List of recessions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of notable recessions, financial crises, depressions and downturns. All dates are approximate as the recessions began and ended in different parts of the world at different times. Also note that before detailed economic statistics began to be gathered in the nineteenth century it was very difficult to tell when recessions occurred, but prior to industrialization economic downturns usually were caused by external actions on the economic system like wars and variations of the weather.
- Panic of 1819 (1819 - 1824), the first major financial crisis in the United States.
- Panic of 1837 (1837 - 1843), a sharp downturn in the American economy caused by bank failures and lack of confidence in the paper currency
- Panic of 1857 (1857 - 1860), failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. bursts a European speculative bubble in U.S. railroads and loss of confidence in U.S. banks
- Panic of 1873 (1873 - 1879), economic problems in Europe prompt the failure of Jay Cooke & Company, the largest bank in the U.S., bursting the post-Civil War speculative bubble
- Long Depression (1873 - 1896), begins with the collapse of the Vienna Stock Exchange and spreads throughout the world. Some historians do not believe it is actually one large recession. It is important to note that during this period the global industrial production greatly increased. In the US for example, industrial output increased 4 times.
- Panic of 1893 (1893 - 1896), failure of the U.S. Reading Railroad and withdrawal of European investment leads to a stock market and banking collapse
- Panic of 1907 (1907 - 1908), begins with a run on Knickerbocker Trust Company stock October 22nd 1907 sets events in motion that will lead to a depression in the United States.
- Post-WWI recession - marked by severe hyperinflation in Europe over production in North America. Very sharp, but also brief.
- Great Depression (1929 to late 1930s, stock market crash, banking collapse in the United States sparks a global downturn, including a second but not heavy downturn in the U.S., the Recession of 1937.
- Post-Korean War Recession (1953 - 1954) - The Recession of 1953 was a demand-driven recession due to poor government policies and high interest rates.
- 1973 oil crisis - a quadrupuling of oil prices by OPEC coupled with high government spending due to the Vietnam War leads to stagflation in the United States.
- 1979 energy crisis - 1979 until 1980, the Iranian Revolution sharply increases the price of oil
- Early 1980s recession - 1982 and 1983, caused by tight monetary policy in the U.S. to control inflation and sharp correction to overproduction of the previous decade which had been masked by inflation
- Great Commodities Depression - 1980 to 2000, general recession in commodity prices
- Late 1980s recession - 1988 to 1992, collapse of junk bonds and a sharp stock crash in the United States leads to a recession in much of the West
- Japanese recession - 1991 to present, collapse of a real estate bubble and more fundamental problems halts Japan's once astronomical growth
- Asian financial crisis - 1997, a collapse of the Thai currency inflicts damage on many of the economies of Asia
- Early 2000s recession - 2001 to 2003: the collapse of the Dot Com Bubble, September 11th attacks and accounting scandals contribute to a relatively mild contraction in the North American economy.
