trickledown

Adjective

trickle-down (not comparable)

1. That flows, especially in limited quantity, from the highly placed to others.
   • His name is Harry E Thompson and his Trickle-Down solar heating system is the basis for this book.2007, John Canivan, MTD Solar Heating, John Canivan, →ISBN, page 18
2. Describing the theory that financial benefits given to the wealthy will somehow be passed down to the poor.
   • In addition, it examines the trickle-down effects of economic development as espoused by market theorists in the urban economic development literature. Policymakers in Rockford used the trickle-down logic of market theory to justify a […]2002, James L. Conyers, Black Cultures and Race Relations, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 125
3. Describing a model of product adoption that flows vertically from the upper classes to the lower classes within society.
   • Trickle-down patterns are very common for technological innovations, especially when new gadgets come to market with high price tags. The first black-and-white televisions cost more than some automobiles.2022, W. David Marx, chapter 8, in Status and Culture, Viking, →ISBN