Economists still lack a proper understanding of business cycles
The second in our series on the shortcomings of the economics profession
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20180421_FND000_0.jpg)
THE aftermath of the 2007-08 financial crisis ought to have been a moment of triumph for economics. Lessons learned from the 1930s prevented the collapse of global finance and trade, and resulted in a downturn far shorter and less severe than the Depression. But even as the policy remedies were helpful, the crisis exposed the economic profession’s continued ignorance of the business cycle. That is bad news not just for the discipline, but for everyone.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Diminished expectations”
Finance & economics April 21st 2018
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