Little is known about how people adjust to constantly shifting economic conditions. Between 2000 and 2010, there were several actions that had an impact on economic growth, either positively or badly (Algan & Cahuc, 2010). For example, there was a big drop in the US stock market as well as a severe economic recession. During the depression, household net worth fell by more than $ 10 trillion. Similarly, despite being below recession levels, household wealth climbed in tandem with stock market advances (Algan & Cahuc, 2010). The paper intends to assess the period between 2000 and 2010 by highlighting what is interesting about this time regarding the economy as well as the major economic events that took place during this stage.
Interesting Facts about the Period
Despite the weak economy, the number of immigrants who have arrived in various countries and especially the United States during this time was very high (Hall, 2010). There was no net increase in jobs, and there was an overall decline of one million jobs during the entire decade even though there was a steady growth in population. The level of immigration remained relatively high throughout the last ten years but later saw a smaller number of new arrivals towards the end of the decade, and this reflects on the deterioration of the United States economy in 2008 due to the economic recession (Hall, 2010). The 2008-2009 recession nearly turned to a depression as unemployment rose steadily. However, the only good thing about the recession of 2008 and 2009 was that it cured economic inflation because the Federal Reserve was able to balance between slowing the economy without fuelling recession (Jaeger et al, 2010).
Economic Events that took Place
Investors and entrepreneurs saw a potential in online business, and everyone was talking about a new economy that was driven by the internet. In much of the 2000s, firms dealing with computer and software such as Cisco Systems traded at more than 150 times earnings in March 2000. However, there were huge investment losses in the technological arena due to inflation report of April 2000 (Jaeger et al, 2010).
September 11 terrorist attacks are also among the events that shaped economic events during this particular decade. After the terrible attack, the economic climate of the United States and the world was never to be the same again (Jaeger et al, 2010). The New York Stock Exchange was shut down and despite the human loss; the economic loss was beyond measure. There were over $ 60 billion losses in insurance alone and closed to 18,000 small businesses were either destroyed or paralyzed after the attack.
There was also a crash in the stock market which was fuelled with corporate fraud scandals such as Enron along with the September 11 attack (Jaeger et al, 2010).
Conclusion
The period between 2000 and 2010 had numerous economic events that will shape the economic status of the United States and the world for many years to come. It is clear that there were only a handful of economic events to have confidence in during this period since most of them had devastating effects. It is, therefore, the obligation of all relevant authorities across the globe to trade carefully to avoid the economic mistakes that were committed during this period for prosperous future.
References
Algan, Y., & Cahuc, P. (2010). Inherited trust and growth. The American Economic Review, 100(5), 2060-2092.
Hall, C. M. (2010). Crisis events in tourism: subjects of crisis in tourism. Current issues in Tourism, 13(5), 401-417.
Jaeger, D. A., Dohmen, T., Falk, A., Huffman, D., Sunde, U., & Bonin, H. (2010). Direct evidence on risk attitudes and migration. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(3), 684-689.
