The Finances Of American Households In The Past Three Recessions: Evidence From The Survey Of Consumer Finances

The downturn in economic activity in the U.S. that began in December 2007 (as determined by researchers with the National Bureau of Economic Research) has been noticeably deeper and has already lasted considerably longer than the prior two recessions - those beginning in July 1990 and in March 2001. In addition, a key difference between the current and the past two recessions is the extent to which consumer spending and residential investment have dropped since late 2007 - that is, the extent to which the household sector appears to have "Led" the drop in aggregate economic activity in this recession.