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Business Cycle Economics: Understanding Recessions and Depressions from Boom to Bust

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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.

Despite more than two centuries of debate, a definitive explanation of the causes of economic cycles still does not exist. Economists, politicians, and policymakers have argued many well-known theories as to why these peaks and slumps occur, and cyclical recessions and depressions continue in spite of the enormous intellectual reserves working to prevent them. This timely analysis presents a comprehensive overview of global economics, assessing older theories alongside of new ways of thinking to reveal the empirical methods needed to evaluate, forecast, and prevent future crises.

Educator and economist Todd Knoop provides explanations of influential macroeconomic theories that have shaped modern economics, such as Keynesian economics, Neoclassical economics, Austrian economics, and New Keynesian economics. In addition, he considers case studies of specific recessions and depressions, beginning with the Great Depression through the East Asian crisis and Great Recession in Japan and culminating with a detailed examination of the European debt crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis. The work concludes with a look at the insights gained from these fiscal events as well as the major questions that still remain unanswered as a result of these crises.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2015

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Todd A Knoop

8 books

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7 reviews16 followers
October 16, 2025
Essential reading. It covers the earliest historical theories about economic cycles. Then, it arranges the more recent theories in a way that helps you use each as a complement or continuation of the previous one. A solid understanding of microeconomics, monetary economics, and international economics is necessary to get the most out of it. On the other hand, it does not require any knowledge of calculus, statistics, or econometrics.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews