deflation

deflation

1. Economics a reduction in the level of total spending and economic activity resulting in lower levels of output, employment, investment, trade, profits, and prices

2. Geology the removal of loose rock material, sand, and dust by the wind

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

deflation

(ECONOMICS) a decrease over time in the general level of prices, coupled with an overall reduction in the level of economic activity, new investment, etc. (compare INFLATION). In modern capitalist economies, in which inflation tends to be endemic, deflation is usually relative rather than absolute, involving a reduction in rates of price increase rather than an absolute decrease in prices.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

deflation

[di′flā·shən]

(geology)

The sweeping erosive action of the wind over the ground.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Deflation

 

the decrease of monetary volume by means of the withdrawal from circulation of excess paper money. Deflation often precedes monetary reforms. Since World War II deflation has most often been encountered as part of the so-called deflation policy of capitalist states, which aims at stopping or decreasing the rates of growth of monetary volume and commodity prices. Deflation is realized through limitation of credits (an increase in the rate of interest, imposition of credit limits), higher taxes, reduction of expenditures for social and cultural needs, a “freeze” on wages and salaries, and other measures carried out by capitalist states. These measures result in a lowering of the rate of economic development, a deterioration in the living conditions of the toiling masses, and an intensification of the class struggle.

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Deflation

 

the disintegration of rocks and soils owing to wind action, accompanied by the removal and wearing away of the broken particles. Deflation is particularly strong in those parts of deserts from which dominant winds blow (for example, in the southern part of the Karakumy desert). The processes of deflation and physical weathering result in the formation of eroded cliffs with unusual shapes, such as towers, columns, and obelisks.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.