A recession is defined as whatever NBER says it is. 2 quarters is a useful shorthand that frequently is wrong. The 2020 recession lasted all of three months; n

A recession is defined as whatever NBER says it is. 2 quarters is a useful shorthand that frequently is wrong. The 2020 recession lasted all of three months; not anywhere near two quarters. The 2001 recession did not have two consecutive quarters of GDP decline. They explain why they do not use the two quarter method here: https://www.nber.org/research/business-cycle-dating/business-cycle-dating-procedure-frequently-asked-questions https://www.nber.org/research/business-cycle-dating/business...