The Great Recession

The economic meaning of a recession is that the gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined for two or more consecutive quarters. Unemployment rises, housing falls, stocks fall and the economy is in trouble. Whenever the government sees that the economy is entering a recession it is important for it to act. The U.S acted in two ways during the Great recession of 2008 through fiscal and monetary policies. Renaud Fillieule identifies that “ Monetary and credit expansions have been the main tools used by the U.S. government and central bank to try and recover economically from the Great Recession of 2008” (Fillieule r, Pg. 99 2016). These Keynesian policies are debatable among economist, none the less they were implemented and put the U.S on the road to recovery.

An economic recession occurs when the economy is suffering, and unemployment is on a rise. A drop in the stock market and a decrease in the housing market will also affect the economy due to a recession. Higher interest rates affect the economy constrain liquidly or the cash available to invest in stocks and businesses. Inflation alludes to the rise in prices of goods and services which also puts a strain on the economy further adding to a recession. Businesses were lost and consumer spending dwindled the only category that remained safe was healthcare. The economic meaning of a recession is a decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) consisting of two consecutive quarters on a decline. If the economy is bad consumers are less likely to spend money on goods and service. The effects of a declining economy forced the government to create monetary

Usually, a recession is when a slowdown in economic activity happens and can cause a decrease in jobs, as well as constricted credit for loans, and lethargic or disheartened sales overall. To be precise, a recession is defined as a decrease in the nation’s total economic activity (the GNP) for two or more consecutive quarters. We know when a recession occurs because it affects everyone. You might lose your job, be turned down for a loan that you normally could have gotten etc… The government intervenes by implementing the fiscal policy; it is a type of economical intervention where the government inserts its guidelines into the economy to either expand the economy’s growth or to contract it. They do this by fluctuating the levels of spending and taxation, the governments can directly or indirectly affect the total demand, which is the total amount of goods and services in the economy.

The 1930s was one of the most challenging times in US history, where the Great Depression caused millions of Americans to suffer through hardships because of the economy. Many people were out of work and unemployed, and the government at the time, believed that the best option was to stay out of its affairs, leaving the struggling people hung out to dry. It was not until Franklin Roosevelt was elected president, that the state of the country began to change. And that was due to the creation of the New Deal; a plan to alleviate the state of the country, providing help through increased government spending and programs, that led to its eventual recovery after the second World War.

11.6.2 - Understand the causes of the Great Depression and the steps taken to combat the Crisis.

     With America in recovery from the attacks on our freedom and our economy, many wonder if we will return to phase one (expansion) and how long it will take to reach phase two (recession) again. The Keynesian Theorists of America believe that the government should actively pursue Monetary policies (enacted by the Federal Reserve Bank) and Fiscal policies (enacted by Congress) to reach adjustments to price, employment, and growth levels. In our full market economy, we must use these economic policies to control aggregate demand. When these policies are used to stimulate the economy during a recession, it is said that the government is pursuing expansionary economic policies.

Thank you for providing students the opportunity to explore their perspectives. In this reflection paper, I will summarize my comprehension of the Great Depression and Recession, react to readings and lectures and share my views of a remarkable article that I recently read. In today’s fast-paced world, students, similar to many Americans, do not have enough time in a day to notice the intensity of the economy in their ultimate satisfaction, happiness, and overall well-being.

According to the financial definition, a recession is a significant decline in activity spread 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 GDP. (Dictionary.com) A less official and more realistic definition of an economic recession is the social perception of the state of the economy at a given time. The collective beliefs of the public, mainly businesses and consumers, drive the social perception of whether things are seen as positive or negative. Unfortunately

A recession is full-proof sign of declined activity within the economic environment. Many economists generally define the attributes of a recession are two consecutive quarters with declining GDP. Many factors contribute to an economy's fall into a recession, but the major cause argued is inflation. As individuals or even businesses try to cut costs and spending this causes GDP to decline, unemployment rate can rise due to less spending which can be one of the combined factors when an economy falls into a recession. Inflation is the general rise in prices of goods and services over a period of time. Inflation can happen for reasons such as higher energy and production costs and that includes governmental debt.

Great Depression is one of the most important periods in modern US history. It began with the global economic crisis in 1929, which affected most of all the United States. The acute phase of the crisis dragged on for three years from 1929 till the beginning of 1933. From 1930 until 1939 the economy of the country could not overcome the crisis and recover. Therefore, this period was called the Great Depression, because of its duration and serious consequences for society.

During the great recession era that began in late-2007 and lasted until mid-2009, the labor market took a major loss. The reasons that caused the labor market to plummet during this time frame were due to unemployment, a decrease in income and lack of education. Despite the efforts from the government to help as much as possible, the labor market had taken the worst hit and was at its lowest since the last three decades. It is important for everyone to understand what a weak labor market can result in. In this paper, I will discuss these findings and what impact they had on the labor market to weaken it to such a low point.

According to Investopedia, “a recession is a significant decline in activity across the economy, lasting longer than a few months.” Technically a recession is viewed and measured by evaluating and verifying negative growth in a nations’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two successive quarters. A recession can be seen when there is a decline in “industrial production, employment, real income, and wholesale-retail trade (INVESTOPEDIA, 2016)”. Recessions are a typical part of the business cycle however, the Great Recession of 2008 wreaked havoc on the global economy mainly due to unusual and high risk investment tactics. The Great Recession brought negative impacts which saw the burst of a highly booming housing market, the failure of thousands of businesses, unprecedented unemployment rates which reached historical highs of more than 9.5 percent, which all ultimately crushed consumer spending during this recessionary period (WelshGibbs, 2015). During a recession like the one experienced in 2008; governments enact fiscal and monetary policies in an attempt to right the economy and combat the negative impacts a recession has on a nation’s economy.

The great recession of 2008 affected everyone around the world. The great Recession is considered the second worst economic crisis in American history, behind the Great Depression.

“Severe despondency and dejection, typically felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy”. That my friends is the true definition of of what the Great Depression really was. It was a time that most people want to never remember or ever happen again. You would think the United States would have learned from their mistakes but it seems we are going down the same road once again without even taking a step back and realizing it. When people talk about the Great Depression not a single person will have anything good to say about it. It caused families a great deal of pain that they will never forget. With the “prices of farm products falling about 40% by 1921 and remaining low through the 1920s” it

The fiscal policy is the means by which the government of a country adjusts its spending levels and the tax rates that are applied so as to monitor and influence a country’s economy. On the general scale, there are two types of fiscal policies. These are the contractionary and the expansionary fiscal policy. The expansionary policy is used mostly to spur economic growth in the times of low periods in the business years (Langdana, F. K. p.34) The contractionary policy on the other hand seeks to reduce government spending so as to stabilize the economy.