4,366 works (including 487 books, 3,476 articles and 400 historical documents), 150 years of economic thought. Each one summarized and searchable.
What does a business-cycle indicator measure when economists disagree about what counts as equilibrium? In this preliminary conference report, Karl Pribram argues that statistical comparability requires more than consistent measurement: it requires clarity about the theories built into economic terms. “Over-indebtedness,” “overproduction,” and “underconsumption” call for different indices according to the assumptions they express. Rather than demand agreement on a single cycle theory, Pribram examines how rival conceptions of balance shape the selection and interpretation of evidence. His scrutiny also reaches the geographical unit of analysis: national statistical boundaries do not necessarily delimit distinct economic cycles. The report offers a concrete way to recognize theoretical commitments in apparently neutral indicators—and to ask whether the units being measured fit the economic relationships under investigation.