Long Waves
For details, see Long Cycle Theory
Context
Joshua Goldstein:
"What is the basic idea of a long wave? There is no single answer to this different scholars have adopted different definitions but most would agree on a definition based on alternating phases of rapid expansion and stagnation in the world economy, taking about fifty years per cycle.2These phases have been synchronous across the major core countries and across different economic variables. The scope of long waves is a subject of divided opinion. They are variously claimed to exist in at least price series and at most a wide range of economic and social variables and to extend over at least the period from about 1790 to 19254and at most the longer period from around 1500 (or even earlier) to the present."