Veblen Good
What is a Veblen Good A Veblen good is a type of consumer good for which demand increases as the price increases. This occurs because people perceive the good to be more valuable when it is more expensive. Veblen goods are often luxury items, such as jewelry or high-end cars. Many Veblen goods also have a "status" value, meaning that...
Value Engineering
DefinitionValue engineering is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to cost. Value can therefore be manipulated by either improving the function or reducing the cost. It is a primary tenet of value engineering that basic functions be preserved...
Value Trap
What is a 'Value Trap' When a company looks to be inexpensive because it has traded at low multiples of profits, cash flow, or book value for a long period of time, the stock is considered to be a value trap by investors. Stock traps are attractive to investors seeking for a good deal since the companies in question are...
Value Change
What is 'Value Change' An adjustment made to a stock's price to reflect the number of outstanding stock shares, or shares of stock that have been issued and are currently held by investors. A value change allows the group of stocks to be equally weighted and, therefore, more easily evaluated. Since the number of shares held by...
Value-Added Network (VAN)
What is 'Value-Added Network (VAN)' A private network provider hired by a company to facilitate electronic data interchange (EDI) and/or provide other network services such as message encryption, secure email and management reporting. A Value-Added Network (VAN) simplifies the communications process by reducing the number of parties with which a company needs to communicate. The VAN accomplishes...
Vanishing Premium Policy
What is 'Vanishing Premium Policy' A vanishing premium policy is a form of participating whole life insurance where the policyholder can use the dividends from the policy to pay the premium. Over time, the dividends will increase to the point that they cover the entire cost of the premiums. Explaining 'Vanishing Premium Policy' When...
Vanguard Exchange-Traded Funds
What is 'Vanguard Exchange-Traded Funds' A class of ETFs offered by Vanguard and traded like any other share on the American Stock Exchange. There are presently 27 Vanguard ETFs with underlying indexes covering both individual sectors (such as materials and energy)as well as domestic and international indexes. Previously known as VIPERS, the ETFs are designed to track...
Value Network
Three Ways to Define a Value Network A value network is a graphical representation of social and technical resources. Each node represents people, roles, and their interactions. Deliverables are the connections between nodes. As a result, the network is very flexible and can be used to better understand and map the flow of value across organizations. Here are three different...
Variable Survivorship Life Insurance
What is Variable Survivorship Life Insurance Variable survivorship life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that pays a death benefit to the surviving policyholder after the death of the insured. The policyholder can use the death benefit to cover final expenses, debts, or other financial obligations. The policy also has a cash value component, which allows the policyholder...
Variance
What is 'Variance' Variance is a measurement of the spread between numbers in a data set. The variance measures how far each number in the set is from the mean. Variance is calculated by taking the differences between each number in the set and the mean, squaring the differences (to make them positive) and dividing the sum...