Please consider the chart below capturing the US GDP real growth rate by quarter since 1948. The average rate of growth of real GDP is 3.2% per quarter (annualized), as marked by the orange line. This means that for the US, the LRAS has, on average, seen real growth of roughly 3% per year. This is, roughly, the "slope of the line" fit to a plot of real GDP through time. The graph below, on the other hand, captures the variation of real GDP around this line, highlighting business cycles rather than long-term growth.

1. Ignoring the most recent quarters, what is the most striking feature of the last 40 years compared to the first 40 years?
2. By rough eyeball assessment, how many "episodes" of sustained/significant negative real GDP growth were there between 1947 and 1985? And between 1985 and the end of the depicted period?
3. Are all of the episodes where the economy had below average growth best characterized as recessionary environments?Why or why not?

35 25 15 5 -5 US Real GDP Growth Rate (Comp. Annual % Change) -15 -25 35 4/1/1947 10/1/19 4/1/ 954 10/1 4/1/1961 10/1/1964 4/1/1968 Average Growth Rate = 3.2% //1971 4/1/1 10/1/1978 401/1 10/1/19 4/1/ 10/1/1992 4/1/199% 10/1/1999 4/1/2 1/2006 4/1/2 10/1/2 2017 10/1/2