There is a lot of comment at the moment about the risks of a ‘double-dip’ recession, citing evidence from America in the 1930s. Well, here is the annual growth rate of real GDP in the United States in the 1930s:
1930 -8.9
1931 -7.7
1932 -13.2
1933 -2.11
1934 +7.6
1935 +7.7
1936 +14.2
1937 +4.3
1938 -4.0
1939 +8.0
So: there was a gap of 5 years between the recessions, and betwene these the economy grew by nearly 40 per cent. Not exactly a double-dip!
This is not forming a view on the current situation, just putting forward some simple evidence on what actually happened in the 1930s
