In the United States The economy of the United States is the world's largest nominal economy. Its nominal GDP was estimated at $14.2 trillion in 2009, which is about three times that of the world's second largest national economy, Japan. Its GDP by PPP is almost twice that of the second largest, China. The U.S. economy maintains a very high level of output per person, a recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity over a period of time. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way. Production as measured by Gross Domestic Product , employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes, business profits and inflation is popularly defined as two quarters A fiscal year is a period used for calculating annual ("yearly") financial statements in businesses and other organizations. In many jurisdictions, regulatory laws regarding accounting and taxation require such reports once per twelve months, but do not require that the period reported on constitutes a calendar year (i.e., January of negative gross domestic product The gross domestic product or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living, though its use as a stand-in for measuring the standard of living has (GDP) growth. The beginning and ending dates of U.S. recessions are officially determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research is a US private, nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying the science and empirics of economics, especially the American economy. It is "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community." (NBER).[1] The NBER defines a recession as "...a significant 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".[2]
Many of the recessions listed here affected economies on a worldwide scale. Recessions in one country are often grouped together with recessions in other countries that are related, and they commonly share a focal point as the cause of the recession.[3] Between 1945 and 2007 the NBER has identified 11 recessions, with their average duration being 10 months from peak to trough.[2]
Before detailed economic statistics Economic statistics is a branch of applied statistics focusing on the collection, processing, compilation and dissemination of statistics concerning the economy of a region, a country or a group of countries. Economic statistics is also referred as a subtopic of official statistics, since most of the economic statistics are produced by official began to be gathered in the 19th century, it was difficult to tell when recessions occurred.[4] The NBER does not date recessions before 1857. Major modern economic statistics, such as unemployment and gross domestic product data, were not compiled regularly until after World War II. In spite of this, it is possible to estimate when economic recessions began because they were typically caused by external actions on the economic system An economic system is the system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services of an economy. Alternatively, it is the set of principles and techniques by which problems of economics are addressed, such as the economic problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources. The economic system is composed of such as wars and variations in the weather.[5]
Early recessions and crises
| Name |
Dates[6] |
Duration |
Time since previous recession |
Characteristics |
| Panic of 1797 |
1796–1799 |
3 yrs. |
6 yrs. |
The effects of the deflation of the Bank of England The Bank of England is (despite its name) the central bank of the whole of the United Kingdom and is the model on which most modern, large central banks have been based. It was established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and to this day it still acts as the banker for HM Government. The Bank was privately owned and operated from crossed the Atlantic Ocean to North America and disrupted commercial A market is any one of a variety of different systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby persons trade, and goods and services are exchanged, forming part of the economy. It is an arrangement that allows buyers and sellers to exchange things. Competition is essential in markets, and separates market from trade and real estate Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with improvements to the land, such as buildings, fences, wells and other site improvements that are fixed in location—immovable. Real estate law is the body of regulations and legal codes which pertain to such matters under a particular jurisdiction and include things such as commercial markets in the United States and the Caribbean The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and North America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America. Britain Great Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 61.8 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of's economy was greatly affected by developing deflationary In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the annual inflation rate falls below zero percent , resulting in an increase in the real value of money – allowing one to buy more goods with the same amount of money. This should not be confused with disinflation, a slow-down in the repercussions because it was fighting France in the French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states. Marked by French revolutionary fervour and military innovations, the campaigns saw the French Revolutionary Armies defeat a number of opposing coalitions and expand French control to at the time.[7] |
| 1802–1804 recession |
1802–1804 |
~2 yrs. |
~3 yrs. |
|
| Depression of 1807 |
1807–1810 |
3 yrs. |
3 yrs. |
The Embargo Act of 1807 The Embargo Act of 1807 was a bill that barred trade between the United States of America and other nations. It was created at the request of President Thomas Jefferson in an attempt to prevent American involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. The bill proved unpopular and unenforceable and was repealed in 1808 was passed by the United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C under President Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States (1801–1809) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). Jefferson was one of the most influential Founding Fathers, known for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States. Jefferson envisioned America as the force behind a great ". It devastated shipping-related industries. The Federalists The Federalist Party was an American political party in the period 1792 to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801. The party was formed by Alexander Hamilton, who, during George Washington's first term, built a network of supporters, largely urban fought the embargo and allowed smuggling to take place in New England In one of the earliest European settlements in North America, Pilgrims from England first settled in New England in 1620, to form Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, the Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston, thus forming Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. In the late 18th century, the New England colonies would be among the first North. The depression is sometimes dated as lasting to 1814, throughout much of the War of 1812 The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. It was fought between 1812 and 1815, and started over a multitude of reasons, including trade restrictions, impressment of United States Navy personnel into the Royal Navy, alleged British support of American Indian.[8] |
| 1812 recession |
1812 |
~6 mos. |
~18 mos. |
|
| Panic of 1819 The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, which occurred during the so-called "Era of Good Feelings". The new nation faced a depression in the late 1780s , and another severe economic downturn in the late 1790s following the Panic of 1797. In those earlier crises, however, the primary cause of economic |
1815–1821 |
6 yrs. |
3 yrs. |
The first major financial crisis The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these panics. Other situations that are often called in the United States featured widespread foreclosures Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgagee, or other lien holder, usually a lender, obtains a court ordered termination of a mortgagor's equitable right of redemption.[clarification needed] Usually a lender obtains a security interest from a borrower who mortgages or pledges an asset like a house to secure the loan. If the borrower, bank failures, unemployment Unemployment occurs when a person is able and willing to work but currently without work. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed. The unemployment rate is also used in economic studies and economic indices such as the United, and a slump in agriculture Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as and manufacturing Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to make things for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such finished goods may be used for manufacturing.[9] |
| 1822–1823 recession |
1822–1823 |
~1 yr. |
~1 yr. |
|
| 1825–1826 recession |
1825–1826 |
~1 yr. |
~2 yrs. |
|
| 1828–1829 recession |
1828–1829 |
~1 yr. |
~2 yrs. |
|
| 1833–34 recession |
1833–1834 |
~1 yr. |
~4 yrs. |
The U.S. economy declined moderately in 1833–34. The following expansion was driven by land speculation.[10] |
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