• Business cycles consist of consistent cyclical ups and downs in broad measures of economic activity—output, employment, income, and sales.

  • The alternation of business cycle phases is expansion and contraction (also called recession).
  • Recessions often begin at the peak of the business cycle - when the upswing ends - and end at the bottom of the business cycle when the next upswing begins.
  • The severity of a recession is measured by three factors: depth, spread and duration, while the strength of expansion is measured by its severity, pervasiveness and sustainability.