SOME HISTORY

CREDIT TO thefedreserve on the MW threads for this info This is a list of recessions that have affected the United States. A recession is defined by NBER, and is not necessarily two quarters of negative GDP growth. From 1945-2007 NBER has identified 10 recessions, their average duration was 10 months (Peak to Trough). Most of the recessions listed here have affected economies on a worldwide scale; some of them are the Great Depression, the late 1980s recession, and the early 2000s recession. 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. Note that before detailed economic statistics began to be gathered in the nineteenth century, it was difficult to tell when recessions occurred. 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 such as wars and variations in the weather. Panic of 1797 Panic of 1819 Panic of 1837 Panic of 1857 Panic of 1873 Panic of 1893 Panic of 1907 Recession of 1918 Great Depression 1 Recession of 1937 Recession of 1957 Recession of 1973 Recession of 1980 Recession of 1990 Recession of 2001 Great Depression 11 <<<< (GT sez: Does this refer to 2011?)