Glossary
What will I find in this section?
Technical terms, unfortunately, cannot always be avoided – particularly when it comes to complex topics such as monetary policy. This is why we have compiled a glossary with a wide range of terms, arranged in alphabetical order and each with a short explanation.
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Unemployment occurs when not all the people who are able and willing to work are able to find employment. The official unemployment statistics only cover individuals who have registered as unemployed at the Federal Employment Agency. Job seekers who are not registered with the Agency make up what is known as the latent labour force. The unemployment rate is the number of people out of work as a percentage of the total labour force (or the employed labour force).
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Unit labour costs measure the wages that must be paid for the production of a good or service. Despite higher wages, unit labour costs can be lower in highly developed countries than in emerging and developing countries with lower wages if the use of machines means that work is completed more efficiently, with a higher volume of output in a shorter amount of time. Unit labour costs are an indicator for competitiveness.
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In contrast to a special-purpose bank, a universal bank is an institution that conducts all, or almost all, typical aspects of banking business. In Germany, most banks operate as universal banks, which is why the system is called a universal banking system. By contrast, some countries have a separate banking system. In those countries, banks are not permitted to carry out lending operations and securities trading at the same time. As well as providing customers with a one-stop solution, the advantage of a universal banking system is the relatively low susceptibility to shocks because a wider dispersion of risks is possible.
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The US-GAAP are US accounting standards developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The aim of these standards is, above all, to provide external investors – i.e. the owners or creditors – in an enterprise with information on the enterprise’s economic situation and profitability prospects. In recent years there has been a gradual shift in importance from the US-GAAP to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS); the relevant bodies are working on harmonising the two.
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