Quota

Quota

See Import Quota

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Quota

1. The amount a country contributes to finance the International Monetary Fund. The IMF determines quota based upon how much each country contributes to the global GDP. Each country's quota also influences its voting power in matters of IMF governance. Larger countries both contribute and vote more. The quota system has proven to be controversial, as it gives smaller and less prosperous countries a lesser voice.

2. The most barrels of oil an OPEC member state may produce per day. OPEC sets quotas in order to influence the price of oil. It raises quotas when it wishes to lower the price and lowers them when wishes to increase the price.

3. Any minimum or maximum limit, especially one imposed by an authority. For example, a journalist may be required to write a minimum quota of articles per week, or an employee may not be allowed to work more than the maximum quota of hours to avoid charging his company overtime.

4. See Import quota.

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quota

A maximum or minimum limit on quantity. Applied to imports, a quota designates the maximum quantity of a product that may be brought into a country during a specified period of time. Quotas can have significant impact on certain industries and companies. The establishment of a quota or a change in an existing quota can influence the price of the affected firm's securities. See also tariff, trigger price.