What are the main causes of a recession?
A recession is a broad, sustained decline in economic activity—typically marked by falling GDP, rising unemployment, weaker consumer spending, and declining business investment. A common rule of thumb is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Economists study recessions across fields like macroeconomics, and while no two recessions are identical, most are driven by a combination of recurring underlying forces. Here are the main causes: Tight monetary policy (rising interest rates) One of the most common triggers is aggressive rate …