Transfer Payment in the United States

Transfer Payment (Economics Term) in the Federal Budget Process

Meaning of Transfer Payment in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): A payment made for which no current or future goods or services are required in return. Government transfer payments include Social Security benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, and welfare payments. Taxes are considered transfer payments. Governments also receive transfer payments in the form of fees, fines, and donations from businesses and persons. (See also National Income and Product Accounts.)

Resources

See Also

• Federal Appropriations
• Entries about the United States Budget Process in the Encyclopedia (including Transfer Payment)
• Public Debt

Further Reading

• Legislatures and the budget process: the myth of fiscal control

  (J Wehner, 2010)

• Reconcilable Differences?: Congress, the Budget Process, and the Deficit (JB Gilmour, 1990)
• Fiscal institutions and fiscal performance

  (JM Poterba, J von Hagen, 2008)

Transfer Payment in the International Business Landscape

Definition of Transfer Payment in the context of U.S. international business and public trade policy: Government payments to individuals and firms not in exchange for goods and services.