invisible balance
- noun
- Specialized
:
balance invisible
- The country's invisible balance improved due to increased earnings from tourism and financial services.
Examples
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Many advanced economies rely on a positive invisible balance thanks to their strong service sectors.
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An adverse invisible balance can offset a surplus in the visible balance, affecting the overall trade position.
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The country's invisible balance has improved this year.
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Many economists analyze the invisible balance of trade.
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A positive invisible balance indicates that a country is earning more from services than it spends on foreign services.
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The invisible balance of the economy is crucial for understanding the overall health of a nation's finances.
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Tourism and foreign investments significantly contribute to the country's invisible balance, enhancing its economic strength.
How Positive
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'invisible' (not visible) and 'balance' (a financial difference) can reasonably infer that this refers to an intangible or non-physical part of a country's financial balance (i.e. non-visible transactions), so the general idea is partly predictable from the constituents. However, the specific technical meaning (services, property income and other non‑merchandise payments) is specialized and not fully derivable from the words alone, so the expression is not fully transparent.
Etymology
Invisible balance paints a simple image: imagine a pair of scales where one side holds visible goods and the other holds unseen things — the invisible side — that still affect the balance. That's why the invisible balance means the difference made by 'services' and other invisible payments in a country's trade.