📚 Year 13 CAIE Economics: Vocabulary & Terminology Quick Memorization Guide | Year 13 CAIE 经济：词汇术语速记指南
Mastering the precise language of economics is half the battle in CAIE A-Level exams. This guide breaks down high-frequency Year 13 terms into themed clusters, each accompanied by memory triggers and exam-focused explanations. Whether you are sketching an AD/AS diagram or writing a 25-mark essay, command of these terms will sharpen your analysis and evaluation.
掌握经济学精准的语言是 CAIE A-Level 考试成功的一半。本指南将 Year 13 高频术语按主题分组，每组都配有记忆触发器和聚焦考试的讲解。无论你是在画总需求/总供给图，还是在写 25 分论文，熟练运用这些术语都能提升你的分析与评估能力。
1. Demand, Supply and Elasticity | 需求、供给与弹性
Price elasticity of demand (PED) measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price. Crucially, PED is always negative due to the law of demand, but we often quote its absolute value. When |PED| > 1, demand is elastic; a price rise causes a more than proportionate fall in quantity demanded, reducing total revenue. When |PED| < 1, demand is inelastic.
需求价格弹性 (PED) 衡量需求量对价格变动的反应程度。关键点在于，由于需求定律，PED 始终为负值，但我们通常引用其绝对值。当 |PED| > 1，需求富有弹性；价格上涨会导致需求量更大幅度的下降，从而减少总收入。当 |PED| < 1，需求缺乏弹性。
Cross elasticity of demand (XED) shows the relationship between two goods. A positive XED indicates substitutes, while a negative XED indicates complements. Remember: ‘positive-substitute, negative-complement’. Income elasticity of demand (YED) distinguishes normal goods (positive YED) from inferior goods (negative YED). For a normal good, YED > 1 marks a luxury, while 0 < YED < 1 marks a necessity.
需求交叉弹性 (XED) 表示两种商品之间的关系。正的 XED 代表替代品，负的 XED 代表互补品。记住：“正替代，负互补”。需求收入弹性 (YED) 区分正常品（正 YED）与低档品（负 YED）。对于正常品，YED > 1 表示奢侈品，0 < YED < 1 表示必需品。
PED = %ΔQd ÷ %ΔP
PED = 需求量变动百分比 ÷ 价格变动百分比
2. Market Structures | 市场结构
Perfect competition is a theoretical benchmark: many small firms, homogeneous products, no barriers to entry or exit, and perfect information. In the long run, all firms earn only normal profit because supernormal profits attract new entrants until price equals average cost (P = AC). The key efficiency is both allocative (P = MC) and productive (min AC).
完全竞争是一个理论基准：众多小厂商，同质产品，无进出壁垒，信息完全。长期中，所有厂商只获得正常利润，因为超额利润会吸引新进入者，直至价格等于平均成本 (P = AC)。其关键效率是配置效率 (P = MC) 和生产效率 (最低 AC)。
Monopolistic competition features many firms, differentiated products, and low barriers. In the long run, firms also earn normal profit (P = AC), but they operate with excess capacity – producing below the minimum efficient scale. A monopoly is a single seller with high barriers to entry. It maximises profit where MC = MR, charging a price above MC, creating deadweight loss. Contestable markets remind us that even a monopoly may behave competitively if hit-and-run entry is easy.
垄断竞争的特征是厂商众多、产品差异化、低壁垒。长期中，厂商同样获取正常利润 (P = AC)，但存在过剩产能——在最小有效规模之下生产。垄断指单一卖家，进入壁垒高。它在 MC = MR 处利润最大化，定价高于 MC，产生无谓损失。可竞争市场提醒我们，即使垄断者，如果“打一枪就跑”的进入很容易，它也可能采取竞争行为。
3. Market Failure and Government Intervention | 市场失灵与政府干预
Externalities occur when third parties are affected by a transaction. A negative production externality (e.g., pollution) means social cost exceeds private cost, leading to over‑production. Diagrammatically, the social marginal cost curve lies above the private marginal cost curve. Pigouvian taxes can internalise this externality.
当第三方受到交易影响时，就产生了外部性。负生产外部性（如污染）意味着社会成本超过私人成本，导致过度生产。在图形上，社会边际成本曲线位于私人边际成本曲线上方。庇古税可以将这种外部性内部化。
Public goods are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, causing the free-rider problem. Information gaps (asymmetric information) can lead to adverse selection and moral hazard. Government interventions include taxes, subsidies, regulation, tradable permits, and state provision. Each must be evaluated for effectiveness, government failure, and unintended consequences.
公共物品具有非排他性和非竞争性，导致搭便车问题。信息缺口（信息不对称）可能导致逆向选择和道德风险。政府干预手段包括税收、补贴、监管、可交易许可证和国家直接提供。每种手段都必须从有效性、政府失灵和意外后果的角度进行评价。
4. Macroeconomic Objectives | 宏观经济目标
The four traditional targets are: low and stable inflation (usually 2%), sustainable economic growth, low unemployment, and a satisfactory balance of payments. Additionally, governments may aim for equitable income distribution and environmental sustainability. Trade‑offs, such as the short-run Phillips Curve showing inflation-unemployment trade-off, are central to policy debates.
四大传统目标是：低而稳定的通胀（通常2%）、可持续的经济增长、低失业率和令人满意的国际收支。此外，政府还可能追求公平收入分配和环境可持续性。权衡取舍，如短期菲利普斯曲线显示的通胀与失业权衡，是政策争论的核心。
Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, measured by CPI. Deflation is negative inflation, while disinflation means a falling rate of inflation. Cost-push inflation arises from supply-side shocks, and demand-pull inflation from excessive aggregate demand. Unemployment types include cyclical (demand-deficient), structural, frictional, and seasonal.
通货膨胀是价格总水平的持续上升，用消费物价指数 (CPI) 衡量。通货紧缩是通胀率为负，反通货膨胀则指通胀率下降。成本推动型通胀源于供给侧冲击，需求拉上型通胀源于总需求过旺。失业类型包括周期性（需求不足型）、结构性、摩擦性和季节性失业。
5. Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply | 总需求与总供给
Aggregate Demand (AD) = C + I + G + (X – M). Each component is determined by a host of factors: consumption by income, wealth, interest rates and confidence; investment by the interest rate, business expectations, and the accelerator mechanism; net exports by exchange rates and foreign incomes.
总需求 (AD) = 消费 (C) + 投资 (I) + 政府支出 (G) + 净出口 (X – M)。每个组成部分由众多因素决定：消费受收入、财富、利率和信心影响；投资受利率、企业预期和加速数机制影响；净出口受汇率和国外收入影响。
Short-run aggregate supply (SRAS) slopes upward; costs, taxes, and supply shocks shift it. The long-run aggregate supply (LRAS) is vertical at the full employment level of output, representing the economy’s productive potential. Classical economists see LRAS as vertical; Keynesians allow for a horizontal segment during a severe recession. Shifts in LRAS come from changes in quantity/quality of factors of production and technology.
短期总供给 (SRAS) 向上倾斜；成本、税收和供给冲击会使其移动。长期总供给 (LRAS) 在充分就业产出水平垂直，代表经济的生产潜力。古典经济学家视 LRAS 为垂直线；凯恩斯主义者允许严重衰退时出现水平段。LRAS 的移动源自生产要素数量/质量的变化和技术进步。
6. Fiscal and Monetary Policy | 财政与货币政策
Fiscal policy uses government spending and taxation to manage AD. Discretionary fiscal policy refers to deliberate changes in tax rates or spending, while automatic stabilisers (progressive taxes, welfare benefits) adjust passively. The budget balance can be in surplus, deficit, or balanced, and the national debt is the accumulation of past deficits.
财政政策通过政府支出和税收来调节总需求。相机抉择的财政政策指主动调整税率或支出，而自动稳定器（累进税、福利补贴）则被动调整。预算余额可以是盈余、赤字或平衡，国家债务是过往赤字的累积。
Monetary policy involves the central bank manipulating the money supply and interest rates to achieve price stability. Quantitative easing (QE) is an unconventional policy where the central bank buys government bonds to inject liquidity. The transmission mechanism shows how a change in the base rate affects borrowing, asset prices, confidence, and the exchange rate, ultimately influencing AD and inflation.
货币政策是央行通过操控货币供应和利率来实现物价稳定。量化宽松 (QE) 是一种非常规政策，央行购买政府债券以注入流动性。传导机制展示了基准利率变动如何影响借贷、资产价格、信心和汇率，最终影响总需求和通胀。
7. International Trade and Protectionism | 国际贸易与保护主义
Comparative advantage states that countries should specialise in goods where they have the lower opportunity cost, leading to mutual gains from trade. The terms of trade index = (index of export prices / index of import prices) × 100. An improvement means a country can buy more imports for a given volume of exports.
比较优势理论认为，各国应专业化生产机会成本较低的商品，从而通过贸易互惠互利。贸易条件指数 = (出口价格指数 / 进口价格指数) × 100。贸易条件改善意味着一国用一定量的出口能买到更多的进口品。
Protectionism includes tariffs (taxes on imports), quotas (quantitative limits), subsidies to domestic producers, and non‑tariff barriers. Arguments for protectionism include protecting infant industries, anti-dumping, job protection, and strategic trade policy. However, protectionism typically raises prices, reduces choice, and invites retaliation.
保护主义包括关税（进口税）、配额（数量限制）、对国内生产者的补贴以及非关税壁垒。支持保护主义的论点包括保护幼稚产业、反倾销、就业保护和战略性贸易政策。然而，保护主义通常会抬高价格、减少选择并招致报复。
8. Exchange Rates and Balance of Payments | 汇率与国际收支
A floating exchange rate is determined by demand and supply of a currency. A depreciation (fall in value) makes exports cheaper and imports dearer, whereas an appreciation has the opposite effect. The Marshall-Lerner condition states that a depreciation will improve the current account only if the sum of PED for exports and imports > 1.
浮动汇率由货币的供求决定。贬值（币值下跌）使出口更便宜、进口更贵，而升值则相反。马歇尔-勒纳条件指出，只有出口和进口的需求价格弹性之和 > 1，贬值才会改善经常账户。
The balance of payments comprises the current account (trade in goods, services, primary and secondary income), the capital account, and the financial account. A current account deficit means a country spends more on imports and investment income than it earns from abroad. It must be financed by a surplus on the financial account, e.g., attracting capital inflows or selling reserves.
国际收支由经常账户（货物、服务、初次收入和二次收入）、资本账户和金融账户组成。经常账户赤字意味着一国在进口和投资收益上的支出超过其从海外获得的收入。这必须通过金融账户盈余来融资，例如吸引资本流入或出售储备。
9. Economic Growth and Development | 经济增长与发展
Economic growth is measured by the annual percentage change in real GDP. Potential growth is an outward shift of LRAS (or PPF). Development is a broader concept encompassing health, education, and living standards, often measured by the Human Development Index (HDI).
经济增长用实际 GDP 的年度百分比变动来衡量。潜在增长是 LRAS（或生产可能性边界）的外移。发展是一个更广泛的概念，涵盖健康、教育和生活水平，通常用人类发展指数 (HDI) 来衡量。
Barriers to development include low savings and investment, poor infrastructure, weak institutions, political instability, debt overhang, and lack of human capital. Strategies such as export-led growth, import substitution, microfinance, and foreign aid can be evaluated in terms of their sustainability and inclusiveness.
发展的障碍包括低储蓄与投资、基础设施落后、制度薄弱、政治不稳定、债务负担和人力资本匮乏。出口导向型增长、进口替代、小额信贷和对外援助等策略可从可持续性和包容性角度进行评价。
10. Memory Techniques for Definitions | 定义记忆技巧
Many high-mark essays are lost because candidates fail to define key terms precisely. Use the mnemonic ‘COPE’: Context, Object, Property, Effect. For instance, define ‘inflation’ as: In the context of the macroeconomy (C), a persistent rise (P) in the general price level (O), eroding purchasing power (E). This structure ensures you never miss an exam point.
许多高分论文失分，是因为考生未能精确定义关键术语。使用助记词 ‘COPE’：上下文 (Context)、对象 (Object)、特性 (Property)、效果 (Effect)。例如，将“通货膨胀”定义为：在宏观经济背景下 (C)，价格总水平 (O) 的持续上升 (P)，从而侵蚀购买力 (E)。这一结构确保你从不遗漏得分点。
For elasticity, always recall the ‘PAAR’ method: Percentage change in Qty ÷ Percentage change in a determinant. For market structures, group them by number of firms, barriers, and product type. Create a ‘word family’ e.g., consumer surplus, producer surplus, deadweight loss – all three appear on the same welfare diagram. Linking terms in a conceptual map is far more durable than rote learning.
对于弹性，始终记住 ‘PAAR’ 法：Quantity 的百分比变动 ÷ 某个决定因素的百分比变动。对于市场结构，按厂商数量、壁垒和产品类型对其分组。创建“词汇家族”，如消费者剩余、生产者剩余、无谓损失——这三个术语都出现在同一张福利图中。将术语组织在概念图里，远比死记硬背更持久。
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