Economics, 3rd Edition

unemployment rate 

the percentage of the labour force that 

is unemployed

union 

a worker association that bargains with employers over 

wages and working conditions

union density 

a measure of the proportion of the workforce that 

is unionized

unit of account 

the yardstick people use to post prices and 

record debts

utilitarianism 

the political philosophy according to which the 

government should choose policies to maximize the total utility 

of everyone in society

utility 

the satisfaction derived from the consumption of a certain 

quantity of a product

value of the marginal product 

the marginal product of an 

input times the price of the output

variable costs 

costs that are dependent on the quantity of 

output produced