Over 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 until 2007.

Sources: Angus Maddison, Statistics on World Population, GDP, and Per Capita GDP, 1–2008AD, http://www.ggdc.net/MADDISON/oriindex.htm; Bureau of Economic Analysis.