James d. Gwartney

market failure: A situation in which the structure of incentives is such that markets will
encourage individuals to undertake activities which are inconsistent with economic efficiency.
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market forces: The information and incentives communicated through market prices; profits
and losses that motivate buyers and sellers to coordinate their decisions. 
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marketing: Activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. It
includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to people. 
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merchant: A person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially one dealing with
foreign countries or supplying goods to a particular trade. 
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middlemen: People who buy and sell goods or services or arrange trades. Middlemen reduce
transaction costs. 
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minimum wage: Legislation requiring that workers be paid at least the stated minimum hourly
rate of pay. 
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monetary policy: The deliberate control of the national money supply and, in some cases,
credit conditions, by the government. This policy establishes the environment for market
exchange. 
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money: Anything that is generally accepted as final payment for goods and services by buyers
and sellers; serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value.
Characteristics of money are portability, stability in value, uniformity, durability, and
acceptance. 
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money market certificate: A type of savings product in which a bank or lending institution
invests your money in a variety of investments. 
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money supply: The supply of highly liquid (easily available) assets used to make purchases.
The money supply typically includes currency and balances in checking account funds. Other
definitions expand to include assets that can be converted into payment mechanisms easily,
such as savings account balances. Note that credit cards are not part of the money supply. If
they are paid at the end of the month, to count them would mean double counting checking
account balances. An interesting debate is if and when Central Banks will start to include
Bitcoin (and other cyber currencies) as a part of the money supply. 
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monopoly: A market characterized by (1) a single seller of a well-defined product for which
there are no good substitutes; and (2) high barriers to the entry of any other firms into the
market for that product. 
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moral hazard: A situation where providing protection against a risk increases the occurrence
of the risky behavior because it reduces the potential adverse consequences of the action. 
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mortgage: An instrument used to borrow funds against an asset such as a house. The asset is
used as security. If the borrowed funds are not repaid as promised, the lender can foreclose
against the asset and use the sale proceeds to recover the unpaid balance of the loan. 
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