Was A Depression Successfully Avoided?

One of the central tenets arising from the Financial Crisis and the various interventions taken during the period was that by enacting the various interventions, an economic depression was avoided. Now, over five years after the Financial Crisis, many global stock markets have been booming, economic growth has been evident in many measures, and the …

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Economic Expansion, Recession Or Depression?

On April 29, 2011, I wrote a post titled “Recovery, Recession, Or Depression?” in which I highlighted the issue of whether the U.S. economy was then in an economic recovery, economic recession, or economic depression. Now, almost three years since that post, and nearly five years since the end of June 2009 NBER Business Cycle …

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The Next Crash And Its Significance

In the October 17 post (“Danger Signs In The Stock Market, Financial System And Economy“) I wrote the following: Of further concern is whether, and when, the above-mentioned problems might reach a point at which another (financial system) crash occurs.  I am particularly concerned about the prospects of the next crash for a number of …

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Defining An Economic Depression

What is the official definition of an (economic) depression? Although the term is often heard, the term seems to lack a well-structured definition. There is a section discussing depressions on The NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Procedure:  Frequently Asked Questions page.  As seen in the discussion, it says: The term depression is often used to refer …

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The Plight Of The Wealthy During Depressions

As seen in the September 15 post (“September 13 Gallup Poll On Upper-Income Americans’ Economic Confidence“) lately there appears to be a significant lessening of economic confidence among “upper-income” Americans; and, as seen in the poll, “This is the first month since the financial crisis of late 2008 and early 2009 that upper-income Americans are …

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Recovery, Recession, Or Depression?

One of the more interesting facets of our current economic situation is that a case can be made that the economy is in a recovery (or expansion), recession, or depression. This observation is supported by a number of factors, including that of a Gallup poll released yesterday.  The poll is titled “More Than Half Still Say …

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A Look Back – Bernanke’s “Lessons from History” Speech

One year ago, Ben Bernanke presented a speech titled “Economic Policy: Lessons from History.” I view this speech as highly noteworthy – epochal, even – especially in relation to the efforts made to “bring the economy back” from the depths of the Financial Crisis. Here are some excerpts that I find particularly relevant: “I draw …

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Is This A Depression?

Although almost everyone believes we are in an economic recovery, it behooves us to at least consider whether instead we are in a continuing Depression, as I have previously written.  Beginning on June 22, 2009, I wrote a series of four blog posts that examined various aspects of our economic situation and whether we were …

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