ISSUES
: Business and Trade
41
Glossary
Glossary
Capitalism
An economic system in which wealth generation
is driven by privately-owned enterprises and
individuals, rather than the state.
Circular economy
Keeping resources for as long as possible in order
to extract maximum value from them, and then
reusing or recycling the product (or materials from
the product) instead of throwing it away.
Competition law
A law that regulates ‘anti-competitive’ conduct by
companies.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is a concept
closely linked to business ethics. It refers to self-
regulation by a business or corporation, which is built
into their overall business model. Companies which
are serious about CSR will conduct their business
in an ethical way and in the interests of the wider
community (and society at large).
Crowdsourcing/crowdfunding
Funding a project, business or venture by raising
multiple small amounts of money from the public.
This is usually done via the Internet, and usually offers
contributors something in exchange for their donation,
e.g. those who donate towards publication of a book,
may receive a signed copy and other merchandise.
Entrepreneur
An individual who starts and runs their own business.
Freelancer
People who work for themselves and contract out
their services.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The total value of the goods and services produced
in a country within a year. This figure is used as a
measure of a country’s economic performance.
Investment
Investing money into a venture or project in return for
profit.
National living wage
The national living wage is now £9.15 an hour for those
living in London and £7.85 in the rest of the UK. This
is the amount that the Government believes is the
minimum people need to be paid in order to achieve
a basic standard of living in which all necessities can
be paid for.
Private sector
Businesses/economy that is not under state control.
Service industry
A business that provides goods but does not
manufacture them, for example catering.
Shadow economy
Illicit economic activity.
Shareholder
Anyone who owns shares in a company or corporation.
SMEs
This stands for small and medium-sized enterprises.
It describes any company with fewer than 250
employees.
Tax evasion
Avoidance of paying taxes by individuals or
businesses.
Turnover
The total amount of business done in a given time.
