ABSTRACT
The assessment of what brought on the eleven recessions since the end of World War II has three parts: precipitating elements of each recession, themes and agents of the precipitating elements, and policy recommendations to avoid/ameliorate future recessions. This chapter summarizes the events leading up to each recession. Several themes emerge from the actions of the economic policy makers—the Federal Reserve, the president, and Congress—and the events in the marketplace. The recommendations are designed to reduce the frequency and severity of recessions. The chapter provides a discussion on recommended actions for the five federal banking supervisory agencies—Federal Reserve, Controller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Thrift Supervision, and National Credit Union Administration. The economic policy recommendations for the Federal Reserve, the president, Congress, and federal banking supervisory agencies to adopt are designed to significantly lessen the deleterious effects of future recessions.
