Phillips curve

British

noun

economics a curve that purports to plot the relationship between unemployment and inflation on the theory that as inflation falls unemployment rises and vice versa

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Phillips curve

C20: named after A. W. H. Phillips (1914–75), New Zealand economist who formulated the theory

Example Sentences

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Phillips curve

Similarities between his monetary philosophies on issues like forward guidance, rules-based policymaking, the Phillips curve, and productivity growth driven by high-tech innovation and Warsh’s are now emerging.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

The Phillips curve also depends on an accurate reading of unemployment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2022

Simply stated, one of the main tenets of the Phillips curve is that levels of unemployment influence the rate of wage increases.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2022

I’ve been doing this a long time, and the Phillips curve has been declared dead far more times than Mark Twain.

From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2017

In other words, the Phillips curve would have shifted upward.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Thomas Colignatus

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023