trickle-down

adjective

1. not comparable 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.
2. not comparable 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 […]
3. not comparable 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.