Examine the National Bureau of Economic Research's list of official dates for all U.S. business cycle expansions and contractions since 1854.

Questions

1. How many recessions or depressions have occurred during this period?
2. What is the average length of a peacetime contraction?
3. What is the average length of a peacetime expansion?
4. According to this table, when did the most recent recession end? When did it begin?
5. Since World War II, U.S. government policy has been more actively directed at stabilizing the economy. Based on this table, what appears to have happened to the average length of contractions expansions, and business cycles during the period since 1945? Is this consistent with successful or unsuccessful stabilization policy?