You mention to a colleague at work that you are taking economics this quarter. A

Question

You mention to a colleague at work that you are taking economics this quarter. After he/she tells you they are really sorry for you misery, they start saying that the economy has never recovered from the Great Recession. You say, no you understand that the economy has recovered and you can prove it. The NBER has been the official organization for determining when a recession begins and when it ends. So you visit the NBER website http://www.nber.org/cycles.html. When did the recession officially end? Your friend will not give up, so you decide to do a little research. What is the current level of GDP? What is the current level of personal consumption? What is the current level of Gross Private Domestic Investment? What is the current level of Net Exports? Use the graphs provided. What about GDP doesn't help us answer the question of why we don't feel good about the economy?

Explanation / Answer

Based on the data on the given website, the recession officially end in September 2010.

Current level of GDP: $18,230 billion

Current level of personal consumption: $12,700 billion

Current level of Gross Private Domestic Investment: $3017.3 billion

Current level of Net Exports: -$529 billion

What about GDP doesn't help us answer the question of why we don't feel good about the economy: The continuous increase in GDP over the years post the Great Depression indicates that the economy is in a good condition, however increase in unemployment over the years portrays a different story.

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