Teaching Recessions in Macroecconomics with a Severity Index

Authors

Abstract

With concepts and data familiar to macroeconomics students, at both the principles and intermediate levels, this paper constructs a recession severity index and calculates this index for the twelve recessions experienced in the United States since the end of World War II. We reach two primary conclusions. First, and perhaps as anticipated, we find that the Great Recession was the most severe contraction since the Second World War. Second, we conclude that the least severe recession since World War II was that which occurred in 2001.

Recommended Citation

(2024) "Teaching Recessions in Macroecconomics with a Severity Index," Journal of Economics and Finance Education: Vol. 23: Iss. 2, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarship.rollins.edu/jefe/vol23/iss2/9