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Extracted Text (OCR)
Exhibit 3: Growth in US Real GDP Across Post-
WWII Expansions
In this recovery, GDP has grown at half the average pace of
prior expansions.
Cumulative Growth (%)
6005 -«=<=<=<- 021954 -———-03 1980
Q2 1958 04 1982
50 | 011961 ----- Q1 1991
04 1970 042001
Q1 1975 Q2 2009 ~
30 5
20 +
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40
Quarters After Trough
Data as of 03 2016.
Source: Investment Strategy Group, Datastream, National Bureau of Economic Research.
Exhibit 4: Change in US Household Leverage
Following Recessions
A large reduction in household debt served as a drag on the
pace of this recovery.
Change in Debt-to-GDP (Percentage Points)
105 -j-——=—- Previous Post-WWII Recoveries (Median)
Current Recovery
poset
| ‘
5 4 LY
248
Cu KF MS ees cot
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
Quarters After Recession End
Data through 03 2016.
Source: Investment Strategy Group, National Bureau of Economic Research, Federal Reserve
Economic Data.
We believe that no one factor explains the
difference in opinion. Instead, we rely on a
comprehensive framework of investigation that
blends all of these elements, combining rigorous
fundamental, quantitative and technical analysis,
as well as the insights of an extensive network of
external experts. At the same time, we continually
endeavor to overcome the behavioral biases Nobel
Laureate Daniel Kahneman and his collaborator
Amos Tverksy have shown to affect economic
decision-making and tolerance for risk. These key
characteristics of our investment process not only
underpin our continued view of US preeminence,
but also allow us to form a holistic view across
global economies and asset classes. Of equal
importance, our framework provides us with a
consistent process by which to assess investment
opportunities. While we believe our approach is
robust, we acknowledge that nothing can ensure
we will avoid the next downdraft.
We begin our Outlook with a brief review of
this recovery and place it in the context of past
recoveries showing that the glass is indeed half-full.
We address some of the key concerns regarding
demographics and declining productivity growth.
We show that US labor force demographics have
deteriorated and will continue to do so, especially
in the absence of policy changes. Nonetheless, we
demonstrate why there is room for optimism about
productivity growth. The analysis leads us to a
view of slightly above-trend growth for 2017 with
some upside potential from higher productivity
and fiscal stimulus from a Trump administration.
We then turn to our one- and five-year expected
returns, which are driven by our view of a solid
economic foundation, a well-balanced economy
and a positive growth trajectory in the US. We
conclude our introductory section with the risks
to our view, both upside and downside, including
a low probability of recession in 2017, high policy
uncertainty under a Trump administration, possible
global shocks from economic and currency policies
in China, and the risks of geopolitical mishaps in
Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
This Recovery in Context—An Update
This recovery has been the slowest of the 10
recovery cycles since WWII, as shown in Exhibit
3. Since the trough, US GDP has grown at an
annualized rate of 2.1% through the third quarter
of 2016, which is half the pace of the median and
average growth rates of all other recoveries. The
slow GDP growth rate stands in stark contrast to
the recovery in the labor market and, most recently,
in wages and household income. Impressively, the
decline in the unemployment rate has been the
second-largest of all post-WWII recoveries.
8 | Goldman Sachs | JANUARY 2017
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_014541