Why study business cycles? -- Describing business cycles -- Early business cycle theories -- Keynes' and Keynesian theory -- The monetarist model -- The rational expectations model -- Real business cycle models -- New Keynesian models -- Models of credit and financial instability --...

Presents the empirical data of business cycles and the theories that economists have developed to explain and prevent them, and considers case studies of recessions and depressions in the United States and internationally.

Financial crisis origin -- Banking sector stress tests: United States versus the European Union -- Is the U.S. economy on the mend? -- Global recovery prospects: North America and Europe, Asia, and South America -- Hedge funds and derivatives, credit default swaps, and rating agencies -- U.S....