The British trade cycle of 1929–37

Abstract

There exists no one measure that indicates adequately the course of a business cycle. There are many possible indices of activity, while any attempt to measure changes in general economic well-being is confronted with many difficulties. The various indices of activity and prosperity do not always move in the same way or in the same degree, and in order to obtain a general picture it is necessary to examine the changes that have taken place from various points of view.

Introductory chapter in ‘Britain in Recovery’, published by the British Association in 1938. There are several quotations from later chapters, but page references to these chapters have been deleted to avoid confusion with pages in this volume.