Growth, the Long ViewOver the long run, growth in real GDP per capita has dwarfed the ups and downs of the business cycle. Except for the recession that began the Great Depression, recessions are almost invisible.
Sources: Angus Maddison, “Statistics on World Population, GDP and Per Capita GDP,
1–2006 AD,”
http://www.ggdc.net/maddison; Jutta Bolt and Jan Luiten van Zanden, “The First Update of the Maddison Project; R
e-estimating Growth Before 1820;” Bureau of Economic Analysis.