The Economist's Perspective
The Square's resiliency is somewhat surprising, says economics professor N. Gregory Mankiw.
While he says he would not term the current economic slowdown a "recession," he explains how today's economy could subtly change buying practices.
"People are just less optimistic," Mankiw says.
The current public reaction is very much a response to the unusual stability of the economy for the past two decades, Mankiw says. To have experienced only one mild recession in the past 20 years renders every relatively small fluctuation in the economy more worrisome.
"People are so surprised because it's been relatively stable for an unprecedented period of time," Mankiw says.
He cites the example of someone looking at the funds they have saved for
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