What Is a Recession

A recession is a period of broad decline in economic activity, typically defined as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the market, lasting more than a few months, and visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. The United States and the European Union have adopted similar definitions of a recession. Recessions can have significant impacts on individuals, businesses, and governments, and are often studied by economists, including John Maynard Keynes, who developed the Keynesian economics theory.