Posted: 1/7/2009 6:44:16 AM EDT
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I thought the general definition of a recession was 2 quarters of negative GDP. I keep hearing that the US has been in recession since Q4 2007. How can that be with 2 quarters of positive GDP in 2008?  |
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Quoted:
I thought the general definition of a recession was 2 quarters ofnegative GDP. I keep hearing that the US has been in recession sinceQ4 2007. How can that be with 2 quarters of positive GDP in 2008? http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdp_large.gif The common understanding of what constitutes a recession is NOT the actual definition. |
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also, does anyone know what some alternate definitions of a recession are? Recessions are "officially" called by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) They define a recession as "[S]ignificant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail sales.” |