◐ Shell
reader mode source ↗
Jump to content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia portal
Wikipedia portal for content related to Business

The Business and Economics Portal

The time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. This chart is from 2017 statistics.
Small business vendors at a public market

Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."

A business entity is not necessarily separate from the owner and the creditors can hold the owner liable for debts the business has acquired except for limited liability company. The taxation system for businesses is different from that of the corporates. A business structure does not allow for corporate tax rates. The proprietor is personally taxed on all income from the business.

A distinction is made in law and public offices between the term business and a company (such as a corporation or cooperative). Colloquially, the terms are used interchangeably. (Full article...)

Economics () is a social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses what is viewed as the basic elements of economies, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of those interactions. Individual agents may include households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyses economies as systems where production, distribution, consumption, savings, and investment expenditure interact; and the factors of production affecting them, such as: labour, capital, land, and enterprise, inflation, economic growth, and public policies that impact these elements. It also seeks to analyse and describe the global economy. (Full article...)

Selected article

The Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) of ancient China experienced contrasting periods of economic prosperity and decline. It is normally divided into three periods: Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD), the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD), and Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The Xin regime, established by the former regent Wang Mang, formed a brief interregnum between lengthy periods of Han rule. Following the fall of Wang Mang, the Han capital was moved eastward from Chang'an to Luoyang. In consequence, historians have named the succeeding eras Western Han and Eastern Han respectively.

Selected image

Village fair by Flemish artist Gillis Mostaert,1590

A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated traveling carnival or travelling funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may last as long as ten weeks. Activities at fairs vary widely. Some trade fairs are important regular business events either where products are traded between businesspeople, as at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where publishers sell book rights in other markets to other publishers, or where products are showcased to consumers, as for example in agricultural districts where they present opportunities to display and demonstrate the latest machinery on the market to farmers.

Selected economy

Copenhagen is the economic centre of Denmark

Denmark has a modern high-income and highly developed social market economy, dominated by the service sector with 80% of all jobs; about 11% of employees work in manufacturing and 2% in agriculture. The nominal gross national income per capita was the ninth-highest in the world at $68,827 in 2023. Denmark follows the Nordic model, characterized by an internationally high tax level, and a correspondingly high level of government-provided services (e.g. health care, child care and education services). There are also income transfers to various groups, such as retirees, disabled people, the unemployed, and students.

Correcting for purchasing power, per capita income was Int$57,781 or 10th-highest globally. The income distribution is relatively equal but inequality has somewhat increased during the last decades. In 2017, Denmark had the seventh-lowest Gini coefficient (a measure of economic inequality) of the then 28 European Union countries. With 5,932,654 inhabitants as of 1 January 2023, Denmark has the 38th largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the 52nd largest in the world measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). Among OECD nations, Denmark has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 26.2% of GDP. (Full article...)

Selected quote

"In most job markets the employer is not sure of the productive capabilities of an individual at the time he hires him. Nor will this information necessarily become available to the employer immediately after hiring. The job may take time to learn. Often specific training is required. And there may be a contract period within which no recontracting is allowed. The fact that it takes time to learn an individual's productive capabilities means that hiring is an investment decision. The fact that these capabilities are not known beforehand makes the decision one under uncertainty. To hire someone, then, is frequently to purchase a lottery. In what follows, I shall assume the employer pays the certain monetary equivalent of the lottery to the individual as wage. If he is risk-neutral the wage is taken to be the individual's marginal contribution to the hiring organization."

Michael Spence, Job Market Signaling, 1973

Topics


On this day in business history

July 13:

General images

The following are images from various business-related articles on Wikipedia.

More did you know

Business news

9 July 2026 – Aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Economy of New York City
The proposed 2 World Trade Center breaks ground in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., 25 years after the original building was destroyed during the September 11 attacks. (ABC News) (KTLO)
1 July 2026 – Economic consequences of the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukraine approves a mechanism for exporting domestically produced weapons and military technologies to raise funds for its defense effort against Russia and attract foreign investment, while requiring that the Ukrainian military's supply needs remain the priority. (AFP via The Straits Times)
1 July 2026 – The Philippines and the World Bank
The World Bank classifies the Philippines as an upper-middle-income economy, up from lower-middle-income status, after its per capita gross national income exceeds the fiscal year 2026 threshold of US$4,496 to $13,935. (Agenzia Nova)
27 June 2026 – 2026 Venezuela earthquakes
The United Nations estimates that the earthquakes caused approximately US$6.7 billion in direct physical damage, equivalent to about 6% of Venezuela's gross domestic product. (AFP via TRT World)
25 June 2026 – Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
Economy of the United States
22 June 2026 – China–United States relations
China imposes export controls on 10 U.S. companies and bars government procurement from 46 others in response to a U.S. blacklist targeting Chinese firms. The measures take effect immediately. (AFP via Daily Tribune)

Subcategories

Things you can do

Urgent and important articles are bold

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Sources

Discover Wikipedia using portals