What are Smart Contracts? Smart contracts refer to computer protocols that digitally facilitate the verification, control, or execution of an agreement. Smart contracts run on the blockchain platform, which will process all the transactions in a contract; hence, middlemen are not required to execute the transactions. Similar to traditional contracts, smart contracts define rules and penalties around…
What is a Smart Beta ETF? Smart beta ETF, a type of exchange-traded fund, that uses a blend of active and passive investing. The fund follows a rule-based approach for selecting investments to be included in a fund portfolio. A smart beta ETF expands on a traditional ETF, modifying the investments in the fund portfolio…
What is the World Bank Group? The World Bank Group is a multilateral development bank that was conceived in 1946 as one of the two Bretton Woods institutions, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It began as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to assist in the rebuilding of Europe and Japan…
What is the World Trade Organization (WTO)? The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a multilateral organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It came into existence on January 1, 1995, as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The organization functions as a central body that facilitates global trade. The WTO provides a…
What is a Spot Market? A spot market is a financial market where financial instruments and commodities are traded for instantaneous delivery. Delivery refers to the physical exchange of a financial instrument or commodity with a cash consideration. The spot market is also known as the cash market or physical market because cash payments are…
Horizontal integration is a competitive strategy where companies operating at the same stage of the value chain in the same industry combine to expand their production of goods and services and strengthen their market position. The goal is typically to increase market share, realize economies of scale, and enhance profitability by reducing competition and sharing…
What is a Short Run? A short run is a term widely used in economics – or microeconomics, more specifically – to describe a conceptualized period of time. A short run doesn’t so much describe literal time, as it describes a planning period in which one or more production inputs are considered fixed in quantity…
What is the Point of Diminishing Returns? The point of diminishing returns refers to a point after the optimal level of capacity is reached, where every added unit of production results in a smaller increase in output. It is a concept used in the field of microeconomics. According to the law of diminishing marginal returns,…
What is National Debt? National debt refers to the total of all debts owed by the government of a country. It mostly comes from bonds and other debt securities, but can also be from direct borrowing from international institutions such as the World Bank. Classifications of National Debt National debt can be classified in various…
