum of development |
Developing country | A country that is at a relatively early stage in the process of economic development |
Development | A process of improvement in material conditions of people through diffusion of knowledge and technology |
Fair trade | An alternative to international trade that emphasizes small businesses and worker-owned and democratically run cooperatives and requires employers to pay workers fair wages, permit union organizing, and comply w/ minimum environmental and safety standards |
Female labor force participation rate | The percentage of women holding full-time jobs outside of home |
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) | Investment made by a foreign company in the economy of another county |
Gender Inequality Index (GII) | An indicator constructed by the UN to measure the extent of each country's gender inequality |
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | The value of the total output of goods and services produced in a country in a year, not accounting for money that leaves and enters the country |
Gross National Income (GNI) | The value of the output of goods and services produced in a year, including money that leaves and enters the country |
Human Development Index (HDI) | The UN's indicator of the level of development for a country, which is a combination of income, education, and life expectancy |
Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) | An indicator of the level of development for a country that identifies the HDI to account for inequality |
Literacy Rate | The percentage of a country's people who can read and write |
Microfinance | Provision of small loans and financial services to individuals and small businesses in developing countries. |
Primary Sector | |
| The portion of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of materials from earth's surface, generally through agriculture, although sometimes by mining, fishing, and forestry |
Productivity | The value of a particular product compared to the amount of labor needed to make it |
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) | The amount of money needed in one country to purchase the same goods and services in another country; PPP adjusts income figures to account for differences among countries in the cost of goods |
Secondary Sector | The portion of the economy concerned with manufacturing useful products through processing, transforming, and assembling raw materials |
Value Added | The gross value of a product minus the costs of raw materials and energy |
Srructural Adjustment Program | Economic policies imposed on less developed countries by international agencies to create conditions encouraging international trade |
Tertiary Sector | The portion of the economy with the transportation, communications, and utilities extended to the provision of all goods and services to people in exchange for payment |