Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 18, no. 3 (Fall 2015)
ABSTRACT: The aim of the article is to refine the Austrian business cycle theory by discussing the effect of changes in banks’ asset structure on the business cycle. I disaggregate the process of credit expansion in the spirit of Cantillon’s dynamic analysis of how the new money enters the economy, pointing out that banks can conduct the credit expansion not only by granting loans, but also by purchasing investment securities. I examine distinct results of those two methods and differences resulting from the type of purchased security or granted loans (the so-called secondary effects of business cycle). Based on my analysis, I propose a preliminary classification of business cycles.
