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.

pt. 1. Understanding cycles and growth -- pt. 2. Uncertainty and information in business cycle models -- pt. 3. Formal models of the business cycle -- pt. 4. Empirical and institutional factors in cycles and growth.

This thought-provoking monograph analyzes long- medium- and short-term global cycles of prosperity, recession, and depression, plotting them against centuries of important world events. Major research on economic and political cycles is integrated to clarify evolving relationships between the...