Background
The term “endogenous business cycle” pertains to a specific theoretical approach in economics where the regular up-and-down fluctuations of economic activity are driven by internal factors rather than external shocks. This idea contrasts with more classical notions of business cycles that attribute changes to outside disturbances, such as technological innovations or monetary policy.
Historical Context
The concept of endogenous business cycles became prominent with the increasing interest in studying how internal market dynamics and agents’ expectations can generate self-sustaining cycles. This shift reflects a broader move in economic thought towards understanding complex adaptive systems and the role of internal feedback mechanisms.
Definitions and Concepts
An endogenous business cycle refers to economic fluctuations that emerge because of internal dynamics within the economy. These fluctuations are predominantly caused by random shocks to the beliefs of economic agents. When these beliefs turn self-fulfilling, they create cycles of economic expansion and contraction without necessitating an external trigger.
Key elements that may lead to such cycles include:
- Increasing Returns to Scale: When certain sectors of the economy exhibit increasing returns to scale, even small shocks can lead to significant self-amplifying effects.
- Externalities in Choices: Agents’ behaviors and choices affect one another, magnifying the initial shocks and propagating them through the economy.
Major Analytical Frameworks
Classical Economics
Classical models typically do not account for endogenous business cycles, as they emphasize equilibrium where supply equals demand, and assume perfect information among agents.
Neoclassical Economics
Neoclassical theories like the Real Business Cycle (RBC) model consider technology shocks as the primary source of business cycle fluctuations but do address internal feedback mechanisms.
Keynesian Economics
Keynesian models focus on aggregate demand fluctuations, often incorporating expectations and feedback loops that resonate with the idea of endogenous business cycles.
Marxian Economics
Marxist theories explore how inherent instabilities in capitalist modes of production can lead to endogenous cycles of economic boom and bust.
Institutional Economics
Institutional economics looks into how the legal, political, and social institutions drive economic outcomes, including endogenous factors that could result in business cycles.
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics underpins the role of psychology-based elements in economic decisions, adding depth to the study of endogenous cycles driven by shifts in beliefs.
Post-Keynesian Economics
Post-Keynesians underline the non-neutrality of money and the complexities of financial systems, often advocating for models where economic cycles can be self-created through internal market dynamics.
Austrian Economics
Austrian economists highlight how entrepreneurial errors, driven by false prospects and credit cycles, can spur endogenous business cycles.
Development Economics
Development economists may consider how various stages of sectoral growth and interaction foster endogenous cycles, particularly in emerging economies.
Monetarism
Monetarists traditionally focus on the external influences of monetary supply but do recognize internal factors affecting money demand that could play into broader cyclical patterns.
Comparative Analysis
When comparing endogenous business cycles to exogenous ones (where cycles are triggered by external shocks), the former reveals how internal market structures, agent interactions, and return-to-scale metrics can sustain prolonged and recurrent economic fluctuations without new external inputs.
Case Studies
- The dot-com bubble where changing investor beliefs and technological sector gains created a pronounced endogenous business cycle.
- Housing markets where mutual beliefs about housing prices fuel growth and subsequent downturns.
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- “Animal Spirits” by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller
- “The Misbehavior of Markets” by Benoit Mandelbrot
- “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money” by John Maynard Keynes
Related Terms with Definitions
- Exogenous Business Cycle: Economic cycles caused by external shocks or events outside the economic system’s natural order.
- Real Business Cycle: A theory attributing business cycle phases to real (non-monetary) shocks such as technological changes.
- Expectations Theory: The conception that agents’ future expectations determine major economic outcomes, relevant in forming endogenous cycles.
