The Business Cycle
Completion requirements
Read this article for a concise definition with examples of the four phases of an economic business cycle: expansion, peak, contraction, and trough.
Key Takeaways
- Business cycles are identified as having four distinct phases: peak, trough, contraction, and expansion.
- Business cycle fluctuations occur around a long-term growth trend and are usually measured by considering the growth rate of real gross domestic product.
- In the United States, it is generally accepted that the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the final arbiter of the dates of the peaks and troughs of the business cycle.