Subject words A-M
This is the idea that people are more averse to losses than they are eager to make gains.
loss aversion
An amount of money paid for each thing or amount of something that a worker produces.
Piece rate
Arranged or done for a particular purpose as needed, rather than according to a fixed plan.
ad hoc (adjective)
Likely to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially in a way that creates risk or instability.
volatile (adjective)
Who is Germany's federal minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action?
Katherina Reiche
A lowering in value over a period of time.
Depreciation
This is an intervention that steers individuals’ behaviour by shaping how options are presented, while preserving freedom of choice and without using coercion or significant financial incentives, often by exploiting cognitive biases.
Nudge
A significant difference or inequality, especially in income, status, or treatment.
Disparity (noun)
So small or unimportant that it can reasonably be ignored.
negligible (adjective)
The concept of platform decline in specific economic stages is called what, and who coined the term?
Enshittification, by Cory Doctorow
Money that somebody owes that they have not paid at the right time.
Arrears
The quality of being able to return quickly to a previous good condition after problems
Resilience
A statement or claim that someone presents as true, often without providing supporting evidence.
Assertion
To provide evidence or data that proves a claim or argument is true.
Substantiate (verb)
What is Germany's top export?
Cars and car parts.
This accounted for ca. €279 billion in 2024, about 17% of all exports.
(according to Statista & destatis.de... the full 2025 figures are not published yet)
The act or process of treating something (could be anything) as a product that can be bought and sold.
Commodification
In economic terms, this a positive or (perhaps more often) negative effect experienced by others as a result of an economic activity, even though they were not directly involved in it.
Spillover effect
Relating to a situation or outcome that did not happen (But is often considered in order to analyse what might have occurred under different conditions).
Counterfactual
An important connection within a set of connections, or relationships, between different factors or processes.
Nexus (noun)
Which nation is the world's 4th largest economy?
Japan (as of 2025, IMF).
1. USA 2. China 3. Germany 4. Japan 5. India
But depending on your sources or how you measure, India and Japan are often nearly the same right now. Germany is only slightly ahead of both. And btw, 6-10: UK, France, Italy, Russia, Canada.
This word refers to the phenomenon that people have limited cognitive ability, information and time, and do not always make the "correct" choice from an economist’s point of view, even if information is available that would point them toward a "better" particular course of action.
Bounded rationality
A function of economic price elasticity, where consumers tend to switch to more affordable goods if prices rise.
Substitution effect
Easily interchangeable with other goods of the same type and value, so that individual units are effectively identical.
Fungible (adj)
Appearing to be true or valid but in fact false, misleading, or based on incorrect reasoning or evidence.
Spurious (adj)
What is this marketing principle called?
You buy a new tablet, and then receive a free 6-month subscription to an online streaming service. When the 6 months are nearly up, you wonder if you should let the regular billing begin, or cancel. You feel a bit sad at losing the streaming possibilities, as you were half-way through a good series...
This is a good example of Partial Ownership (a feature of behavioural economics)