Recessions, Business Cycles and Economic Theory

Recessions are periods of reduced economic activity - usually characterized by reductions in well-being (at a measurable level, this is exhibited in numbers such as Gross Domestic Product); most economists believe that recessions happen as a natural part of the business cycle, a theoretical up-and-down that the market follows.

There has been eleven recessions in the United States since 1945. Recessions in the United States are officially determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. As a market hegemon, recessions in the United States often cause recessions in the rest of the world. Recessions are not rare, in fact, there's recessions in every country.

• Symptoms of a Recession
• People spend less money on luxuries.
• Firms produce less stuff.
• Unemployment begins to rise.
• The stock market exhibits signs of contraction.

Business cycles are fluctuations in economic activity in a long-term cycle, generally, related to growth. The field of economics related to business and economic cycles is growth theory; a field dedicated to understanding and analyzing how economic growth relates to technology and other investment forces.

Economic / business cycles are measured, generally, in real Gross Domestic Product - a somewhat inaccurate measure of production within a country, adjusted for inflation.