Rogoff: U.S. May Face Second Recession

The United States faces a prolonged period of sluggish growth and perhaps another recession in the next five years, Harvard University economist Kenneth Rogoff said on Tuesday.

The U.S. recession that began in December 2007 is close to an end, and economic growth will hover near a sluggish 2 percent for the next five to seven years, he said.

"We're going to be Japan-light," he said in an interview, referring to Japan's years of sub-par growth after its financial crisis of the 1990s. "We won't have a lost decade, but we will face some of the same challenges."

Rogoff, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist and an expert on banking crises, said the United States faces a 50-50 chance of a second recession in the next five years. (more)