Author Archives: James_Hamilton

Another solid GDP report

The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that seasonally adjusted U.S. real GDP grew at a 3.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter. That growth brings the level of GDP 3.1% above the value a year ago. Those numbers are right at the historical average GDP growth over the last 70 years of 3.1%, and well above the 2% average over the last 20 years. The year 2023 ended up far better than many people expected.
Continue reading

Econbrowser has moved to a new server

This weekend we moved the hosting for Econbrowser to a new server. This should not affect how anyone accesses or experiences the content of the site. The one consequence is that comments that were entered Saturday night or Sunday morning would have been lost. If this is the case for you, please re-enter your comment now. If you experience any other problems, please let us know.

Is this a recession?

The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that seasonally adjusted U.S. real GDP fell at a 0.9% annual rate in the first quarter. That makes two quarters in a row of falling real GDP, which is one rule of thumb for declaring the economy to be in a recession. The current economic weakness could certainly develop into a recession. But the evidence isn’t convincing that a recession is already under way.
Continue reading