Pigou effect

noun

The stimulation of output and employment caused by increasing consumption due to a rise in real balances of wealth, particularly during deflation.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounPigou effect (plural Pigou effects)

plural Pigou effects

  1. economicsThe stimulation of output and employment caused by increasing consumption due to a rise in real balances of wealth, particularly during deflation.

Origin

Coined by American economist Don Patinkin in 1948 after English economist Arthur Cecil Pigou.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Pigou effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pigou%20effect

MLA

“Pigou effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pigou%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pigou effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pigou%20effect.

Source: Pigou effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.