Question

if the national economy shrank at an annual rate of 6% per year for 3 consecutive years, then the economy shrank by 18% over the three year period. The economy shrank by what per6 over the three year period?

Answer 1

The answer would be 18x 6 which would result in 108. Answer is 108/6
Best of luck!

Answer 2

You want to find x such that

... 1 - x = (1 - 6%)³

... x = 1 - (0.94)³ = 1 - 0.830584 = 0.169416

... x ≈ 16.9%

The economy shrank by about 16.9% over the three-year period.