BUSINESS CYCLES: The recurring expansions and contractions of the national economy (usually measured by real gross domestic product). A complete cycle typically lasts from three to five years, but could last ten years or more. It is divided into four phases -- expansion, peak, contraction, and trough. Unemployment inevitably rises during contractions and inflation tends to worsen during expansions. To avoid the inflation and unemployment problems of business cycles, the federal government frequently undertakes various fiscal and monetary policies.

     See also | real gross domestic product | economy | full-employment production | resources | aggregate expenditures | contraction | recession | expansion | peak | trough | recovery | unemployment | inflation | fiscal policy | monetary policy | business cycle phases | circular flow | business cycle measurement | economic indicators |

BUSINESS CYCLES, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2022. [Accessed: January 26, 2022].

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Policies enacted by the government sector of a domestic economy to discourage imports from, and encourage exports to, the foreign sector. The three most common foreign trade policies are tariffs, import quotas, and export subsidies. Tariffs and import quotas are designed to discourage imports and export subsidies are designed to encourage exports. The general goal of these foreign trade policies is to create or increase a country's balance of trade surplus, that is, to increase net exports.

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