The NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee keeps records of the U.S. business cycle. The records include alternating dates of peaks and lows in the economy. The committee keeps track of the business activity in the economy by keeping records of employment, production, income and sales. The committee considers a recession; a significant decline in economic activity spreads across the economy and can last from a few months to more than a year (NBER).
Investopeda.com referrers to a recession as “a significant decline in activity across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income and wholesale-retail trade. The technical indicator of a recession …show more content…
The Great Depression began after he stock market crashed in 1929. The stock market bubble popped when 12.9 million shares were traded. The United States was already experiencing a recession after the bubble popped the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 12% starting The Great Depression.
Recession Vs. Depression
The characteristics of a recession include a decrease in the overall economic activity include; employment, investments and profits. Recessions occur when demand starts to decrease and possibly relating to deflation (falling prices) or inflation (rising prices), or a combination of increasing prices and stagnant economic growth.
A general way to determine a recession is two quarters of negative GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth. The general way to determine a depression is a 10% decrease in GDP. Depressions are an infrequent but severe form of a recession. A depression is defined by some key characteristics; unanticipated increase in unemployment, decrease in available credit, decreasing output, decreased investment, price deflation or hyperinflation and increased bankruptcies. In a depression the ability to purchase goods is much lower than compared the amount of goods that could be produced given potential output.
Effects of a …show more content…
The effects of a recession can lead to higher unemployment rates due to layoffs in the sector that is being effected by the recession. In most cases inflation usually lowers during a recession. This may not always be the case if the inflation rate rises this is known as stagflation. The profits of business start to decline during a recession therefore share prices start to fall. Decreasing investments are not always a sign of a recession but are almost always part of the beginning of a