Definition of trickle-down theory
: a theory that financial benefits given to big business will in turn pass down to smaller businesses and consumers
Examples of trickle-down theory in a Sentence
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Think of it as the modern day trickle-down theory, with tax cuts at the top finding their way to everyone else.
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Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2021
Rumsfeld in turn introduced Mosler to Arthur Laffer, the conservative economist who devised the specious trickle-down theory of economics that has justified every major regressive corporate tax cut for the last 40 years.
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Robin Kaiser-schatzlein, The New Republic, 19 June 2020
So goes the trickle-down theory, attributed to Reagan but just as often espoused by local Democrats.
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Boots Riley, HWD, 2 July 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trickle-down theory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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14 Dec 2021
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“Trickle-down theory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trickle-down%20theory. Accessed 19 Jan. 2022.
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The first known use of trickle-down theory was in 1936
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