where are we in the business cycle (US)?

Question

mertsj · Answer

I do not know.

anonymous · Answer

Do you have any options to choose from? Because sometimes different textbooks/professors give different names to the different points in the business cycle. 

Anyway, right now we're post-recession (we ARE expanding) but we're operating under full employment as well as below potential GDP. So, if you think about the business cycle as a wave, we're beyond the trough but still below the midway point.

As an aside, the questions kind of tricky because the past five years have been unlike previous downturns since World War 2--it's been taking a long time for the economy to "rebound".

anonymous · Answer

my options are recession, recovery, depression, expanison

anonymous · Answer

Well, we're not technically in a recession right now...

anonymous · Answer

are we ina recovery?

anonymous · Answer

Sure, you could call it that. 

Though it's not quite clear what makes a "recovery" different from "expansion" since they both entail growing economies... But I guess that's beside that point.

anonymous · Answer

Upswing.

anonymous · Answer

Or recovery, as you call it.