Kevin Hassett
(Bloomberg) -- Sept. 11, 2006 -- The painful human costs of the 9/11 attacks are on our minds today as we mark the fifth anniversary of that terrible day. There were economic costs as well. What would the world economy look like if Sept. 11 never happened?
The attacks changed it in two distinct ways.First, there was significant and immediate damage back in 2001. The closing of America's borders, the halt of international travel, and the CNN-effect on consumer spending sent growth into a nosedive that September. That gloomy month contributed to one of the worst third quarters in years, with U.S. gross domestic product declining 1.4 percent.
In retrospect, it seems clear that the United States wouldn't have had an official recession that year since there might have only been one quarter of negative GDP growth in 2001, the first.
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