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TOEFL Vocabulary: Advanced society, economy, and policy

40 hard-tier words, each with a short plain-English definition, followed by a quick quiz to check what stuck.

Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 1, 2026

Fiscal, jurisdiction, externality, reciprocity, constituency: higher-level social-science vocabulary. It appears in academic texts about governments and economies, and a few of these words can sharpen a discussion post on a public issue.

Most useful for: Read an Academic Passage · Listen to an Academic Talk · Academic Discussion.

Advanced society, economy, and policy is one of the hard themes in our TOEFL vocabulary list, where you can also find how the tiers work.

The 40 words

Advanced society, economy, and policy — Hard tier
#WordMeaningTier
1accountabilitythe duty to explain actions and accept consequencesHard
2austeritya policy of sharply limiting public spendingHard
3bureaucracyan administrative system with formal rulesHard
4civicrelated to citizens and public lifeHard
5coalitiona group joined for a shared purposeHard
6collectivedone or shared by members of a groupHard
7commoditya basic good bought and sold in marketsHard
8constituencythe people represented by an official or groupHard
9demographicrelated to the features of a populationHard
10deregulateto remove government controls from an activityHard
11disparitya large or meaningful differenceHard
12displacementthe forced movement of people from a placeHard
13entrepreneurshipthe creation of new business venturesHard
14externalitya cost or benefit affecting a third partyHard
15fiscalrelated to public money and taxationHard
16inequalityunequal access to resources or opportunitiesHard
17jurisdictionthe area or matter under an authority's controlHard
18monopolya market controlled by one sellerHard
19norma behavior expected within a groupHard
20ordinancea rule made by a local governmentHard
21participatoryinvolving people in making decisionsHard
22privatizeto move an activity into private ownershipHard
23procurementthe formal process of obtaining goods or servicesHard
24reciprocitya pattern of giving and receiving in returnHard
25redistributionthe movement of resources among groupsHard
26sanctiona penalty used to enforce a ruleHard
27sovereigntyindependent authority over a territoryHard
28taxationthe collection of money by a governmentHard
29tenurethe right to hold a position or property over timeHard
30underrepresentedpresent in a smaller share than expectedHard
31workforceall people available for or engaged in workHard
32advocacypublic support for a cause or policyHard
33bilateralinvolving two sides or partiesHard
34equitablefair in its treatment or distributionHard
35legislationlaws made through a governing bodyHard
36lobbyingefforts to influence official decisionsHard
37ratifyto formally approve an agreementHard
38reforma change intended to improve an institutionHard
39socializeto teach or learn a group's expected behaviorHard
40subsidizeto support an activity with moneyHard

Self-check: match the meaning

Cover the table above. Here are 8 of the 40 advanced society, economy, and policy words, starting with accountability: choose the word each definition describes.

  1. the duty to explain actions and accept consequences
    1. accountability
    2. externality
    3. taxation
    4. legislation
    Show answer

    A. accountability

  2. done or shared by members of a group
    1. norm
    2. collective
    3. bilateral
    4. subsidize
    Show answer

    B. collective

  3. a large or meaningful difference
    1. reciprocity
    2. reform
    3. disparity
    4. coalition
    Show answer

    C. disparity

  4. unequal access to resources or opportunities
    1. tenure
    2. bureaucracy
    3. deregulate
    4. inequality
    Show answer

    D. inequality

  5. involving people in making decisions
    1. participatory
    2. equitable
    3. constituency
    4. fiscal
    Show answer

    A. participatory

  6. a penalty used to enforce a rule
    1. socialize
    2. sanction
    3. entrepreneurship
    4. ordinance
    Show answer

    B. sanction

  7. all people available for or engaged in work
    1. civic
    2. monopoly
    3. workforce
    4. redistribution
    Show answer

    C. workforce

  8. efforts to influence official decisions
    1. demographic
    2. procurement
    3. underrepresented
    4. lobbying
    Show answer

    D. lobbying

Using advanced society, economy, and policy words on the test

  • In Read an Academic Passage, civic and disparity often carry a paragraph's main point, so check how each one connects to the sentence before it.
  • In Listen to an Academic Talk, a speaker may define monopoly or redistribution on the spot; note the definition, not just the word.
  • In the Academic Discussion, advocacy and socialize can make your position precise; use them in a sentence that also gives a reason.

Other hard themes

Frequently Asked Questions

40, from accountability to subsidize, all in the hard tier of our TOEFL list. The self-check quiz on this page tests 8 of them, beginning with accountability.

Language like this is most useful in Read an Academic Passage, Listen to an Academic Talk and Academic Discussion. Treat them mainly as recognition vocabulary; passages usually give enough context for the specialist terms.

Start with collective (done or shared by members of a group); inequality (unequal access to resources or opportunities); sanction (a penalty used to enforce a rule). In Read an Academic Passage, civic and disparity often carry a paragraph's main point, so check how each one connects to the sentence before it.

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