Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

central bank

(Encyclopedia)central bank, financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have v...

International Maritime Organization

(Encyclopedia)International Maritime Organization (IMO), specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1948, with headquarters in London and 168 member nations and three associate members. IMO is one of t...

free trade

(Encyclopedia)free trade, in modern usage, trade or commerce carried on without such restrictions as import duties, export bounties, domestic production subsidies, trade quotas, or import licenses. The basic argume...

monetary agreement

(Encyclopedia)monetary agreement, attempt by two (bilateral) or more (multilateral) nations to regulate and coordinate their financial relations by treaty. The objectives are usually to promote trade by facilitatin...

Kiribati

(Encyclopedia)Kiribati kĭrˌĭbăsˈ [key], officially Republic of Kiribati (2015 est. pop. 112,000), 342 sq mi (886 sq km), consisting of 33 islands scattered across 2,400 mi (3,860 km) of the Pacific Ocean near ...

Barbados

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Barbados bärbāˈdōz [key], island state (2020 est. pop. 287,371), 166 sq mi (430 sq km), in ...

foreign exchange

(Encyclopedia)foreign exchange, methods and instruments used to adjust the payment of debts between two nations that employ different currency systems. A nation's balance of payments has an important effect on the ...

cricket, sport

(Encyclopedia)cricket, ball-and-bat game played chiefly in Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries. In the early 21st cent., Twenty20, a new version of cricket with a much faster, more compressed format, eme...

Evatt, Herbert Vere

(Encyclopedia)Evatt, Herbert Vere vĭr ĕvˈət [key], 1894–1965, Australian statesman. He became (1940) a Labor member of the House of Representatives, before being appointed (1941) attorney general and then min...

Lubin, David

(Encyclopedia)Lubin, David lo͞oˈbĭn [key], 1849–1919, American agriculturist, b. Poland. After prospering as a merchant in California, he devoted himself to helping farmers with their problems. Through his eff...

Browse by Subject