What Is a Political Action Committee (PAC)? In the U.S., a political action committee (PAC) is a political committee that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. PACs are typically formed to represent business, labor, or ideological interests by individuals who wish to
What Is Political Economy? Political economy is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences. It focuses on the interrelationships among individuals, governments, and public policy. Political economists study how economic theories such as capitalism, socialism, and communism work in the real world. Any economic theory is a means of directing the distribution of a finite
What Is the Political Economy Research Institute? The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is a progressive, left-leaning economic think tank at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which conducts economic research intended to influence the public debate and be put into practical policy proposals to improve the quality of human life. Although PERI’s research spans many
What Are Political Futures? Political futures are a type of futures contract used to speculate on the outcome of political events. Although they are similar in function to commodity futures contracts, political futures are currently illegal in the United States. Key Takeaways Political futures are used to speculate on political events. They are traded on
What Is Political Risk Insurance? Political risk insurance provides financial protection to investors, financial institutions, and businesses that face the possibility of losing money because of political events. It protects against the possibility that a government will take some action that causes the insured to experience a large financial loss. Political risk insurance can cover
What Was Ponzi Mania? Ponzi mania described the market atmosphere after the seemingly sudden recognition of Ponzi schemes that followed the arrest of Bernard Madoff for operating an illegal operation. Ponzi mania took full force in December of 2008 when federal investigators discovered that Bernard Madoff had operated a huge Ponzi scheme over the prior
What Is Ponzimonium? Ponzimonium is an outbreak of Ponzi schemes. The term is a portmanteau of “Ponzi”—named after Charles Ponzi, for which this particular type of fraud was made famous—and “pandemonium.” It is sometimes referred to as Ponzi Mania. After the multi-billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff was revealed in 2008, many new but smaller-scale Ponzi
What Is a Ponzi Scheme? A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam which generates returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors. This is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based
What Are Pooled Funds? Pooled funds are funds in a portfolio from many individual investors that are aggregated for the purposes of investment. Mutual funds, hedge funds, exchange traded funds, pension funds, and unit investment trusts are all examples of professionally managed pooled funds. Investors in pooled funds benefit from economies of scale, which allow
What Is the Pooled Internal Rate of Return (PIRR)? Pooled internal rate of return (PIRR) is a method of calculating the overall internal rate of return (IRR) of a portfolio that consists of several projects by combining their individual cash flows. In order to calculate this, you need to know not only the cash flows
