Until recently, a recession has meant two quarters of negative growth.
The term is used to describe economic conditions in various countries.
The NBER is not part of the designation.
Indeed, it would be impossible for an economist to observe that Egypt, for instance, was in a recession as the NBER issues no opinions on the Egyptian economy.
No, conditioning the definition of a recession on the NBER was a silly political stunt by the current admin. Don’t go along with these redefinitions… it’s silly and illogical.
