Okuzeka
Economics vocabulary · GDP and Growth

Expansion

Meaning in economics, with examples

/ɪkˈspænʃn/nounCommon term

In economics, expansion means: The phase of the business cycle when output, jobs and incomes are growing, lasting from the low point after a recession to the next peak.

In Turkish: genişleme, büyüme dönemi

How it is used

Economists date expansions and compare how long they last: the longest expansion on record. In PMI news, expansion means growth in activity; a reading above 50 signals expansion. Expansionary policy is policy that boosts demand.

Example sentences

  1. The US expansion that began in 2009 lasted more than ten years.

  2. A PMI of 53 shows a solid expansion in manufacturing.

Common collocations

  • economic expansion
  • the current expansion
  • expansionary policy
  • period of expansion
  • contractionA fall in economic activity or output over a period, for example when GDP is lower than in the previous quarter.
  • business cycleThe repeated pattern of ups and downs in economic activity, moving from expansion to a peak, then to contraction and a low point, and back to recovery.
  • boomA period of very fast growth in the economy or in one sector, with rising demand, prices, profits and jobs.
  • recoveryThe period after a recession or crisis when output, jobs and incomes start to grow again and move back towards their earlier level.
  • economic growthAn increase in the amount of goods and services an economy produces over time, usually measured as the percentage change in real GDP.

More terms: GDP and Growth

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