How to describe a business cycle in plain English
If you're trying to describe a business cycle to someone who isn't an economist, it helps to think of it as the natural breathing pattern of the entire economy. It's essentially the up-and-down movement of gross domestic product (GDP) over time, but that's a pretty dry way to put it. In reality, it's the collective result of millions of people making decisions about whether to buy a new car, start a business, or save their money for a rainy day. It's never a straight line up, even though we'd all love it to be. Instead, it's a series of waves—sometimes gentle, sometimes like a stormy sea—that dictate how easy it is to find a job or get a loan. ...