MAUI, Hawaii — After three long years, the U.S. gross domestic product has returned to early 2008 levels, but according to Byron Gangnes, University of Hawaii economics department chair, it's still not where it should be.

Gangnes explained that recessions caused by financial crisis often do take about three years to recover, so the slow going was not unexpected to him. In particular, when a housing bubble bursts, consumers' feeling of wealth deteriorates and they deleverage all the debts they built up in the good times, restraining consumption. Consumer spending account for two-thirds of the economy, which is why credit unions and others are seeing a dearth of lending, Gangnes told more than 200 attendees of The Paragon Group's Volunteer Leadership Institute.

Recessions driven by other calamities typically take about a year to recover, Gangnes asserted.