Friday, June 04, 2021

Recessions Compared

Covid is always going to be Not Like The Other Ones for obvious reasons, but glancing at the graph at CR reminds me that even as economists were telling themselves that they were supergeniuses who solved the business cycle problem, employment recessions kept getting longer. Not precisely that each one was longer than the last, but The Great Recession was really really long! The one before that was really long! etc...

It's amazing, really, how short some previous employment recessions were, ones which presumably seemed like a big deal at the time.

Actual recessions are measured by GDP, not employment, and as long as stonks are going up, well, what's the problem!

Can't believe there are people running around out there who truly believe they did a good job handling the Great Recession.