I saw this neat little letter to the editor in this week’s Economist:

SIR – There is not much mystery to the business cycle. Most cycles are endogenous and easily explained by the inertia of a complex economy. I was reminded of this phenomenon during a recent breakfast visit to a pancake house. I walked into the restaurant very hungry (recession), quickly devoured a stack of five pancakes laden with butter and syrup (boom) and walked out vowing never to eat another meal again (bust). An equilibrium of full employment, stable prices and adequate domestic savings was never experienced.

DENNIS SUCOTE
Houston, Texas

Kind of an interesting analogy, and worth thinking about. Macroeconomics in a stack of pancakes. ;)