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 is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a country 's gross domestic product (GDP); although the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) does not necessarily need to see this occur to call a recession”. Recession (Contraction) represented by graph. Depression definition There is no official definition of a depression. According to inestopeda.com some of the common characteristics of an economic depression include high unemployment rates, a decrease in available credit, a decrease in output, and an increase in bankruptcies. A depression is considered an extreme long lasting fall in economic activity. The best example of a depression is known as a The Great Depression. …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 Recession The following can summarize the effects of recession: • Lower Inflation: Usually in the case of a recession demand and wage inflation decreases. This will typically lead to a decline in the inflation rate. This is not always the case, if there is a recession with rising inflation this is known as stagflation. A recession will definitely decrease the demand in the market. • Increasing Unemployment: This is the main problem in a recession. If there is a decrease in output, there is going to be a fall in demand for labor. Often unemployment is a delayed factor. It takes time for unemployment to rise and vice versa. • Decreasing Investment: Investments decrease much more quickly than economic growth. Investments can even fall when the economic growth slows for a period of time. • Decreasing Share Prices: A recession typically leads to a decrease in profitability and smaller dividends. A decrease in the profitability of shares does not look a good investment. Share prices are likely to fall in the anticipation of a recession. At some point during the recession share prices are likely to see an increase as an increase in the anticipation of a recovering economy. Falling share prices are not always an indication of a recession there are many factors that can lead to a decrease in share prices. • Rising Government Borrowing: A recession is not good for the government’s budget. Lower tax revenue, from both …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