Recessions and depressions

This book offers an examination of the empirical data of business cycles, the theories that economists have developed to explain them, and major case studies of recessions and depressions both in the United States and internationally. The worldwide financial crisis of 2008 was an all too real reminder that there is no such thing as a recession proof economy, and that severe economic downturns can have devastating human consequences. It is also a reminder that, despite over two centuries of debate, there is still no universally accepted explanation for what makes business cycles turn the way they do. When it first appeared in 2004, the first edition of this title offered readers an expertly guided tour through fundamental business cycle theories and the latest research on pivotal market failures. In the aftermath of the events of the 2008 economic crisis, the author offers an extensively updated new edition. The second edition offers clear explanations of classical and Keynesian economic theory and how each has moved in and out of favor from the early 20th century to the present. It then provides detailed studies of major business cycle downturns in the United States, from the Great Depression and postwar recessions to the new economy of the 1990s, the 2001 recession, and in an all new chapter, the 2008 global financial crisis. The book also features an exhaustive update of statistical data, plus coverage of recent international crises in Argentina and Japan, and a new chapter on what we do and do not know about business cycles.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.