[20220113]IF10411_美国经济简介：商业周期和增长.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated January 13, 2022Introduction to U.S. Economy: The Business Cycle and GrowthOn July 19, 2021, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), an independent, nonprofit research group, announced that economic activity in the United States reached a post-COVID-19 pandemic onset low in April 2020 and subsequently exited a two-month recession. Economic activity did not recover to its pre-pandemic level until mid-2021. This In Focus discusses the business cycle, how recessions are determined, and potential causes and effects of these fluctuations in the economy. What Is the Business Cycle? Over time, economic activity tends to fluctuate between periods of increasing economic activity, known as economic expansions, and periods of decreasing economic activity, known as recessions. Real gross domestic product (GDP)total economic output adjusted for inflationis the broadest measure of economic activity. The economys movement through these alternating periods of growth and contraction is known as the business cycle. The business cycle has four phases: expansion, peak, contraction, and trough, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Stylized Depiction of the Bu