1. The method used by a government to finance its budget deficit, that is, to cover the difference between its tax receipts and its expenditures. The main choices are to issue bonds or to print money. 2. The assumption that a change in government spending or taxes will be financed by a change in the government budget deficit, rather than by an accommodating additional change in spending or taxes to keep the budget balanced. Example: a "deficit-financed increase in government purchases."