White House economic advisers issued a note on Thursday clarifying the definition of recession prior to the release next week of probably dismal economic data.
Most economists generally look for two consecutive quarters of decline in gross domestic product (GDP) to determine whether an economy has entered a recession. The White House Council of Economic Advisers, however, opposes this definition in a new blog.
“While some maintain that two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP constitute a recession, that is neither the official definition nor the way economists evaluate the state of the business cycle,” the officials wrote.
The second-quarter GDP data will be released on July 28….