Meanings
nounAverch-Johnson effect (plural Averch-Johnson effects)
plural Averch-Johnson effects
- economicsThe tendency of regulated companies to engage in excessive amounts of capital accumulation in order to expand the volume of their profits.
Origin
Named after Harvey Averch and Leland L. Johnson who proposed the idea.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Averch-Johnson effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Averch-Johnson%20effect
MLA
“Averch-Johnson effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Averch-Johnson%20effect. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Averch-Johnson effect,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Averch-Johnson%20effect.
Source: Averch-Johnson effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.