Which economic term describes an excess of government spending over revenues?

The term that describes an excess of government spending over revenues is budget deficit. This occurs when a government spends more money than it collects in revenue, typically through taxes and other income sources. A budget deficit can be an indicator of financial health for a government, as it may signal that the government is investing in growth or addressing short-term economic challenges. However, persistent budget deficits can lead to increasing public debt, which is the total amount of money that a government owes to its creditors.

Understanding this concept is crucial in macroeconomics, as it influences other areas like fiscal policy – the government's approach to taxation and spending – and has ramifications for overall economic performance. While public debt refers to the accumulation of these deficits over time, it does not directly describe the condition of having more expenditure than income in a specific fiscal period. A trade surplus, on the other hand, deals with the balance between exports and imports, which is unrelated to government spending and revenues.