Unlike the previous economic recession (the long depression), today almost everyone is predicting a recession in a few months.
– "So what caused the recession if it wasn’t the financial crisis?"
– "(Laughs) That’s where economics has always broken down. We don’t know what causes recessions. Now, I’m not a macroeconomist so I don’t feel bad about that. (Laughs again.) We’ve never known. Debates go on to this day about what caused the Great Depression. Economics is not very good at explaining swings in economic activity."
—Eugene Fama