That paraphrase of the famous Chevrolet commercial of 1975, when Chevrolet was king of the mountain, describes perfectly how the ups-and-downs of business activity in the US are interwoven into the lives of all Americans.
At any point in time, citizens are riding one of these business roller coasters, whether they bought a ticket or not. Frequently, on the dips and turns, they enjoy good economic times. This happens in a business expansion, for example; but at other times, in the doldrums of a contraction for instance, they suffer financially.
Business Cycle Breaks Down Into Four Phases
According to the textbook “Economics,” by Parkin and Bade, the business cycle is the periodic but irregular up-and-down movements in economic activity, measured by fluctuations in real GDP and other macroeconomic variables. Furthermore, they point out a business cycle is not a regular, predictable, or repeating phenomenon like the swing of the pendulum of a clock. Its timing is random and, and to a large degree, unpredictable.
