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ZERO SLOPE: A horizontal line in which the numerical value of the slope, calculated as the change in the variable on the vertical axis divided by a change in the variable on the horizontal axis, is zero. In other words, the Y-axis variable is fixed, or constant, for any and all values of the X-axis variable.
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                           RECOGNITION LAG: The time lag that it takes to identify and document the existence of an economic problem that might require government action. The recognition lag arises because it takes time to collect and analyze economic data; to verify that an actual problem exists. This "inside lag" is one of four policy lags associated with monetary and fiscal policy. The other two "inside lags" are decision lag and implementation lag, and one "outside lag" is implementation lag. All four policy lags can reduce the effectiveness of business-cycle stabilization policies and can even destabilize the economy. The recognition lag occurs because information documenting the state of the economy is not instantaneously available. The collection of this information takes time. The processing of this information takes time. The analysis of this information takes time. All of this is needed to document the existence of a problem and whether or not the problem warrants government policy action. The recognition lag is the first of the three inside policy lags. It arises before the corrective policy is identified (decision lag), the policy is launched (implementation lag), and the consequences of the policy are achieved (impact lag).The key to the recognition lag is simply the time needed to measure economic activity. The acquisition of information is a scarce good that requires productive resources with alternative uses. Surveys are conducted. Data are compiled. Spreadsheets are tabulated. Statistics are calculated. Reports are written. The time required to complete these assorted tasks gives rise to the recognition lag. The appropriate stabilization policies cannot be enacted to solve a problem without identifying the problem itself. This recognition lag is likely to take at least one month are often longer. More on Data CollectionThe key measures of macroeconomic performance are the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, and gross domestic product. Other lesser know measures on combined into what are termed the leading, coincident, and lagging economic indicators. Most of these measures are available on a monthly basis. Some are available on a quarterly (three-month) basis. Few are available until weeks or months after the period measured.Unemployment and inflation data are usually available only a month or so after the fact. That is, the unemployment rate for January is usually available in February. Production and income data are reported quarterly and have an even longer lag. Gross production data for January, February, and March is seldom available until May. Collecting data is only part of the recognition lag. The data must be analyzed and evaluated to ensure that they actually reflect the onset of a problem, such as a business-cycle contraction. This often requires several months of data to document a trend. All of this collecting, measuring, analyzing, and evaluating generates the recognition lag. Monetary versus FiscalThe recognition lag is documenting an economic problem and is largely independent of the subsequent corrective policy undertake. That is, identifying the onset of a business-cycle contraction has no connection to whether monetary policy or fiscal policy is eventually used to correct the problem. As, the recognition lag is invariably the same for both monetary policy and fiscal policy.Other LagsThe recognition lag is one of four policy lags. The other three are decision lag, implementation lag, and impact lag. The first two are termed inside lags and the last is an outside lag.- Decision Lag: This is the time it takes government policy makers (Congress, the President, the Federal Reserve System) to decide on a suitable course of action and to pass whatever legislation, laws, or administrative rules are necessary. This lag could be as short as a few days, but typically lasts weeks or months.
- Implementation Lag: This is the time it takes for the government sector to take the steps needed to activated or implement the chosen policy. This lag is also likely to take weeks if not months.
- Impact Lag: This is the time it takes for full effect of a government policy to work its way through the economy and cause the desired changes in production and income. This lag works through the multiplier process and is likely to take a couple of years.
Recommended Citation:RECOGNITION LAG, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 24, 2024].
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a going out of business sale looking to buy either a T-shirt commemorating the 2000 Olympics or a genuine fake plastic Tiffany lamp. Be on the lookout for mail order catalogs with hidden messages.
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The first "Black Friday" on record, a friday marked by a major financial catastrophe, occurred on September 24, 1869 -- A FRIDAY -- when an attempted cornering of the gold market induced a financial crises and economy-wide depression.
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"The greatest things ever done on Earth have been done little by little. " -- William Jennings Bryan
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