Business Cycle

What is Business Cycle?

The pattern of rises and falls in the total level of economic activity in an economy over time, conventionally described in five stages: growth, boom, recession, slump or trough, and recovery. The stages describe the direction and level of activity, not a fixed or predictable timetable, and the same stage affects different businesses differently depending on what they sell, who buys it, and how much spare capacity they hold.

This definition is part of the External Influences on Business Activity chapter in Cambridge O Level Business Studies.

Concepts related to Business Cycle

• gdp
• recession
• capacity utilisation
• consumer confidence