On the dynamics of business cycle analysis: Editors' introduction

Abstract

The business cycle is a concept of key interest for all economic actors alike. One can think of consumption and savings decisions of individual consumers, production decisions of private sector firms, and monetary and fiscal policy decisions of central bankers and the government. All can benefit from accurate forecasts of the future development of economic variables, which to a large extent depend on the business cycle. The characterization of the business cycle, and the analysis of its properties, has been the subject of innumerable studies. It is widely recognized that business cycle research started with, or at least was boosted by, the seminal work of Burns and Mitchell (1946) and the preceding work on statistical testing of business cycles by Jan Tinbergen (1939). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.