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"Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market."
"Communism is a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people."
"A free market is an economic market in which supply and demand are not regulated or are regulated with only minor restrictions." (For additional information go to the World Trade Organization at http://www.wto.org/.)
"Globalization is to make global or worldwide in scope or application." With the increase of transportation, communication, and foreign investment, world cultures and economies are becoming interconnected. Be aware that the term globalization means different things to different people. (For additional information go to the website for A World Connected, a nonprofit educational organization located at George Mason University, at http://www.aworldconnected.org/category.php/37.html.)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total market value of all the goods and services produced within a country during a specified period of time.
"The International Monetary Fund is a United Nations agency to promote trade by increasing the exchange stability of the major currencies." (Additional information can be found on the International Monetary Fund site at http://www.imf.org:80/external/about.htm.)
Parity refers to prices or purchasing power staying at a certain ratio over time. It is also used to compare the equivalent in value of a sum of money expressed in terms of different countries' currencies.
Per capita applies to a unit of population or a person and shows how much each would have if a commodity or money was divided equally.
"Socialism is any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy."
Service industries provide services to their customers. Examples of such services would include haircuts, medical examinations, and tire rotations.
* The definitions in quotations are from http://dictionary.reference.com/.
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