1. 2. How does the Great Recession compare to recent economic downturns for the United States of America? To explore this question in further detail, begin at the National Bureau of Economic Research Web site

(www.nber.org

).

a. Select “Business Cycle Dates” from the “Data” tab at the NBER site and then record the starting dates (peaks) and ending dates

(troughs) for the last four recessions. Assemble these dates in a table.

b. Now gather some macroeconomic data. You can do this at the Federal Reserve Economic

(http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/

).

Database Using the “National Income & Product Accounts” under the “National Accounts”

tab within “Categories,” locate Real Gross Domestic Product data for each peak and each trough in your table. Record these numbers in a new table. Calculate the percentage change in Real GDP from peak to trough for each of the last four recessions. Report these results in your new table.

c. Return to the categories page at the FRED Web site. Select the

“Current Population Survey (Household Survey)” link under the

“Population, Employment, & Labor Markets” category. Select the “unemployment rate” series and record the numbers for each peak and each trough for each of the last four recessions.

Organize this data in a table.

d. Review your tables and calculations. Write a concise summary comparing the Great Recession to the previous three recessions.

Make sure that you incorporate specific numbers into your summary.