Ockham’s razor – The ideal that irrelevant detail should be
cut away, or the simplest approach is probably the best.
Okun’s law – The theory that in the short run, the
unemployment rate will decrease by about 1 percent for every 3 percent increase
in real GDP. This relationship doesn’t
necessarily hold true in all cases.
Oligopoly – A market where a small number of independent
firms compete.
Open market operations – The purchase and sale of government
securities in the open market by the Federal Reserve Bank.
Opportunity cost – The best alternative that must be given up when making a
decision/choice.
Origin – On a Cartesian coordinate system, the origin is the
point where the horizontal and vertical axes intersect.
Output – Goods and services that will be consumed by
households.
Output gap – Real GDP minus potential GDP, shown as a
percentage of potential GDP.
Output growth – The growth rate of the output of an economy.
