Defining the Recession

Background

Jeffrey Coolidge / Getty Images

The New York Times writes there is no official definition of a recession, and no official body to announce when one starts or ends. Still, recessions are often described as two or more quarters of a declining gross domestic product (GDP).

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a private, non-partisan group based in Cambridge, Mass., does not define a recession based on declining GDP.

“Rather, a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.” – National Bureau of Economic Research

The NBER says the latest recession began December 1, 2007 and ended in June 2009.

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January 24, 2012

State of the Union to Focus on Economy

President Barack Obama will deliver his final State of the Union speech of his first term tonight before Congress and a nationally televised audience. It’s been widely reported the President’s speech will focus on the economy. White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe stopped by NPR Morning Edition for a preview of the president’s speech. “The […]

January 19, 2012

Boise Housing Market Ended 2011 with Fewer Homes, Higher Prices

One indicator of an improving housing market is declining inventory, and Idaho appears to be faring well on that score. According to analysis by Realtor.com, Boise’s number of total listings fell by just over 39 percent from the end of 2010 until the end of 2011. That’s greater than the national decrease of just over […]

January 17, 2012

Governor’s “New Normal” Means No Restored Funding for Health and Welfare Department

One of the most prominent issues last legislative session was a nearly $100 million cut in combined state and federal Medicaid funding. For many observing Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s State of the State and Budget Address last week, reinstated support for Medicaid was a key omission. Restoring funding to health and human services programs that […]

January 16, 2012

Economist Says Idaho Is in a “Low-Skill, Low-Wage Trap”

A new Pew Research Center report on public perception of the growing gap between America’s rich and poor has been widely discussed in the last week. Retired University of Idaho economist Stephen Cooke focuses on a different kind of wage gap. Idaho jobs pay considerably less than the U.S. average — nearly $11,000 less in […]

January 13, 2012

Idaho Foreclosures Fall, but Improvement May Not Be Lasting

Real estate data provider RealtyTrac has released its year-end report, and the news is mixed. The numbers show Idaho’s foreclosure rate dropped to tenth in the nation, an improvement from last year’s eighth place ranking. The total number of housing units with at least one foreclosure filing over the course of 2011 was 11,482, a […]

Boise Subdivisions “Dressed Up to Look Occupied” as Housing Market Faltered

Boise’s housing market gains a bit of unwelcome and retroactive notoriety, thanks to a New York Times article published this week. Using newly released Fed transcripts, the article details Federal Reserve officials’ apparent lack of concern about the housing bubble and its potential effects on the broader economy, even as the housing market showed signs […]

December 23, 2011

Reporter’s Notebook: How to Get Information in a Non-Disclosure State

While reporting our recent story about Idaho farmland prices and investor interest in cropland, I ran across a quirk of Idaho law that posed a bit of a challenge: sales prices aren’t public information. Idaho is one of ten states that are known, in the real estate business, as “non-disclosure states.” For a better understanding […]

December 22, 2011

As Farmland Prices Soar, It’s Not Just Farmers Buying

Across the U.S., the price of good quality cropland is soaring, and it’s not just farmers who are driving demand. In an unsteady economy, investors are looking to farm ground as a safe haven. Prices have been highest in the Midwest Corn Belt. Here in Idaho, demand is centered in the Snake River Plain, where […]

December 15, 2011

Idaho Foreclosure Rate Posts Big Decrease

Idaho saw a more than 40 percent drop in foreclosure filings from October to November, according to numbers from RealtyTrac, released today. The report shows that one in every 770 housing units in Idaho had a foreclosure filing last month, compared to one in every 432 in October. Idaho’s 40 percent drop in foreclosure activity […]

December 9, 2011

Medicaid Cuts May Prove Hard to Reverse

Medicaid service providers and advocates for people who receive Medicaid voice many concerns about the nearly $35 million cut in state spending approved by the Idaho Legislature early this year. Underlying their anxiety about provider layoffs and service reductions for adult Medicaid recipients is the fact that all of the changes approved in the last […]