The document discusses the balance of payments, which measures all international economic transactions between residents of a country and foreign residents. It has two major sub accounts - the current account, which covers trade in goods, services, income and transfers, and the capital account, which covers capital transactions. For a country's balance of payments to be in equilibrium, its overall surplus or deficit must be eliminated. Disequilibriums can be caused by changes in factors like national output, spending, money supply, exchange rates and interest rates.

1. The Balance of Payments