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Pareto principle

Pareto principle

5.2
A rule that says about 80% of results come from 20% of causes
  • noun
  • /pəˈreɪtoʊ ˈprɪnsəpəl/
translation icon : principio de Pareto
  • The Pareto principle suggests that 80% of the results come from just 20% of the efforts.

Examples

  • It's simply another application of the Pareto principle.

    Blog text (8)
  • This ties into the Pareto principle from 4HWW.

    Blog text (8)
  • So the Pareto principle says that in a market system, they'll they'll move toward the frontier and when they get there, they'll stop.

  • Businesses often rely on the Pareto principle to focus on the most impactful customers.

  • According to the Pareto principle, a small number of causes are responsible for the majority of consequences.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Pareto + principle

This is an eponymous term: 'Pareto' is a proper name (not semantically informative to someone who doesn't know the reference) and 'principle' only signals that it is a rule. A B1 learner who knows the words 'Pareto' (as a name) and 'principle' would not be able to derive the specific 80/20 meaning from the constituents alone, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Pareto principle comes from Vilfredo Pareto, who noticed in Italy that about 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the people. So the idea means that a small part, about 20%, often gives most, about 80%, of the result, and people call this the '80/20 rule'.