SCHUMPETER, Joseph Alois.

£500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Business Cycles. First edition, third printing (following the first of the same year), of one of Schumpeter's most significant contributions to economic theory, among the seminal texts of business cycle literature. As with his earlier works, Schumpeter placed the entrepreneur at the centre of events, which was perhaps why it "met with a less-than-enthusiastic reception. The monumental nature of this study, which included extensive theoretical, historical, and statistical work, placed it beyond the full comprehension of most economists. Its length, combined with the rising tide of Keynesian economics, put it beyond the interests of the profession as well. Colleagues, however, could readily comprehend and respect the amount of effort and scholarly seriousness that went into the project" (ANB).Schumpeter rejected the Keynesian view that business cycles were the result of fluctuations in aggregate demand. Instead, "waves of innovation" coming from entrepreneurs cause fluctuations, increasing economic activity, which peaks and then declines as the economy is saturated. In the resultant recession phase, the economy adjusts to the innovations. New innovations then restart the process. These cycles are a beneficial and necessary part of the economic process, Schumpeter held, in contrast to the Keynesian aim of engineering stable economic growth. So too, Schumpeter continues his glorification both of the entrepreneur as the key agent of change, and of capitalism as a positive process

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