Fases del Crecimiento Económico de los Países de la Unión Europea – 15

The main purpose of this work is to analyse the period 1994-2003 within the descendent wave of the long run cyclical movement of the European economies. Given that economic dynamics follows an irregular path, time intervals cannot be based on discretional criteria but they ought to be adjusted following a well-defined methodology. Therefore, first of all this work explains the methodological parameters which have been used to establish the different benchmark periods within 1950 and 2003, stressing the distinctive features of both main waves of this long run cycle. Afterwards, the article classifies the different phases of expansion and recession that have alternately happened since 1974, focusing on the analysis on the most recent period, 1994-2003, as a cyclical phase consisting of both an upturn and a downturn. Finally, the author examines the results of testing four different variables of companies’ profits as a good indicator of the cyclical path of the dynamics of the economy.