ACTION LAG: In the context of economic policies, a part of the implementation lag involving the time it takes for appropriate policies to be launched once they have been agreed to by policy makers. Another part of the implementation lag is the decision lag. For fiscal policy, this involves appropriating funds to government agencies (for government spending) or changing the tax code (for taxes) For monetary policy, this involves the buying and selling government securities in the open market. The action lag is usually shorter for monetary policy than fiscal policy.

     See also | implementation lag | decision lag | policy lags | inside lag | recognition lag | outside lag | stabilization policies | business cycle | fiscal policy | monetary policy | open market |