'Flat growth' strikes me as an odd phrase, as it is in effect no growth at all. However Googling reveals it to be commonly used in economic contexts.
Here's an example from the BBC News website:
Anyone confused by the use of the phrase 'flat growth' in this headline would be enlightened by the first par ("the UK economy will not grow at all").
5 comments:
186 results on Google News as well. I think people allow it because economic 'growth' is measured in relation to the previous year's activity. IOW 'growth' is a scale of measurement, hence can be positive, negative or flat.
They are referring to the rate of growth remaining the same. Perhaps they should write a flat growth rate, but most understand the meaning without it.
I'm not sure that 'flat growth' is referring to growth remaining the same. It seems to be synonymous with 'no growth', and in this instance it is the size of the economy that is remaining the same (rather than the growth rate).
It's meaningless and should be outlawed.
It's financial services muppets doing what they do best - talking bollocks.
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