Below are some terms/theories/theorists that I've come across so far that might be useful, I'll update these to be a complete list as soon as possible... they're in alphabetical order so you can use the alphabar below to choose which letter you want to go to :o)

Bourdieu - see "Distinction, theory of" Bourgeoisie - see "Capitalist class"

Budget constraint - The frontier of the feasible consumption set which represents all consumption bundles that can be afforded if all the consumer's income is spent.

Capitalism - firms, who own the means of production, employ workers for wages in order to make a profit by producing goods for sale in the market

Capitalist class - bourgeoisie - own the means of production and employ workers to make a profit (Marx)

Catch-up periods - asserted by Gerschenkron as important in the route to industrialisation

Ceteris paribus - all other things being equal

Compensating variation - measure the amount of real income that would have to be given to the consumer to ensure the same level of utility following a price change

Consistency - If a consumer prefers one thing to another then for consistency to hold those preferences must never be reversed (e.g. if you prefer tea to coffee then you must never prefer coffee to tea)

Conspicuous consumption - engaged in in order to give an indication of wealth or status to other menbers of society(Veblen)

Consumer Sovereignty - holds when the consumers have the power to dictate what is produced in the economy

Correlation Co-efficient - measures how well a regression line fits the data and the direction of any correlation

Cultural capital - an individuals stock of knowledge of the products of artistic and intellectual traditions which is accumulated

Distinction, theory of - Bourdieu's theory of consumption which states that tastes are linked to class and the social hierarchy, both desired and actual positions (Bourdieu)

Dominant strategy - the strategy followed in game theory, regardless of the opponents strategy, resulting in the best possible outcome for the player from the options available.

Equilibrium - achieved in Neoclassical theory of markets - where there is no incentive to change

Feasible consumption set - a consumers feasible consumption set is the set of all bundles of goods that they can afford at current prices with their current income.

Galbraith - see "Want creation"

Game theory - a technique used to model strategic choices as a game between players.

Giffen goods - basic goods; demand may fall if price falls as their income is freed up to spend on other goods

Gross investment - replenishing or adding to the existing capital stock (see also Net investment, Replacement investment)

Income effect - the income effect of a price change measures the impact on the amount of a good consumed as a result of the consequent change in real income the consumer has to spend (Slutsky)

Indifference curve - An indifference curve represents all bundles of commodities which are ranked equally by the consumer

Inferior goods - goods for which the quantity demanded falls as income rises (e.g. basic food, B+W TV sets)

Investment - see "Gross investment", "Net investment", and "Replacement investment"

Kotler et al - see "Latent needs"

Landes, David - asserts the importance of technological change on changing capitalism

Latent needs - desires not yet exhibited or expressed by consumers for products (Kotler et al)

Leisure class - Veblen's theory stating that conspicuous consumption is rife in the wealthy classes as they emulate their peers to display wealth and status (see also "Conspicuous consumption")(Veblen)

Lexicographic preferences - a system which ranks preferences in which the individual gives priority to particular consumption goods

Linear regression - fitting a line of best fit thorugh a scatterplot

Marginal Rate of Substitution (MRS) - The marginal rate of substitution of good A for good B is the amount of good B that a consumer would give up to consume one more unit of good A.

Marx, Karl - key founder of capitalist theory

Morishima - asserts that ideological views, particularly religious ideology, were a key factor in the success of Japanese capitalism

Net investment - gross investment less replacement investment

NIDL - New International Division of Labour - a shift in the location of industrial employment often associated with newly industrialised countries (Frobel et al)

Normal goods - goods for which the quantity demanded increases as income increases

Ordinal preferences - consumer preferences are ordinal because they allow different baskets of goods to be ranked in order of preference.

Opportunity cost - the opportunity cost of using a resource is the amount it would have earned in its best alternative use

Pay-off - a players gain or loss from a strategy chosen in game theory - it can be anything that is of value to the player but in economic games it will be an economic variable such as profit, revenue, or sales.

Preferences - see "Ordinal preferences" and "Revealed preferences"

Price takers - Neoclassical theory - agents do not have the ability to influence the market price; output in any firm is insignificant compared to the whole market

Prisoners' Dilemma - a game showing pay-offs in the form of a matrix. Firms have a dominant strategy that they follow regardless of the other's firms strategy.

Proletariat - see "Working class"

Protestant Work Ethic - see "Towney"

Regulation Theory - divides capitalism into three eras of Taylorism (specialisation maximising productivity); Fordism (machine-paced mass production); and Post-Fordism (new labour controls e.g. Just-In-Time manufacturing)

Replacement investment - keeps the capital stock levels the same by replacing worn out capital stock (See also Gross investment; Net investment)

Revealed preferences - an individual reveals a bundle of foods of preferred to all others available by purchasing them

Sectors - (of the economy) - Primary (agriculture); Secondary (industry); Tertiary (services)

Substitution effect - the substitution effect of a price change measures the amount a consumer will exchange one good for another whilst maintaining the same level of utility (remaining on the same indifference curve)(Slutsky)

Towney - asserts that the rise in Protestant Christianity was an important determinant of the growth of Western Europmean industrial capitalism (Protestant Work Ethic)

Utility - can be defined as the amount of pleasure or happiness derived from consumption - an increased utility will bring increased happiness/pleasure for the individual

Veblen - see "Conspicuous consumption", "Leisure class", and "Veblen goods"

Veblen goods - luxury goods that may be in greater demand at higher prices(Veblen)

Want creation - the shaping of consumer desire for products by firms - consumption is divorced from need thus firms can create wants (Galbraith)

Weber, Max - asserts that religious, social and ideological changes have a major effect on capitalism

Working class - do not own any means of production and take employment to make a living (Marx)