{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.deficit","code":"thing-deficit","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/deficit/","name":"deficit","alternateNames":["budget deficit","federal deficit","trade deficit","cyclical deficit"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"noun.possession","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ECO"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{"substance":"social","origin":"conceptual","agency":"inert","mobility":"not-applicable","scale":"not-applicable","affordances":["observable"]}},"whatItIs":"A negative balance of flows over a period, such as a government budget deficit when spending exceeds revenue, a trade deficit when imports exceed exports, or a current account deficit when current account debits exceed credits; this differs from a stock imbalance in which liabilities exceed assets at a point in time. Deficits do not universally accumulate into debt, since financing can include borrowing, equity investment or asset sales, depending on the type of deficit.","purpose":"Let an agent explain deficits factually by type, measurement, data sources and debates, presenting economic views neutrally and giving no personal financial advice.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Flow measure over a period","Several kinds","Measured by official statistics","Subject of political debate"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"type","name":"Type","description":"Which deficit.","layers":[{"id":"kind","name":"Kind","description":"Budget or trade.","findings":[{"id":"kind-finding","name":"Kind","description":"Deficit type.","questions":[{"text":"Is a budget, trade or current account deficit meant?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"For which country and period?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"versus-debt","name":"Versus debt","description":"Flow and stock.","findings":[{"id":"versus-debt-finding","name":"Versus debt","description":"Deficit versus debt.","questions":[{"text":"Is deficit being confused with debt?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How do they relate?","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"data","name":"Data","description":"Official figures.","layers":[{"id":"figures","name":"Figures","description":"Values.","findings":[{"id":"figures-finding","name":"Figures","description":"Deficit figures.","questions":[{"text":"What is the deficit, in money and as a share of GDP, from the official statistics office?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"For which year, and is it revised?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"comparison","name":"Comparison","description":"Across countries.","findings":[{"id":"comparison-finding","name":"Comparison","description":"Comparisons.","questions":[{"text":"How does it compare with other countries on the same definition?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which database is used?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"rules","name":"Rules","description":"Fiscal rules.","layers":[{"id":"limits","name":"Limits","description":"Thresholds.","findings":[{"id":"limits-finding","name":"Limits","description":"Fiscal limits.","questions":[{"text":"Which fiscal rules or limits apply?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the country within them?","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"procedure","name":"Procedure","description":"Enforcement.","findings":[{"id":"procedure-finding","name":"Procedure","description":"Enforcement.","questions":[{"text":"Is an excessive deficit procedure or similar process under way?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What does it require?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"debate","name":"Debate","description":"Economics.","layers":[{"id":"views","name":"Views","description":"Schools of thought.","findings":[{"id":"views-finding","name":"Views","description":"Economic views.","questions":[{"text":"What do different economists argue about this deficit?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Are views attributed rather than endorsed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"advice","name":"Advice","description":"Personal finance.","findings":[{"id":"advice-finding","name":"Advice","description":"Advice limit.","questions":[{"text":"Is the user asking for personal investment advice?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How should they be referred to a licensed adviser?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Report budget, trade or current account deficits from official statistics, with period and source.","Explain how a deficit is calculated and what it does and does not show."],"mustNot":["Mix up deficit and debt, or different deficit measures, in a way that misleads.","Present a forecast deficit as an outturn figure.","Help disguise an organization's or a government's deficit in its accounts.","Present partisan claims about a deficit as neutral fact."],"requiresHuman":["Using deficit figures to make or advise on spending or borrowing decisions."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Deficits shape public services, taxes and the burden passed to future generations.","Deficit figures are used in political argument; distortion misleads voters."],"affectedParties":["Taxpayers and users of public services","Future generations","Creditors and investors"]},"owners":{"steward":"The government or organization whose accounts show it; statistics offices and auditors measure it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National accounts and public finance statistics"]},"relations":[{"target":"oewn-13417227-n","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"financial balance","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"surplus","type":"related","note":"opposite"},{"target":"public debt","type":"related","note":"stock"},{"target":"national accounts","type":"related","note":"statistics"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.deficit","Open English WordNet: oewn-13417449-n"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Negative balance for a period","Often shown as percent of GDP","Debt is the stock, deficit the flow","Not physical; figures in budgets and national accounts."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["distinguish budget, trade and current account deficits","find official deficit data","compare deficits as a share of GDP","summarise economic debates with attribution"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing deficit and debt","Partisan framing","Comparing nominal figures across countries"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["EU Stability and Growth Pact deficit rules","IMF Government Finance Statistics","National fiscal rules"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Describing fiscal and external balances.","budget deficit","primary and structural deficit","cyclical deficit","trade deficit","current account deficit"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-13417449-n","url":"https://en-word.net/id/oewn-13417449-n","note":"sense and gloss of the concept"},{"title":"Wiktionary: deficit","url":"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deficit","note":"word senses and usage"}],"openQuestions":["Should each deficit type be a separate entry?","How should official data be linked?","How should debates be attributed?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-deficit/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-deficit/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T10:00:33Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-08T18:54:35+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: WordNet gloss; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}