- Q -
QE Quantitative easing
QR Quantitative restriction
QT Quantitative tightening
Quad Used to refer to any of several initiatives involving four countries or groups of countries and also to those groups themselves. Exactly which countries are part of a given use of "quad" depends on the context.
1. The Quadrilateral Group of countries whose trade ministers meet occasionally: the US, Canada, EU, and Japan.
2. The Quadrilateral Conference and the countries whose companies attend that conference: the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
3. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue of US, Australia, India, and Japan.
Quadrilateral conference Meetings of companies from the US, UK, Canada, and Australia convened by the National Defense Industrial Association.
Quadrilateral Group Group whose trade ministers meet occasionally to discuss trade policy issues. The group includes the of the US, Canada, EU, and Japan.
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Meetings of the US, Australia, India, and Japan that first occurred in 2006-2008 and were renewed in 2017. [Source]
Qualitative 1. Referring only to the characteristics of something being described, rather than exact numerical measurement.
2. Indicative only of relative sizes or magnitudes, rather than their numerical values. A qualitative comparison would say whether one thing is larger, smaller, or equal to another, without specifying the size of any difference. As opposed to quantitative.
Quality One dimension along which products can be differentiated. One basis for intra-industry trade is product differentiation in quality, together with differences in comparative advantage for producing quality as well as differences in preference for quality within a heterogeneous population.
Quality upgrading The phenomenon that exporters, when constrained by a foreign import quota, improve the quality of the product and sell for a higher price in order to capture greater revenue and profit from the limited quantity that they are allowed to sell.
Quantitative Expressed in numerical values. See qualitative.
Quantitative easing 1. As introduced by the Bank of Japan during the 1990s, this meant expanding the money supply by open market operations after the nominal interest rate was zero. Since the interest rate could fall no further, the intent was that the quantity of money would directly stimulate aggregate demand.
2. As introduced in response to the global financial crisis, it referred to expanding the money supply by central bank purchases of assets other than short-term government securities, such as mortgage-backed securities. The purpose was to provide credit more directly to parts of the economy that needed it.
Quantitative restriction A restriction on trade, usually imports, limiting the quantity of the good or service that is traded; a quota is the most common example. QRs on traded services are more likely to restrict the number or activities of foreign service providers than the services themselves, since the latter are hard to monitor and measure.
Quantitative tightening Reduction in the assets held by a central bank as a result of its earlier quantitative easing
Quantitative trade model 1. Another name for computable general equilibrium and applied general equilibrium models of international trade, which date back to the early 1980s and before.
2. New quantitative trade model
Quantity anomaly The empirically observed positive correlations across countries in consumption and in output, with the former smaller than the latter. Standard RBC models predict the reverse. Due to Backus et al. (1992).
Quantity definition A method of defining relative factor abundance based on ratios of factor quantities: Compared to country B, country A is abundant in factor X relative to factor Y iff XA/YA > XB/YB, where IJ is the quantity of factor I with which country J is endowed, I=X,Y, J=A,B.
Quantity index A measure of the average quantities of a group of goods relative to a base year. This is usually obtained by using a price index to convert nominal value (price times quantity) to real values, which are then compared to provide the quantity index.
Quantity quota A quota specifying an upper limit on quantity, in units, weight, volume, etc., of a good. Contrasts with value quota.
Quantity theory of money The classic theory of the price level and therefore of inflation, building on the equation of exchange and the additional assumption that velocity of money is constant. Together, these imply that the rate of inflation equals the rate of growth of money minus the rate of growth of real output.
Quarter One of the four three-month periods into which the calendar year is divided for the reporting of economic data.
Quartile One of four segments of a distribution that has been divided into four equal parts. For example, the second-from-the-bottom quartile of an income distribution refers to those with incomes above the bottom 25% of the population and below the top 50%.
Quasi money Near money
Quasi-fiscal Having to do with financial transactions of units that are not included in a government's budget but that have some of the same effects as fiscal policy. Most often mentioned as having quasi-fiscal effects are central banks.
Quasi-linear utility The utility function U(x0,x1,...,xn) = x0 + Σiui(xi), where ui(⋅) are strictly concave functions. This generates demand functions for goods xi that depend only on their own prices in terms of the numeraire x0. That adds to tractability, but unfortunately implies that income elasticities of all goods but x0 are zero.
Quasi-rent Like economic rent, but usually larger, because it is the excess of return over short run opportunity cost, which does not include the fixed cost of replacing or duplicating fixed assets such as a piece of capital or an invention. Thus, inframarginal rent.
Quid pro quo FDI FDI in response to the threat of protection. Done by a firm that exports into the domestic market, the motive is to create jobs there and lessen the threat that its exports will be restricted. Due to Bhagwati (1985).
Quintile One of five segments of a distribution that has been divided into five equal parts. Analogous to quartile.
Quota 1. A government-imposed restriction on quantity, or sometimes on total value.
2. An import quota specifies the maximum amount of an import per year, typically administered with import licenses that may be sold or directly allocated, to individuals or firms, domestic or foreign. May be global, bilateral, or by country. Holders of licenses may or may not be allowed to sell them.
3. An IMF quota.
4. A limit on the number of people permitted to immigrate into a country, based on national origin or other characteristic.
Quota auction The sale of rights to import under an auction quota.
Quota by country A quota that specifies the total amount to be imported (or exported) and also assigns specific amounts to each exporting (or importing) country.
Quota fill rate The percentage of an import quota that is used.
Quota novanta Or quota 90, this was Italy's peg to the British pound in 1926, revalying the lira. [Source]
Quota rent The economic rent received by the holder of the right (or license) to import under a quota. Equals the domestic price of the imported good, net of any tariff, minus the world price, times the quantity of imports.