balance of payments

balance of payments definition - finance
A countryÂ’s international transactions over a specific time period, usually a quarter or a year. It tabulates the inflows and outflows of goods, services, and investment flows for a country. Balance of payment includes 1) a current account, which primarily measures the flow of goods and services and earnings on investments; 2) a capital account, which measures capital transfers, the transfer of fixed assets, and inheritance taxes; and 3) a financial account, which records transfer of financial capital and non-financial capital such as U.S.-owned assets abroad, foreign-owned assets in the United States, and the purchase and sale of non-produced assets such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, franchises, and leases.

Webster's New World Finance and Investment Dictionary Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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