subsidization
noun
Subsidization — the systematic financial support of an activity or industry
Definition
The act of providing a subsidy
In depth
Subsidization is the act of providing a subsidy, the systematic, often ongoing financial support extended by a government or organization to reduce costs, encourage a particular activity, or support an industry considered economically or socially important. The word carries significant weight in economic and policy writing, where the wisdom and effects of subsidization are frequently debated.
Origin
The word descends from Latin subsidium, support or assistance, originally referring to reserve troops held in support of the main battle line, formed from sub- (under) and sedere (to sit). That military origin, troops held in reserve to support the front line, gives the word's modern economic sense a subtle resonance, subsidization conceived as a kind of supportive reserve sustaining an otherwise vulnerable activity or industry.
Usage examples
"Subsidization of renewable energy aimed to accelerate the industry's growth beyond what market forces alone would achieve."
"Critics questioned whether continued subsidization of the struggling sector represented sound long-term economic policy."
"Agricultural subsidization has remained a contentious and persistent feature of trade negotiations for decades."
How to use it
Subsidization is essential economic and policy vocabulary, useful wherever a writer discusses systematic governmental or institutional financial support for an industry, activity, or population, particularly common in writing about economic policy debate.
Related concepts
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