How many consecutive quarters of declining national output traditionally define a recession _________?
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Answer: B. six months
Explanation
A recession is traditionally defined by economists as a decline in real GDP lasting for two consecutive quarters, or six months. Two successive quarters of negative economic growth signal a significant contraction in national output and business activity. Measuring output over a six-month period filters out quarterly statistical noise to identify genuine macroeconomic downturns. Gross Domestic Product measures the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country. Business cycles consist of alternating periods of economic expansion, peak, contraction, and trough. Independent bodies like the National Bureau of Economic Research use multiple monthly indicators alongside GDP to date recessions.
Three years describes a severe depression or long-term structural stagnation rather than the standard definition of a recession. A year exceeds the traditional two-quarter threshold commonly used by economists to identify the onset of a recession. Two years represents a prolonged economic slump rather than the standard six-month technical definition of a recession.
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