A Goldilocks economy is not too hot or too cold but just right—to steal a line from the popular children's story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The term describes an ideal state for an economic system. In this perfect state, there is full employment, economic stability, and stable growth. The economy is not expanding or contracting by a large margin. A Goldilocks economy is thus warm enough with steady economic growth to prevent a recession; however, growth is not so hot as to push it into an inflationary status.