Busting up the Boom-Bust Cycle
Tyler Goodspeed's book 'Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to Do About It' challenges the traditional concept of the business cycle, arguing that economic contractions are not cyclical but driven by external shocks and government missteps. He contends that recessions are better understood as unique events rather than predictable phases of a repeating pattern. Goodspeed also suggests that narrative biases influence how we interpret economic downturns as necessary corrections.
- ▪Tyler Goodspeed argues that recessions are typically caused by unforeseen external shocks such as wars, pandemics, or natural disasters.
- ▪He claims that government interventions often exacerbate economic contractions rather than mitigate them.
- ▪Goodspeed finds little evidence of consistent business cycle patterns in historical economic data.
- ▪He critiques the reliability of traditional business cycle indicators developed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
- ▪The book suggests that cultural narratives shape the belief that recessions serve a cleansing function in the economy.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Culture Busting up the Boom-Bust Cycle REVIEW: ‘Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to Do About It’ by Tyler Goodspeed Samuel Gregg May 17, 2026 image/svg+xml .st0{fill:none;stroke:#384f61;stroke-width:2;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:10;} .st1{fill:none;stroke:#384f61;stroke-width:2;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:10;} Throughout the 1920s and '30s, many economists were preoccupied by a topic given poignancy by the dramatic economic ups and downs experienced by most Western countries following the carnage of the First World War.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Washington Free Beacon.
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