Surplus, Economic for the economy as a whole, the surplus equals the amount of production over and above what is required for the reproduction of the existing economic system (including the necessary consumption required to reproduce the population, and depreciation on the existing stock of capital). An economy’s aggregate surplus can be consumed (to allow for a standard of consumption higher than mere subsistence, or to finance wasteful projects like wars
or monument-building), or re-invested to expand future production.
Definition