Economic History & Events
All 8 Economic History & Events terms in the AP Economics glossary — each with a clear, exam-accurate definition. Tap any term for the full explanation, formula, and related interactive graph.
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic downturn in the 1930s, with mass unemployment and collapsing output and prices.
The Great Recession was the deep global downturn of 2007–2009 triggered by a housing and financial crisis.
The gold standard was a monetary system in which a currency's value was fixed to and convertible into a specific amount of gold.
Bretton Woods was the post-WWII system of fixed exchange rates pegged to the U.S. dollar, which was convertible to gold.
Hyperinflation is extremely rapid, out-of-control inflation, often exceeding 50% per month.
The New Deal was a set of U.S. government programs in the 1930s aimed at relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.
An economic bubble is when an asset's price rises far above its fundamental value, driven by speculation, before crashing.
A soft landing is when a central bank slows the economy enough to curb inflation without causing a recession.