The post–World War I recession was an economic recession

Recession

In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...

 that hit much of the world in the aftermath of World War I

Aftermath of World War I

The fighting in World War I ended in western Europe when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918, and in eastern Europe by the early 1920s. During and in the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order was drastically changed in Europe, Asia and Africa,...

.
In many nations, especially in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, this growth continued during the war as nations mobilized their economies to fight the war in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. After the war ended, however, the global economy began to decline. In the United States 1918–1919 saw a modest economic retreat, but the next year saw a mild recovery. A more severe recession hit the United States in 1920 and 1921 (see: Depression of 1920–21) when the global economy fell very sharply.

North America

In North America the recession immediately following World War I was extremely brief, lasting for only 7 months from August 1918 to March 1919. A second, much more severe recession, sometimes labeled a depression, began in January 1920. Several indexes of economic activity suggest the recession was moderately severe. The Axe-Houghton Index of Index of Trade and Industrial Activity declined by 14.1 percent in this recession and by −31 percent in the Panic of 1907

Panic of 1907

The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred, as this was during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs on...

). The Babson index of physical volume of business activity declined by 28.6 percent in this recession (compared to −32.3 percent in 1921 recession and −22.7 in the Panic of 1907).jive