Boston College Business Recession Questions

Answer the following four questions.

1. How many recessions have there been in the US economy since 1959? When did the most
   recent US recession begin (peak) and end (trough) ( this is not a trick question. this question refers to the most recent complete recession)?
2. When was the longest post World War 2 business cycle expansion in the US? (trough to peak, give the trough and peak dates, again this refers to the complete expansion)
3. When was the deepest post World War 2 recession in the US? (peak to trough, give the peak and trough dates)
4. Why do we need seasonally adjusted data to analyze business cycles? Provide examples.

Submit a summary of your answers to the questions as a text entry or as a Word or PDF file. Provide sources and references where needed.