A joint stock company is a large scale business whereby shares (or stocks) are owned by numerous individuals, thereby distributing the responsibility for the company, the risk involved for the individual, and the profits that can be made. The development of the joint stock company by the Dutch, Russians, English, and French at various times in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a very important development in economic history, providing much of the means for Europe to gain great material wealth from the age of Colonialism.

"Interdependence" is used to refer to a situation that exists between two or more countries in which they rely on one another for the exchange of raw resources, finished products, goods, and services to the mutual betterment of their respective economies.

Social Security is a government program whereby people who have very little money or are too infirm, old, or disabled to earn money of their own are provided a certain amount of support by the government. It emerged in the twentieth century, partly as a product of increasing state control over the lives of citizens and partly out of the progressive mentality that was prevailing at the time. The United States has an extensive Social Security system, although significantly less than many European countries.

A monopoly occurs when one company controls the means or production of a product and is able to exclusively sell that product on the market. The problem with this system is it allows the company to effectively charge higher prices than might be considered "fair." The alternative to this is competition, which occurs when two or more companies control a share of the market and have to compete with each other to produce better quality products at a lower price.

If there is only one company that controls the sale of any particular product they have a "monopoly" on that product.

The law of supply and demand states that if the supply of something goes up and the demand for something goes down, then the price will fall significantly. A surplus means having more of something than is needed. For example, a company produces 100,000 dolls for the holiday season. There is a demand for only 20,000 at the price for which the company wants to sell them. This leaves a surplus of 80,000. If the company wants to increase the demand for the rest of the dolls they will have to lower the price they are willing to sell them at dramatically. This is the law of supply and demand.

The term Economic equilibrium refers to a state where the supply of a product is equal to the demand for the product. This is an ideal situation that would in theory keep prices and profits consistent. When supply outstrips demand, the price of something will fall, and when the supply cannot meet the demand, the price of something will rise.

An "incentive" is some advantage (lower taxes, cheaper land, access to resources or market, etc.) that a government can offer to a business or a type of businesses to encourage the growth and spread of business in their area.

The Standard of Living in a country, or region, refers to the quality of life, material wealth, and comfort experienced by the people living there. America and Europe have comparatively high standards of living, while the majority of Africa and Asia have comparatively low standard of living.

The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 in response to a series of financial panics. It is tasked with regulating and controlling the American banking system, which includes controlling the money supply, setting interest rates, and regulating the behavior of financial institutions.