» While microeconomics looks at the "trees'' of units such as individual businesses and households, macroeconomics looks at the "forest'' of a whole economy.

» The theory of comparative advantage is the essential argument for free trade ­ it states that free trade benefits all partners, even those who are "absolutely" more efficient.

» Economic growth is defined as the increase in the total produc- tion output of an economy.

» "Command" economies are run by the government, which sets prices, production levels, and wages. In laissez-faire economies, the government does not interfere in market processes. In the real world, all countries have some degree of government participation in their economies.

» The IMF groups countries into three economic categories:

1 industrialized (includes the US, Western Europe, and Japan);
2 developing (the rest of the world);
3 transitional (the ex-Soviet Bloc countries).

» International business has greatly increased over the last 20 years.

"Globalization" is the great business issue of the day ­ but no-one knows how far it will go or how long it will last.

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