An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available in the market place. Typically it relates to an upturn in production and utilization of resources. Economic recovery and prosperity are two successive phases of expansion. It may be caused by factors external to the economy, such as weather, or by factors internal to the economy, such as fiscal policies, monetary policies, the availability of credit, interest rates, regulatory policies or other impacts on producer incentives. Global conditions may influence the levels of economic activity in various countries. Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor Look up economics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fiscal policy is the economic term that defines the set of principles and decisions of a government in setting the level of public expenditure and how that expenditure is funded. ... Monetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank, or monetary authority manages the money supply to achieve specific goals—such as constraining inflation or deflation, maintaining an exchange rate, achieving full employment or economic growth. ... Look up credit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An interest rate is the rental price of money. ... A regulation is a legal restriction promulgated by government administrative agencies through rulemaking supported by a threat of sanction or a fine. ... The adjective global and adverb globally imply that the verb or noun to which they are applied applies to the entire Earth and all of its species and regions. ...

Economic contraction and expansion relate to the overall output of all goods and services, whilst the terms inflation and deflation relate to the value of money.

See also

Business cycles // [edit] Introduction [edit] Definition If we were to take snapshots of an economy at different points in time, no two photos would look alike. ...