That's simply not true. Policymakers may speak about NBER's findings, but there is no formal recognition of them in U.S. law.
They are private organization, they do not release their decision criteria publicly, and they were formed by random collection of academics that decided to start a club. They are entirely self-appointed.
> > The governments formal definition is that the NBER decides.
> That's simply not true
Yes, it is.
> Policymakers may speak about NBER's findings, but there is no formal recognition of them in U.S. law.
Not all official government actions are done by Congress as law.
US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis says “The designation of a recession is the province of a committee of experts at the National Bureau of Economic Research” [0]
US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics describes NBER as “the official arbiter of U.S. recessions” [1]
