In a nutshell, growth rests on two building blocks: population and productivity. 1. Population determines how many workers a country will have. 2. Productivity, or output per worker, determines how much each worker earns.

productivity far less than his first. This is the law of diminishing returns.

The share of the working-age population either working or looking for work is called the labor force participation rate.

How do you know a recession has occurred? Easy: a press release goes out.

four engines are consumers, businesses, government, and exports.

fertility drops much below 2.1 babies per woman, the population will shrink unless offset by immigration.

The unemployment rate is the single best signpost of the economy’s health. When the economy reaches full strength, the unemployment reaches its so-called natural rate.

according to the Economist, is that a depression is a contraction in economic activity of at least 10 percent or lasting at least three years.

Harry Truman said “a recession [is] when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.”