Glossary681Euro. The international currency adopted by the European
Union to replace local currencies such as the German mark and
the French franc and thereby increase European economic
efficiency across borders.
Glasnost. Russian word meaning “openness,” used by
Gorbachev to describe the freer cultural and political society he
proposed to build in the USSR; linked to the policy of perestroika.
Monetarism. Economic theory that holds that increases in the
supply of money in circulation leads to inflation; revived by
conservative economists in the late 20th century as a component
of laissez-faire capitalism.
Perestroika. Russian word meaning “restructuring,” used by
Gorbachev to describe the political and economic reforms that
he proposed to introduce into the USSR to create more
democracy and efficiency.
Privatization. An economic policy of selling state-owned
enterprises and returning them to the privately owned sector of
the economy; the opposite (and the undoing) of nationalization.
Value Added Tax. A form of indirect taxation (also called VAT),
hidden in the cost of goods and services in Europe by adding a
portion of the tax at each stage of production and distribution; the
largest source of government revenue in some countries.