EXPANSION: A phase of the business cycle characterized by a general period of rising economic activity. An expansion is one of two basic business cycle phases. The other is contraction. The transition from expansion to contraction is termed a peak and the transition from contraction to expansion is termed a trough. Expansions last an average of about 3-4 years, but this by no means not guaranteed. An expansion in the early 1980s lasted a mere 12 months. The next expansion then lasted over 8 years. Much of the 1960s was dedicated to a 106-month expansion, almost 9 years.

     See also | business cycle | prosperity | contraction | peak | trough | real gross domestic product | full employment | unemployment rate | inflation | investment | consumption | investment business cycle | political business cycle |

EXPANSION, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: March 12, 2026].

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In terms of macroeconomic analysis, especially the aggregate market (AS-AD) analysis, a period of time in which some prices, notably wages, are rigid, inflexible, or otherwise in the process of adjusting. This is one of two macroeconomic time designations; the other is the long run. Short-run wage and price rigidity prevents some markets, especially resource markets and most notably labor markets, from achieving equilibrium. Wage and price rigidity and the resulting resource market imbalances are the source of the positively-sloped short-run aggregate supply curve.

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