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Glite Dictionary
cyclical deficit

cyclical deficit

7.7
A government budget shortfall that grows in a recession and falls when the economy improves
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪklɪkəl ˈdɛfɪsɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : déficit cíclico
  • Policymakers distinguish between the cyclical deficit and the structural deficit when planning fiscal policy.

Examples

  • The cyclical deficit is growing.

  • Because of the recession, the government ran a larger cyclical deficit than in previous years.

  • Economic slowdowns typically lead to a rise in the cyclical deficit as tax revenues decrease.

  • Is there a cyclical deficit this year?

  • During a recession, the government often experiences a cyclical deficit due to reduced tax revenues.

  • The cyclical deficit in the budget increased as unemployment rose and consumer spending fell.

  • Economists predict that the cyclical deficit will shrink as the economy recovers and growth resumes.

Antonyms

stability
363 3.1

Being steady and not likely to change

Surface Forms

cyclical deficit singular
cyclical deficits plural

Morphology

cyclical + deficit

The adjective 'cyclical' (occurring in cycles) plus the noun 'deficit' (a shortfall) straightforwardly yield the meaning 'a shortfall that recurs with economic cycles.' This is a regular adjective+noun composition following transparent semantic rules and is cross-linguistically obvious, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the basic meaning (though detailed economic nuance may require extra domain knowledge).

Etymology

The term cyclical deficit comes from the simple image of a wheel or tide that moves up and down: cyclical means repeating 'ups and downs' and deficit means 'not enough money'. So the phrase describes a government budget shortfall that grows when the economy is weak and shrinks when it recovers.