Mentor Bouniatian on cycles and equilibrium

Although Mentor Bouniatian's theory of the business cycle is no longer referred to, it used to be often cited for its emphasis on time-lags (wherein he anticipated Aftalion) and for its early use of the acceleration principle. There are, moreover, additional elements of interest: he identified the conditions for a moving equilibrium, with some traits similar to the so-called ‘Harrod-Domar model’, he introduced the exogenous/endogenous distinction in business cycle theory, he was among the pioneers of the idea that growth cannot be dissociated from cycles and crises, and he discussed aspects of the ‘fallacy of composition’ problem.This paper examines these features of Bouniatian's theory of cycles and crises (as well as some frankly unsuccessful ones), both in terms of their relationships with contemporary developments in this area of research and in terms of their internal logic and methodology and their role in Bouniatian's analytical construction. As an upshot it is argued that although Bouniatian attempted to couch his theory in terms of the marginalist toolbox, his views on cycles ranges were more akin to the tradition of heretics, for he thought of crises not as a temporary deviations from equilibrium but perceived instead equilibrium as a temporary state of affairs in a world where overcapitalization is the norm rather than an exception.