Business cycle, periodic fluctuations in the general rate of economic activity, as measured by the levels of employment, prices, and production. Figure 1, for example, shows changes in wholesale prices in four Western industrialized countries over the period from 1790 to 1940. As can be seen, the movements are not, strictly speaking, cyclic, and although some regularities are apparent, they are not exactly wavelike. For these reasons, some economists prefer the term business fluctuation over business cycle.
There are many types of economic fluctuation. Because of the complexity of economic phenomena, it may be that there are as many types of fluctuation ... (100 of 4,208 words)