Swimming into 2003

Originally Published MX January/February 2003

EDITOR'S PAGE

During 2002, the great debate among economists was whether the U.S. economic recovery might falter, slipping into a so-called double-dip recession. 

Led by analysts such as Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Co. (New York City), the double-dippers cited weak economic conditions--growing unemployment coupled with low rates of manufacturing growth, consumer spending, and corporate profits--as key factors making the economy vulnerable to such a second hit. During the final quarter of 2002, however, most economists brushed such predictions aside, instead projecting that the world's economies will experience a sluggish but steady recovery during 2003.