brand the name, term or symbol given to a product by a supplier in order to distinguish his offering from that of similar products supplied by competitors. Brand names are used as a focal point of PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION between suppliers.
In most countries, brand names and trade marks are required to be registered with a central authority so as to ensure that they are uniquely applied to a single, specific product. This makes it easier for consumers to identify the product when making a purchase and also protects suppliers against unscrupulous imitators. See INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, BRAND TRANSFERENCE.
brand loyalty the continuing willingness of consumers to purchase and repurchase the brand of a particular supplier in preference to competitive products. Suppliers cultivate brand loyalty by PRODUCT-DIFFERENTIATION strategies aimed at emphasizing real and imaginary differences between competing brands. See ADVERTISING.
brand proliferation an increase in the number of brands of a particular product, each additional brand being very similar to those already available. Brand proliferation occurs mainly in oligopolistic markets (see OLIGOPOLY) where competitive rivalry is centred on PRODUCT-DIFFERENTIATION strategies, and is especially deployed as a means of MARKET SEGMENTATION. In the THEORY OF MARKETS, excessive brand proliferation is generally considered to be against consumers’ interests because it tends to result in higher prices by increasing total ADVERTISING and sales promotional expenses.
brand switching the decision by consumers to substitute an alternative BRAND for the one they currently consume. Brand switching may be induced by ADVERTISING designed to overcome BRAND LOYALTY to existing brands.
brand transference the use of an existing BRAND name for new or modified products. Brand transference or extension seeks to capitalize on consumers’ BRAND LOYALTY towards the firm’s established brands to gain rapid consumer acceptance of a new product.
brand value the money value of an established BRAND name. The valuation of a brand reflects the BRAND LOYALTY of consumers towards it, built up by cumulative ADVERTISING. See TAKEOVER.
Fig. 17 Break-even. A supplier’s typical short-run costs and revenues. Fixed costs do not vary with output and so are shown as the horizontal line FC. Total cost comprises both fixed costs and total variable costs and is shown by line TC. Total revenue rises as output and sales are expanded and is depicted by line TR. At low levels of output like Q1 total costs exceed total revenues and the supplier makes a loss equal to AB. At high levels of output like Q2 revenues exceed costs and the supplier makes a profit equal to DE. At output Q1 total revenues exactly match total costs (at C) and the supplier breaks even.
break-even the short-run rate of output and sales at which a supplier generates just enough revenue to cover his fixed and variable costs, earning neither a PROFIT nor a LOSS. If the selling price of a product exceeds its unit VARIABLE COST, then each unit of product sold will earn a CONTRIBUTION towards FIXED COSTS and profits. Once sufficient units are being sold so that their total contributions cover the supplier’s fixed costs, then the company breaks even. If less than the break-even sales volume is achieved, then total contributions will not meet fixed costs and the supplier will make a loss. If the sales volume achieved exceeds the break-even volume, total contributions will cover the fixed costs and leave a surplus that constitutes profit. See Fig. 17.
Bretton Woods System see INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.
bridging loan a form of short-term LOAN used by a borrower as a continuing source of funds to ‘bridge’ the period until the borrower obtains a medium- or long-term loan to replace it. Bridging loans are used in particular in the housing market to finance the purchase of a new house while arranging long-term MORTGAGE finance and awaiting the proceeds from the sale of any existing property.
broad money see MONEY SUPPLY.
brownfield location a derelict industrial site or housing estate that has been demolished and redeveloped to accommodate new industrial premises, often as part of a regional industrial regeneration programme. Compare GREENFIELD LOCATION. See REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.
budget (firm) a firm’s planned revenues and expenditures for a given future period. Annual or monthly sales, production, cost and capital expenditure budgets provide a means for the firm to plan its future activities, and by collecting actual data about sales, product cost, etc., to compare with budget the firm can control these activities more effectively.
budget (government) a financial statement of the government’s planned revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year. The main sources of current revenues, as shown in Fig. 18 (a), are TAXATION, principally income and expenditure taxes, and NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS. The main current outgoings of GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE are the provision of goods and services (principally wage payments to health, education, police and other public service employees), TRANSFER PAYMENTS (old-age pensions, interest payments on the NATIONAL DEBT, etc.) and social security benefits.
Fig. 18 Budget (government). (a) The UK budget for 2003/04. (b) UK budget deficits and surpluses, 1979–2004. Source: UK National Accounts, ONS (Blue Book), 2004.
The budget has two main uses: (a) it forms the basis of the government’s longer-term financial planning of its own economic and social commitments; (b) it is an instrument of FISCAL POLICY in regulating the level (and composition) of AGGREGATE DEMAND in the economy. A BUDGET SURPLUS (revenues greater than expenditures) reduces the level of aggregate demand. By contrast, a BUDGET DEFICIT (expenditure greater than revenues) increases aggregate demand. Fig. 18 (b) shows UK budget deficits (and surpluses) over the past two decades.
Recently (post 1997) the government has accepted that fiscal stability is an important element in the fight against INFLATION and UNEMPLOYMENT. To this end, fiscal ‘prudence’, specifically a current budget deficit within the European Union’s MAASTRICHT TREATY limits of no more than 3% of GDP (and an outstanding total debt limit of 60% of GDP), was endorsed as being a necessary adjunct to avoid excessive monetary creation of the kind that fuelled previous runaway inflation.
In fact, the government has gone further than this in adopting the so-called ‘golden rule’, which requires that the government should ‘aim for an overall budget surplus over the economic cycle’ (defined as 1998/99 to 2003/04, with some of the proceeds being used to pay off government debt to reduce outstanding debt eventually to 40% of GDP. Along the way it has introduced more rigorous standards for approving increases in public spending, in particular the ‘sustainable investment rule’, which stipulates that the government should borrow only to finance capital investment and not to pay for general spending. In addition, the government has announced it will ‘ring-fence’ increases in particular tax receipts to be used only for funding specific activities. For example, receipts from future increases in fuel taxes and tobacco taxes will be spent, respectively, only on road-building programmes and the National Health Service. See PUBLIC SECTOR BORROWING REQUIREMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR DEBT REPAYMENT, DEMAND MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC FINANCE.
budget (household) a household’s planned income and expenditure for a given time period. The household’s expenditure will depend upon its DISPOSABLE INCOME, and the THEORY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR seeks to show how households, or consumers, allocate their income in spending on various goods and services. See CONSUMER EQUILIBRIUM.
budget deficit the excess of GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE over government TAXATION and other receipts in any one fiscal year. See BUDGET (government). The operation of a budget deficit (deficit financing) is a tool of FISCAL POLICY to enable government to