AARCH augmented autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
AC advanced country
ACAS Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
ACH automated clearinghouse
ACM Andean Common Market; Arab Common Market
ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific
ACRS Accelerated Cost Recovery System
ACT advanced corporation tax
AD anti-dumping
ADAS aggregate demand-aggregate supply
ADB Asian Development Bank
ADR American Depository Receipt
AEA American Economic Association
AESOP all-employee share ownership plan (UK)
AFBD Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers (London)
AfDB African Development Bank
AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children
AFL-CIO American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
AG Aktiengesellschaft
AGM Annual General Meeting
AGNP augmented gross national product
AIBD Association of International Bond Dealers
AIM Alternative Investment Market (London)
ALC Australian Loan Council
ALM asset-liability management
AMEX American Stock Exchange
AMU Arab Maghreb Union
ANOVA analysis of variance
AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States
APACS Association for Payment Clearing Services
APB Accounting Principles Board (UK)
APC average propensity to consume
APCIMS Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers
APR average percentage rate (of interest)
ARCH autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
Ariel Automated Real-time Investment Exchange
ARIMA autoregressive integrated moving average
ARM adjustable rate mortgage
ARMA autoregressive moving average
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
ATM automated teller machine; air transport movement
ATP Aid and Trade Provisions
ATS automatic transfer from a savings account; automatic transfer service account
BACS Banks Automated Clearing System (UK)
BAT best available technology
BCEAO Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Central Bank of West African States)
b/d barrels per day
BDI Bundesverrand der deutschen Industrie
BDR British Depository Receipt
BEA Bureau of Economic Analysis (USA)
BERD La banque europeenne pour la reconstruction et la developpe-ment (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
BIDS British Institute of Dealers in Securities
BIS Bank for International Settlements
BNB basic needs budget
BOF Balance for Official Financing
BOY beginning of the year (or of an accounting period)
bp base points (of an interest rate)
BP balance of payments
BRITE Basic research in industrial technologies for Europe
C aggregate consumption
C-20 Committee of Twenty
CA confluence analysis; chartered accountant
CAC Central Arbitration Committee; Consumer Advisory Council (USA)
CACM Central American Common Market
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
CAPM capital asset pricing model
CAR compounded annual rate (of interest)
CARICOM Caribbean Community
CARIFTA Caribbean Free Trade Area
CAT Charges, Access, Terms
CATS Computer-assisted Trading System
CBD central business district (of a city)
CBI Caribbean Basin Initiative; Confederation of British Industry
CBO Congressional Budget Office (USA)
CBOE Chicago Board Options Exchange
CC Competition Commission (UK)
CCC Commodity Credit Corporation (USA); Competition and Credit Control (UK)
CCT compensating common tariff; compulsory competitive tendering
CD Certificate of Deposit
CDB Caribbean Development Bank
CEA Council of Economic Advisers
CEAO Communaute Economique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest
CEC Commission of the European Communities
CENIS Centre for International Studies
CEMAC Communaute Economique et Monetaire en Afrique Centrale
(Central African Economic and Monetary Community)
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CEPAL Commision Economica para America Latina
CEPGL Communite economique des Pays des Grands Lacs
CES constant elasticity of substitution
CET common external tariff
CETA Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
CEV constant elasticity of variance
CFA Communaute Financiere Africaine; chartered financial analyst
CFF compensatory financial facility
CFTC Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CGE computable general equilibrium
CGT capital gains tax
CHAPS Clearing House Automatic Payments System (UK)
CHIPS Clearing House Interbank Payments System (New York)
c.i.f. cost, insurance, freight
CIR Commission on Industrial Relations (UK)
CIS cash incentive scheme
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
CMB Cash Management Bill
CMEA Council for Mutual Economic Aid
CMO collateralized mortgage obligation
CMSA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area
CO Certification Officer
COB Commission des Operations de Bourse (the Stock Exchange Commission of France)
COLA cost of living adjustment
Comex Commodity Exchange of New York
CONSOB Commissione nazionale per la societa e la borsa (the Stock Exchange Commission of Italy, founded 1974)
CPE centrally planned economy
CPI consumer price index
CPP current purchasing power
CPR common pool resources
CPS Centre for Policy Studies; current population survey
CS cross-section data
CSO Central Statistical Office
CSR Comprehensive Spending Review
CTD certificate of tax deposit
CTN confectioner, tobacconist and newsagent
CTT capital transfer tax
CVD countervailing duty
C’vr cover
CW comparable worth
d penny; denarius
DAC Development Aid Committee (of the OECD)
DC developed country
DCE domestic credit expansion
DCF discounted cash flow
DEA Department of Economics (UK); econometric model
DIDMCA Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act
div net dividend net
DLO direct labour organization
DME decentralized market economy
DPP direct product profitability
DRC direct resource cost
DRY disposable real income
DTB Deutsche Terminboerse
DTC Design-to-cost
DTP desktop publishing
DTR double-taxation relief
DUP directly unproductive profit seeking
DW Durbin-Watson
EA Environmental Agency (UK)
EAGGF European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
EAT Employment Appeal Tribunal
EBIT earnings before interest and taxes
EBITDA earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ECA Economic Commission for Africa; European Co-operation Administration
ECB European Central Bank
ECOWAS European Community of West African States
ecu European currency unit
EEA exchange equalization account
EEC European Economic Community
EFA expedited funds availability
EFF extended fund facility
EFT electronic funds transfer
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EGARCH exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedas-ticity
EIB European Investment Bank
EMCF European Monetary Co-operation Fund
EMS European Monetary System
EMU European Monetary Union
EMV expected monetary value
EOC Equal Opportunities Commission
EONIA Euro overnight index average
EP export promotion
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ERA effective rate of assistance; exchange rate agreement
ERDF European Regional Development Fund
ERM Exchange Rate Mechanism
ERP European Recovery Program (‘Marshall Aid’)
ESA European System of Accounts
ESOP Employee Stock Ownership Plan
ETAS Economic Trends Annual Survey (UK)
EU expected utility; European Union
EUA European Unit of Account
EURIBOR EuroInterBank offered rate
Exim Export-Import Bank
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization
FAS free alongside ship
FCC Federal Communications Commission (USA)
FCO Federal Cartel Office (USA)
FDI foreign direct investment
FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Fed Federal Reserve System
FES Family Expenditure Survey (UK)
FIBS financial information and budgeting systems
FIFG Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (EU)
FIFO first in, first out
FIGARCH fractionally integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
Fimbra Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory
Association (London)
FIML full information maximum likelihood
FOB free on board
FOMC Federal Open Market Committee
FPE factor price equalization
FRN floating rate note
FSA Financial Services Act; Food Standards Agency (UK)
FSB Federation of Small Businesses (UK)
FSBR Financial Statement and Budget Report (UK)
FSLIC Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation
FTC Federal Trade Corporation; Federal Trade Commission Act
FTO foreign trade organization
FTSE 100 Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Share Index
FTZ free trade zone
FY fiscal year (USA)
G3 Group of Three (Germany, Japan, USA)
G7 Group of Seven (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA)
G8 Group of Eight (G7 plus Russia)
GAB General Agreement to Borrow
GAO General Accounting Office (USA)
GAR guaranteed annuity rate
GARCH generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP gross domestic product
GE general equilibrium
GHS General Household Survey
Ginny Mae General National Mortgage Association (USA)
GLAM grey, leisured, affluent, married
GLS generalized least squares
GmbH Gesellschaft mit beschkranter Haftung (German or Swiss private company)
GNMA Government National Mortgage Association (US)
GNP gross national product
GSP generalized system of preferences; gross social product; gross state product
GSPS generalized system of preference schemes
HA housing association
HICP harmonized index of consumer prices
HIPC heavily indebted poor countries
HLT high-leveraged takeover
HOBS home and office banking systems
HR human resources
HRM human resource management
i rate of interest
I net investment
IAS International Accounting Standard
IATA International Air Travel Association
IBEC International Bank for European Co-operation
IBEL interest-bearing eligible liability
IBF International Banking Facility
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICC income-consumption curve; Interstate Commerce Commission (USA)
ICCH International Commodities Clearing House
ICFC International and Commercial Finance Corporation
ICOR incremental capital-output ratio
ICSID International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
ICU International Clearing Union
IDA International Development Association
IDB Inter-American Development Bank; inter-dealer broker
IEA Institute of Economic Affairs (UK); International Energy Agency
IET interest equalization tax
IFC International Finance Corporation
IFS Institute for Fiscal Studies (UK)
IGARCH integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasti-city
IIB International Investment Bank
IIF Institute for International Finance
ILO International Labour Office
ILS indirect least squares
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMM International Monetary Market
IMO International Miners’ Organization
IMRO Investment Managers Regulatory Organization (London)
INSEE Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques
IO industrial organization
IOB Insurance Ombudsman Bureau
IP intellectual property
IPC integrated pollution control
IPE International Petroleum Exchange
IPMA International Primary Markets Association
IPO initial public offering
IPR intellectual property rights
IR individually rational
IRA individual retirement account (USA)
IRC Industrial Reorganization Corporation (UK)
IRR internal rate of return
IRS Internal Revenue Service (USA)
IS investment saving; import substitution
ISCO-88 International Standard Classification of Occupations
ISE International Stock Exchange
ISRO International Securities Regulatory Organization
IT information technology
ITA International Trade Administration (USA)
ITC International Trade Commission
ITO International Trade Organization
ITS Intermarket Trading System
k a thousand
K capital stock
L liquidity; a measure of the US money supply
LAFTA Latin American Free Trade Association
LBO leveraged buyout
lc local currency
LCH life-cycle hypothesis
LDC less developed country
LDMA London Discount Market Association
LEA Local Enterprise Agency
LFA less favoured area
LFPR labour force participation rate
LGS liquid assets and government securities
LIBOR London Inter-Bank Offered Rate
LIFFE London International Financial Futures Exchange
LIFO last in, first out
LIML limited information maximum likelihood
LLC limited liability company (USA)
LMBO leveraged management buyout
LPM linear probability model
LRE likelihood ratio statistic
LSE London Stock Exchange; London School of Economics
Ltd private limited company (UK)
Ltip long-term incentive package
LTOM London Traded Options Market
LTU long-term unemployed
LTV labour theory of value
M money supply; imports
M&A merger and acquisition
MA moving average
MABP monetarist approach to the balance of payments
MAP market anti-inflation plan
MBO management by objectives; management buyout
MCA marginal cost of abatement; Monetary Compensation Amount
MCT mainstream corporation tax
MDP multidisciplinary practice (of lawyers, accountants, etc.)
MERCOSUR Mercado Comun del Sur
MES minimum efficient scale
MEW measure of economic welfare
MFA Multi-Fibre Arrangement
MFC most favoured customer
MFN most favoured nation
MFR minimum funding requirement
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
MIRAS Mortgage Interest Relief at Source (UK)
MITI Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Japan)
ML maximum likelihood
MLE maximum likelihood estimator
MLH minimum list heading
MLM multi-level marketing
MLR minimum lending rate
MMC money market certificate
MMDA money market deposit account
MMMF money market mutual fund
MNC multinational corporation
MPA marginal principle of allocation
MPC marginal propensity to consume; Monetary Policy Committee, UK
MPD marginal private damage
MPM marginal propensity to import
MPP marginal physical product
MPS marginal propensity to save; (Soviet) Material Product System
MRP marginal revenue product
MRR minimum reserve requirements
MRS minimum rate of substitution
MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area
MSD marginal social damage
MTFS Medium-term Financial Strategy
N The quantity of employment
NAFA net acquisition of financial assets
NAFTA North American Free Trade Area
NAIC National Association of Insurance Commissioners (USA)
NAIRU non-accelerating inflation of unemployment
NAMU North American Monetary Union
NARCH non-linear autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
NASDAQ National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (USA)
NASDIM National Association of Securities Dealers and Investment Managers
NAV net asset value
NBER National Bureau of Economic Research (USA)
NBPI National Board for Prices and Incomes (UK)
NDP net domestic product
NEB National Enterprise Board (UK)
NEDC National Economic Development Council (UK)
NEDO National Economic Development Office (UK)
NEP New Economic Policy (Soviet Union)
NEW net economic welfare
NIBM non-interest-bearing M1
NIC newly industrialized country
NIE new institutional economics
NIEO New International Economic Order
NIESR National Institute of Economic and Social Research (UK)
NIF note issuance facility
NIMBY ‘not in my backyard’
NIPA National Income and Product Accounts (USA)
NOW negotiable order of withdrawal
NPE non-profit enterprise
NPV net present value
NRV net realizable value
NSA non-sterling area
NTB non-tariff barrier
NV Naamlose venootschap (Dutch public company)
NYMEX New York Mercantile Exchange
NYSE New York Stock Exchange
OASDHI Old Age, Survivors, Disability and Health Insurance (USA)
OB organizational behaviour
OBRA Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (USA)
OCD other checkable deposits
ODA official development assistance; Overseas Development Administration
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OEEC Organization for European Economic Co-operation
OF— Office of a UK regulator (e.g. OFGAS, of gas)
OFT Office of Fair Trading (UK)
OID original issue discount
OLG overlapping generations model
OLS ordinary least squares
OM Options Model
OMA orderly market agreement
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OMO open market operation
ONS Office for National Statistics (UK)
OPCS Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (UK)
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
OSA overseas sterling area
OTCM over-the-counter market
PAF percentage annual fixed (rate of interest)
PAYE pay as you earn (UK)
PCC price-consumption curve
PCT primary care trust (UK)
PDI personal disposable income
PDV present discounted value
P/E price-earnings ratio
PEP personal equity plan (UK)
PESC Public Expenditure Survey Committee (UK)
PFI private finance initiative (UK)
PIBOR Paris Inter-Bank Offered Rate
PIK payment in kind
PIN personal identification number; Philippine Investment Note
plc public limited company (formerly Co. Ltd) (UK)
PPB planning, programming, budgeting
PPF production possibility frontier
PPI producer price index
PPP purchasing power parity; public-private partnership
PQLI physical quality of life index
PRF population regression function
PRP performance-related pay; profit-related pay
PRT petroleum revenue tax
PSA public service agreement (UK)
PSBR public sector borrowing requirement
PSDR public sector debt repayment
PSE public service employment
PSL private sector liquidity (UK)
PSNB public sector net borrowing
PTA preferential trading arrangement; preferential trade agreement
QALY quality-adjusted life years
QARCH quadratic autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
QR quantitative restrictions
QTARCH qualitative threshold autoregressive conditional heteroscedasti-city
r coefficient of correlation
RBC real business cycle
RD reserve deposits (of a bank)
R&D research and development
RDA Regional Development Agency (England)
RD and D research, development and demonstration
RE rational expectations
REP regional employment premium
REPO repurchase agreement
RER real exchange rate
ROCE return on capital employed
ROI return on investment
ROW rest of the world
RPB recognized professional body
RPI retail price index (UK)
RPM resale price maintenance
RRR real rate of return
RSA regional selective assistance
RSG rate support grant
RTB right to buy
RTC Resolution Trust Corporation (USA)
RTM rent to mortgage
RUF revolving underwriting facility
SA Societe anonyme (French, Belgian, Luxemburgese or Swiss public company)
SACU South African Customs Union
SADCC South African Development Co-ordination Committee
Sarl Societe a responsabilite limite (French private limited company)
SAYE save as you earn (UK scheme)
SBA Small Business Administration (USA)
SCOPE System Committee on Paperless Entry
SCP structure-conduct-performance
SDR special drawing rights
SEAQ Stock Exchange Automated Quotation System (UK)
SEC Securities and Exchange Commission (UK)
SEM special employment measures
SEPON Stock Exchange Pool Nominees (UK)
SERPS State Earnings-related Pension Scheme
SETS Stock Exchange Electronic Trading Service (UK)
SFA Securities and Futures Authority (UK)
SIB Securities and Investments Board (UK)
SIBOR Singapore Inter-Bank Offered Rate
SIC Standard Industrial Classification
SIMEX Singapore International Monetary Exchange
SIP state implementation plan (US pollution control)
SITC Standard International Trade Classification
SLM segmented labour market
SME small and medium-sized enterprise
SMSA Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area
SNA System of National Accounts (United Nations)
SNB Swiss National Bank (Switzerland’s central bank)
SNIG sustained non-inflationary growth
SOE state-owned enterprise; small open economy
S&P 500 Standard & Poor 500
SRD Statutory Reserve Deposit
SRF sample regression function
SRO self-regulatory organization
SSAP Statement of Standard Accounting Practice
SWIFT Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications
SWING sterling warrant into gilt-edged stock
SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats ( business appraisal technique)
TAA trade adjustment assistance
TAPS Transatlantic Payment System
TARCH threshold autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity
Taurus Transfer and Automatic Registration of Unregistered Stock
TDP tradable discharge permit
TFR total fertility rate
TIBOR Tokyo Inter-Bank Offered Rate
TINA ‘there is no alternative’
TIP tax-based incomes policy
TNC transnational corporation
TOT terms of trade
TQM total quality management
TVA Tennessee Valley Authority; taxe sur lavaleur ajoutee (the French value-added tax)
TWER trade-weighted exchange rate
UBR uniform business rate
UDEAC Union Douaniere et Economique des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale (Central African Customs and Economic Union)
UEMOA Union economique et monetaire de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (West African Economic and Monetary Union)
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UPF utility possibility frontier; Uniform Presentation Framework (Australia)
USM Unlisted Securities Market
UTV utility theory of value
UVI unit value index
VAN value-added network
VaR value at risk
VAR vector autoregression
VAT value-added tax
VECM vector error correction model
VER voluntary export restraint
VIE voluntary import expansion
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
X exports
XD ex-dividend
xr ex rights
Y income – often real disposable income
Y’ld Gr’s yield gross
ZBB zero-base budgeting
ZIRP zero interest rate policy
ZPG zero population growth
