The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA, 1978) defined the LIABILITY rules governing electronic fund transfers. As defined in the act, electronic fund transfers are “any transfer of funds, other than a transaction originated by check, draft, or similar paper instrument, which is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone instrument, or computer or magnetic tape so as to order, instruct, or authorize a financial institution to DEBIT or credit an account.

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the electronic transfer of business documents such as purchase orders, invoices, and bills of lading between companies using a structured, machine-readable data format.

In most market situations, business managers raise or lower price as they judge in their best interest.

The 80-20 principle is the general observation that, in many markets, the vast majority (80 percent) of sales and/or PROFITS come from a small percentage (20 percent) of a firm’s customers. Likewise, 20 percent of a firm’s sales and/or profits come from 80 percent of its customers.

E-government refers to government initiatives to provide information and SERVICES electronically and over the INTERNET; the means used include websites and e-mail. E-government has been linked to efforts to change or reform government in order to provide services to citizens, other governments, and the business community more efficiently and effectively.

Otherwise known as the efficient market hypothesis, this theory concludes that investors cannot expect to outperform the STOCK MARKET over an extended period of time. This is not to say that some investors cannot outperform the stock-market indexes. The theory does suggest, however, that investors will not outperform the market on a RISK-adjusted basis over a longer time frame.

Economies of scale are production efficiencies realized when per-unit costs are reduced as the quantity produced increases.

Economic rent is any payment to an owner of a productive resource in excess of the minimum amount necessary to keep the resource in its current use. In capitalist economic systems, individuals and households control most RESOURCES and choose how to allocate those resources.

Economic policy is a nation’s use of its RESOURCES and power to achieve economic goals and objectives. Generally the central government has three types of economic policies— fiscal, monetary, and INCOME—that it can utilize.

Economic growth, in its most limited definition, is an increase in real gross domestic product (GDP), the primary measure of output in an economy.

Economic freedom is the ability of individuals to exercise control over their property. Though there is no single, accepted definition Steve Hanke and Stephen Walters found that economic freedom includes

The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 was enacted to protect economic PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. With the end of the cold war in 1990, many governments and former espionage agents redirected efforts from political to business espionage.

Economic efficiency is defined in a variety of ways. Most simply stated, efficiency is the lack of waste. Economic efficiency in production is using the method that requires the least amount of resources to produce a given level of output. Efficiency is also associated with producing at the lowest point on a firm’s average total-cost curve, producing at the least cost per unit possible.

Economic development is the process by which a country’s economic system changes. This includes ECONOMIC GROWTH, an increase in a country’s output, and changes in resource allocation and control, improvement in a country’s INFRASTRUCTURE, and expansion of CAPITAL formation. Economic development occurs in all countries but is most closely associated with the process of change in poorer countries.

Economic conditions are the current state of the economy and are usually characterized by macroeconomic measures, including aggregate output, INFLATION, UNEMPLOYMENT, and INTEREST RATES.

Although the terms e-business and e-commerce are frequently used interchangeably, e-commerce is actually one component of e-business. Generally e-commerce covers the aspects of conducting business transactions via the INTERNET. This would include on-line marketing, sales, processing orders, customer issues, and supplier issues.

The term e-business is often used synonymously with the term e-commerce. Technically e-business is a broader term that encompasses not only e-commerce but, importantly, all the internal processes of an organization—such as production, inventory, and HUMAN RESOURCES—that become digitally based functions. This often necessitates a rethinking of every aspect of the business. When the organization establishes its strategy and goals to include e-business concepts, the result is often a radical redesign of how the entire organization conducts business.

Earnings management is the controversial practice among publicly held corporations of adjusting the timing of reporting certain revenues and expenses by the company. In recent years, under pressure to meet WALL STREET analysts’ earnings estimates, many U.S. corporations have deferred expense recognition or counted as revenue funds from sales that have not been fully completed.