trickle-down

trickle-down (not comparable)

1. That flows, especially in limited quantity, from the highly placed to others.
   • 2007, John Canivan, MTD Solar Heating, John Canivan, →ISBN, page 18:

     His name is Harry E Thompson and his Trickle-Down solar heating system is the basis for this book.

2. (economics) Describing the theory that financial benefits given to the wealthy will somehow be passed down to the poor.
   • 2002, James L. Conyers, Black Cultures and Race Relations‎, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 125:

     In addition, it examines the trickle-down effects of economic development as espoused by market theorists in the urban economic development literature. Policymakers in Rockford used the trickle-down logic of market theory to justify a […]

   • 2007, Christian Schabbel, The Value Chain of Foreign Aid: Development, Poverty Reduction, and Regional Conditions‎, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 200:

     While the trickle-down mechanism is based on market optimism (in a well-functioning economy, the poor will benefit automatically from any growth), proponents of direct and indirect policies targeting the poor are market-pessimists, in which […]

   • 2012 April 30, Kentaro Toyama, “The Rise and Fall and Rise (Literally) of the Most Important Curve in Economics”, in The Atlantic‎:

     On the surface, the Kuznets curve seems to justify laissez-faire economics and trickle-down policies.

3. (marketing) Describing a model of product adoption that flows vertically from the upper classes to the lower classes within society.
   • 2022, W. David Marx, chapter 8, in Status and Culture, Viking, →ISBN:

     Trickle-down patterns are very common for technological innovations, especially when new gadgets come to market with high price tags. The first black-and-white televisions cost more than some automobiles.

• trickle-down hypothesis

• tinkle-down