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Recession
Macro & the Fed
A recession is a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.
In the US, the official start and end dates are set by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), often announced months after the fact. "Two consecutive quarters of falling GDP" is a popular rule of thumb but not the official definition; the NBER looks at employment, income, production and other indicators together.
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